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The Commoner
VOL. J.4, NO. 11
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The Making of a Man
A Lecture Delivered by Mr. Bryan on Various Occasions
We spend relatively too much time in the per
fecting of the things which man uses and too
little time in the perfecting of man himself. In
this age of cooperation we find an increasing
multitude of organizations, each one dedicated
to a special purpose that purpose being the im
provement of something that will servo man. To
illustrate what I mean, let us consider agricul
ture for a moment; it is the largest single de
partment of industrial activity among our peo
ple. Who will enumerate the farmers' organ
izations? Some make a specialty of cattle rais
ing, and these are sub-divided into groups that
direct their attention, some to milk breeds, some
to beef breeds; and each of these sub-divisions
is still further sub-divided into groups that give ,
preference to some particular strain. In like
manner we have numerous organizations whose
members devote attention to swino breeding,
each group perfecting a type. Next come the
horse breoders, and these arj sub-divided into
fanciers of the draft horse (still further sub
divided into several smaller groups), the coach
horse, the trotting horse, the riding horse, and
tho racing horse not to speak of the different
kinds of ponies for children. All of these are
trying to produce the best animal of their kind
but they are producing and perfecting for man.
Then they have the poultry group, with the
rivalries between many varieties; and so, also,
with tho organizations that have for their object
the production of grains, vegetables, fruits,
berries, etc.
If we leave the farm and come into the city,
wo find tho work of specialization as fully de
veloped among tho manufacturers, each one en
deavoring to produce tho best article in his line
at tho lowest cost. Tho commercial life of our
municipalities, the social life of our communi
ties, tho political life of state and nation, our
schools, our hospitals, our churches, all afford
illustration of the ceaseless effort to develop, to
improve, to perfect everything that man can
omploy to please the body, to minister to tho
mind or to satisfy tho soul.
If man is worthy to have so much thought
and labor devoted to his comfort and advance
ment, surely there is no theme more deserving
of our consideration than The Making of a Man.
Only when wo come to man do wo find an
immeasurable gulf between extremes. We can
describe tho difference between tho largest
potato and the smallost one in ounces, the dif
ference between tho best steer and the poorest
one in pounds, and the difference between the
moBt valuable horse and the least valuable ono
in dollars; but who will suggest a ratfo between
man as he may be and man as he sometimes is?
Man at his best is but little lower than the
angels, while man at his worst may in some re
spects bo worse than the brutes about him. And
oach one of us is moving each day, each hour, in
ono direction or tho other, wo are either
ascending toward tho highest point that man
can reach or descending toward the lowest
deptliB to which man can fall!
If I am to present plans and specifications I
owe it to you in return for your attendance and
attention to present those suitable for the build
ing of a life upon the highest possible plane, a
life capable of realizing the best that is attain
able by man.
Wo recognize at once that in dealing with
man wo aro dealing with a throe-fold being. It
is not difficult for mo to believe in the Trinity,
for I see a sort of trinity in every human being.
There is in each ono v.f us a physical man, a
mental man, and a moral man so inseparable
that ono cannot exist upon this earth without the
other, and yet so distinct that one may be de
veloped and the others left undeveloped. The
body may bo lifted to a high state of physical
perfection, while the mind and the heart are
uncultured; the mind, too, may be developed,
while tho body and tho heart are overlooked;
and oven the heart may rocolve consideration,
while the training of tho body and the mind is
neglected.
We first become- aware of the presence of the
body and for a while it is our chief concern.
Later wo become conscious of the" possession of
a mind, and tho mind, in time, takes control of
the body woo to the lody that is not subject to
th decrees of the mind. If tho development is
normal, we finally note tho arrival upon the
scene of the moral man, and the moral man
claims tho throne woe to the individual in
whom the physical man and the mental man are
not obedient to the moral man.
When we come to consider the development of
the body, we must again recognize a natural
sub-division and consider three factors that enter
largely into man's physical welfare, namely, that
which we inherit, that which we add, and that
which we conserve. In physical appearance, in
stature in our constitutional strength to resist
disease and endure fatigue, we are largely ac
cording to inheritance. The Bible asks, "Can
one add a cubit to his stature?" The question
implies a negative reply.
I can testify that one's stature is not of Irs
choosing. When a boy I had my ideal of the
physical proportions proper for a man. I want
ed to be six feet in height and weigh one hun
dred and eighty pounds. During the earlier
years of my college life I felt confident that I
would reach the height desired. I grew very
rapidly when about fifteen so rapidly between
September and Christmas that I wrote to my
father complaining that my trousers were get
ting short and asking for money with which to
purchase a new pair. He answered that I would
come home soon for the holidays and that I
could then supply my needs. But my reason for
remember'ng his letter and my rapid growth at
that period is found in the words with which he
concluded his letter. He said, "But you might
as well learn now that people will measure you
by the length of your head and not by the length
of your breeches."
As I approached maturity I became fearful that
I would not reach the six-foot mark. I lonered
to be a little taller tried to l'ft myself up but
with all that I could do I stopped short an inch
and a half, and I am not sure that I was pleased
when I overran in weight as much as I underran
in height.
L repeat that inheritance has stamped certain
limitations upon the physical man and yet it is
possible to a' degree to add to that inheritance.
