106 



Gleanings in bkk cult u r e 



Frbruary, 192'2 



help me, for instance^ I think we might get 

 her interested in something of more account 

 in this busy world of ours. I must get her 

 away fiom the crowd she is now going 

 with. ' ' 



I was particularly pleased to know that 

 Bessie (in fact, I am now talking about the 

 one we called "Queen Bess") had in mind 

 "treasure in heaven" as well as in this 

 world; and those two women, or young 

 girls, got to be in a little time the life of 

 the business, especially so far as filling or- 

 ders promptly and accurately was concerned. 

 These two opened the mails, and looked 

 after liaving every letter promptly answered 

 and instructions faithfully followed. While 

 lliese two bright girls. worked at their desk, 

 busy as the bees, they sometimes hummed in 

 a low tone snatches from Gospel Hymns 

 which were just then being copied and sung 

 by almost everybody; and altho I have, 

 during my long life, listened to many great 

 singers, I am sure I have never heard any- 

 thing from anybody that equaled the sing- 

 ing of those two particular friends of mine. 

 Well, when the strike started up, to my great 

 surprise and astonishment my gentle friend 

 and exjiert helper, before I knew it, had 

 turned right about, and was, I might almost 

 say, leading the strike. Her brother (one 

 of our men) was a user of tobacco. When 

 I saw them desert their post, one after an- 

 other, and go out with their dinner pails, I 

 was so surprised that I am afraid I actually 

 forgot my emergency prayer, "Lord, help." 

 The strikers were almost half a mile away 

 in their march before I came to my senses. 

 But I did finally go into a little room where 

 I had been in the habit of praying, and I 

 think my prayer was something like this: 

 "O Lord, thou knowest all about this trou- 

 ble. Thou knowest, too, that thy servant 

 is weak and human, and full of mistakes 

 and blunders. Now please take him and my 

 mistaken friends into thy hands and care; 

 and may the Holy Spirit follow them and 

 convince them of the mistake they are 

 making, where I seem to have failed." 



As nearly as I can find out, at the veru 

 time I uttered this prayer the "procession" 

 came to a halt. Bessie was the leader. She 

 called a halt and said something as fol- 

 lows: 



"Please hold on a minute, friends. I am 

 afraid we are making a mistake. I am sure 

 Mr. Eoot will be reasonable if we go back 

 and tell him we should like to go back to 

 work. " 



Then the procession turned around and 

 started back. I cannot remember the par- 

 ticulars; but one of the other girls in the 

 office suggested that in tlie future we should 

 take ten minutes every day just before the 

 noon whistle blew. During this interval of 

 ten minutes we were to sing a hymn, and I, 

 or somebody among the helpers, would close 

 with prayer. This time was also to be de- 

 voted every day to having the employer and 

 the employees become acquainted with each 



other, and, by discussing things of mutual 

 interest, to promote the welfare of all. At 

 this juncture each hand contributed a day's 

 work toward the purchase of an organ for 

 use at these exercises. This was done in 

 the summer of 1879, and the services were 

 held regularly till Sept. 1, 1885.* About this 

 time my health failed; and owing to the in- 

 crease of business and my enforced absence 

 from home it was deemed necessary to dis- 

 continue the noon service, especially as it 

 seemed to be a difficult matter, in my ab- 

 sence, to get the help together upstairs. 



Now, this tobacco matter is a great ques- 

 tion; and the cigarette habit that has been 

 coming in of late is a still greater question, 

 especially where cigarettes are sold to boys 

 of almost an}^ age who happen to hav6 a 

 nickel to pay for them. We need much wis- 

 dom on both sides. Some time ago I remon- 

 strated with the editors of the Scientific 

 Aniericfin because of the full-page advertise- 

 ment printed in their columns recommend- 

 ing cigarettes; and as it seems to touch 

 both sides of the question I submit a part of 

 the correspondence below. Below is my let- 

 ter: 



September 24, 1921. 

 Scientific American Publishing Company. 



Attention Mr. Chas. Allen Munn, Publisher. 

 M.v good Friends : 



Now, you haven't asked me for advice, or even 

 to give opinion, but I am going to venture one 

 nevertheless. Had you kept the cigarette advertise- 

 ments out of the weekly, especially the full-paged 

 advertisement, in colors, is it not possible it would 

 not be necessary to change it to a monthly? I am 

 .sure a good many people like myself have noted the 

 inconsistency of such a glaring advertisement in a 

 journal devoted to a better humanity and a better 

 world. Some years ago- I ventured a remonstrance, 

 and one of the Munn's, I think it was, wrote me 

 that he felt a good deal as I did about the cigarette 

 advertising. 



Now, I don't know what your plans are for the 

 monthly, but I do hope and pray that these glar- 

 ing advertisements of cigarettes, so offensive to 

 many people (and I think the best people in the 

 world), ma.\' be eliminated. 



I am now close to eighty-two years old. Of course, 

 T wasn't able to read very intelligently when the 

 tir.st Scientific American came out, but when I was 

 ten years old I was so much taken up by it that I 

 borrowed tlie back numbers and read them over 

 and over; and when I was somewhere about four- 

 teen or fifteen, I wrote one or more articles for the 

 Scientific American, that were published. 



May the great Father above guide you and direct 

 you in whatever course you may take, is the 

 praver of Your old friend, 



A. I. Root. 



P. S. — Since writing the above, the Scientific 

 American, dated September 24, 1921, is ,iust at hand, 

 and I want to say to you the article on the "Divin- 

 ing Rod" is worth the price of the Scientific Ameri- 

 can the whole year. It's worth that to me anyway ; 

 and now comes the reason why it should be con- 

 tinued weekly: The promoters of this fraud (and I 

 think quite probably it is fraud) will be taking 

 thou.sands of good dollars from good, honest men, 

 while if a paper like this came out once a week it 

 might save a lot of people from getting entrapped. 

 T am sure you see the point ; and I hope to live 

 long enough to see the Scientific American changed 

 back to a weekly, or to see some other .iournal take 

 its place (or try to take its place) if it has gO't to 



*Perhaps it would be well to say right here that 

 my stenograplier, who is taking down these notes, 

 \V. P. Root, played that organ at every noon ser- 

 vice, with scarcely an omission, during all those six 

 years. 