It is not only right but eminently desirable that
one should take an inventory of himself at as
early a date as possible, and, finding out the
weak places, proceed with intelligence and dili
gence to strengthen them. We should raise our
selves to the highest point of physical efficiency
not only that we may render the maximum of
service but that we may, as a link in the endless
chain of existence, transmit to posterity even a
larger store of physical wealth than we in
herited. But I need -not dwell upon the first and second
factors. The third the conservation of that
which we inherit and of that which we add to
it this deserves special emphasis. It is an awe
insp'ring thought that the Creator has put it in
our power to dissipate our strength, to destroy
the body. If a young man inherits a fortune
and squanders it, we shy, "Foolish young man;"
but only a few in a generation are in a position
to throw away a fortune. But every young man
when he becomes master of himself le put into
possession of a body which is worth more to
him than any fortune, and he can waste this
body, squander it, throw it away as effectually
as one can dispose of a fortune' in money and
somo do so.
How can I impress upon the young men who
honor me by their attention the turp'tude of
such conduct? How can I better make them
conscious of the obligation which possession of
such wealth imposes upon them than by show
ing them how much it costs to raise a boy? Two
years ago I heard a statement that is in po'nt
here the strongest statement I have ever heard
outside of the Bible. It was this: that the suf
fering which woman endures as a penalty for
motherhood is greater than all the suffering
caused by all tho wars of all the world that
the agonies which she voluntarily takes upon
herself to be the mother of a race surpasses all
the agonies of all the battle fields. Is that not
a startling statement? And yet, upon reflection
I believe that it is true. We have in the United
States more than ninety million of human
beings; that means that on more than ninetv
million of occasions a mother's l'fe trembled in
the balance at a child's birth. And this is just
the beginning. Compute the value of the time
from a third to a half of the average woman's
Jife is devoted to the rearing, of children. Calcu
late the worth of the nerve force and energy em
ployed in child raising andthen estimate, if you
can, the wealth of love that woman pours out
upon her children; add all this together and then
tell me how much a boy is worth -when ho is
ready to throw himself away!
Is it not strange that any young man would
do so? And yet many do. And what is even
stranger still, there lire those who eagerly assist
in the work of ruin there are those who He in
wait for the young man, set snares for him and
make- money, by dragging him down and 'shatter
ing the hopes that have been built upon his life!
Christians, for I may assume that I am speak
ing to a Christian audience, we have not done
all that we might have done to strengthen these
young men and savo them.
I remember when a boy to have heard my
mother tell a story of a very charitable woman
who always defended a person criticized in her
presence. Her children decided one day to put
the mother to test and so, assembling by agree
ment in her room, they began one after another
to find fault with the devil. They had not gone
far, however, before the mother stopped them
.with the remark, "Well, children, it we were all
as industrious as the devil in, we would accom
plish more." Yes, if we were as industrious in
our efforts to save young men, as the devil is in
his efforts to lead them astray, not so many
would go wrong.
A few years ago a conservation congress met
at the White House. The governors of the
states, the members of congress, and a few not
in official life were invited. Experts gave sta
tistics to show how the coal was being consumed,
how the beds of iron ore were being exhausted,
how the timber lands were being c over, and
how the soil was being wasted. It was an im
pressive showing, and a deep interest has been
taken in conservation ever since. It is an im
portant matter and we owe it to future genera
tions to deal wisely with the natural resources of
the country but what we need most is the con
servation of the manhood and womanhood of
the land these are our priceless resources.
But having emphasized the value, of the body,
I now remind you that the body alone is worth
less. No boy would be worth raisingMf there
was nothing more to him than his body. "When
wo give so much time and care to the boy's body
it is because we have in mind his mind and at
heart his heart.
The development of the mental man next
claims our attention, although in this age of in
tellectual enthusiasm I need hardly discuss the
importance of education. And yet with all of
our boasted advantages only a small percentage
of our boys and girls complete a college course, a
very large percentage do noL graduate from the
high school, and a very considerable proportion
do not finish the grades of the common schools.
As I have visited different sections of the coun
try I have been impressed by the fact that a ma
jority of the high school students are girls
sometimes the girls outnumber the beys three
or four to one. That means that the boys are
dropping out, before they even take advantage
of the hgh school course which is brought so
close to their homes. Several explanations have
been given of this inclination on the part of the
boys to quit school at an early age The first
is that parents do not fully appreciate the ad
vantages of the schools and therefore do not
bring to bear upon the child the parental In
fluence which should be everted in the direction
of thorough education. Bring me a father who
does not understand the value of education and
I will attempt to impress ii upon hs mind by a
comparison. There is not a state in the union
in which a father is permitted to cut off his
boy's arm -not a state in which he would not
be punished criminally if he attempted to send
his boy out thus mutilated to compete with the
boys having two arms. This is the law, and
Pi lcpin'on suPPrts it. And yet in this age
the rather who would deliberately deny to his
boy the advantages of an education and send
nim out half educate'.", to compete with boys
well educated would really be more cruel to his
son than the father who cut off an arm.
it is sometimes argued that the boy must be
taken from school to assist in the support of the
5i U uch an excuso is given to me I ask
whether it is the boy's father or mother who
needs his support. If I aTn told that the boy is
withdrawn from the school that the father may
add his wages to his own, I Wk what kind of a
rather he is, whether he is intelligent-, industrious
SniJ! er ,If l learn ihat an intelligent, in
dustiious and sober father is not able to make a
living for his family, I ask what kind of an in-
Olin.
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