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6 'Cbe Conservative *
A MESSAGE TO GAItCIA.
[ By Elbert Hubbnrd. ]
In nil this Cuban business there is one
man stands out ; on the horizon of my
memory like Mars at perihelion.
The rresldi-iit Nut-duel il MUM.
"When war broke out between Spain
and the United States , it was very
necessary to communicate quickly with
the leader of the insurgents. Garcia
was somewhere in the mountain fast
nesses of Cuba no one knew where.
No mail nor telegraph message could
reach him. The president must secure
his cooperation , and quickly.
What to do !
And Found One.
Some one said to the president :
"There's a fellow by the name of Rowan
will find Garcia for you , if anybody
can. "
He Delivered the
Rowan was sent for and given a letter
to be delivered to Garcia. How "the
fellow by the mune of Rowan , " took the
letter , sealed it tip in an oil-skin pouch ,
strapped it over his heart , in four days
landed by night off the coast of Cuba
from an open boat , disappeared into the
jungle and in three weeks came out on
the other side of the island , having
traversed a hostile country on foot , and
delivered his letter to Garcia , are things
I have no special desire now to tell in
detail.
The Moml.
The point I wish to make is this : Me-
Kiuloy gave Rowan a letter to bo de
livered to Garcia ; Rowan took the let
ter and did not ask , "where is ho at ? "
By the Eternal ! there is a man whose
form should be cast in deathless bronze
and the statue placed in every college of
the land. It is not book-learning young
men need , nor instruction about this
and that , but a stiffening of the verte
bral which will cause them to be loyal
to a trust , to act promptly , concentrate
their energies : do the thing "Carry a
message to Garcia ! "
There are Other Gurclas.
General Garcia is dead now , but there
are other Garcias.
No man , who has endeavored to car
ry out an enterprise where many hands
were needed , but has been well-nigh
appalled at times by the imbecility of
the average man the inability or un
willingness to concentrate on a thing
and do it.
Slip-shod assistance , foolish inatten
tion , dowdy indifference , and half
hearted work seem the rule ; and no
man succeeds , unless by hook or crook ,
or threat , ho forces or bribes other men
to assist him ; or mayhap , God in His
goodness performs a miracle , and sends
him on angel of light for an assistant.
You , reader , put this matter to a test :
You are sitting now in your office six
clerks are within call. Summon any
one and make this request : "Please
look in the encyclopedia and make a
brief memorandum for mo concerning
the life of Correggio. "
Where Is the Encyclopedia ?
Will the clerk quietly say , "Yes sir , "
and go do the task ?
On your life he will not. He will
look at you out of a fishy eye and ask
one or more of the following questions :
Who was he ?
Where is the encyclopedia ?
Which encyclopedia ?
Was I hired for that ?
Don't you mean Bismarck ?
What's the Mutter With Churlle Doing It ?
What's the matter with Charlie
doing it ?
Is he dead ?
Is there any hurry ?
Shan't I bring you the book and let
you look it up for yourself ?
What do you want to know for ?
I WtiHM't Hired for Thut , Anyway.
And I will lay you ten to one that
after you have answered the questions ,
and explained how to find the information
mation , and why you want it , the clerk
will go off and get one of the other
clerks to help him try to find Garcia
and then come back and tell you there
is no such man. Of course I may lose
my bet , but according to the law of
average , I will not.
Now if you are wise you will not.
bother to explain to your "assistant"
that Correggio is indexed under the C's ,
not in the K's , but you will smile sweet
ly and say , "Never mind , " and go look
it up yourself.
And this incapacity for independent
action , this moral stupidity , this infirm
ity of the will , this unwillingness to
cheerfully catch hold and lift , are the
things that put pure socialism so far
into the future. If men will not act for
themselves , what will they do when the
benefit of their effort is for all. A first-
mate with knotted club seems necessary ;
and the dread of getting "the bounce"
Saturday night , holds many a worker to
his place.
Advertise for a stenographer , and nine
out of tea who apply , can neither spell
nor punctuate and do not think it
necessary to.
Can such a one write a letter to
Garcia ?
"You see that book-keeper , " said the
foreman to me in a largo factory.
"Yes , what about him ? "
Who Wants u Man Like This ?
"Well , he's a fine accountant , but if
I'd send him up town on an errand , he
might accomplish the errand all right ,
and on the other hand , might stop at
four saloons on the way , and when he
got to Main street , would forget what
lie had been sent for. "
Can such a man bo entrusted to carry
a message to Garcia ?
We have recently been hearing much
maudlin sympathy expressed for the
"down-trodden denizen of the sweat
shop" and the "homeless wanderer
searching for honest employment , " and
with it all often go many hard words
for the men in power.
The WccdliiR-out Process.
Nothing is said about the employer
who grows old before his time in a vain
attempt to got frowsy ue'r-do-wells to
do intelligent work ; and his long ,
patient striving with "help" that does
nothing but loaf when his back is
turned. In every store and factory
there is a constant weeding-out process
going on. The employer is constantly
sending away "help" that have shown
their incapacity to further the interests
of the business , and others are being
taken on. No matter how good times
are , this sorting continues , only if times
are hard and work is scarce , the sort
ing is done finer but out and forever
out , the incompetent and unworthy go.
It is the survival of the fittest. Self-
interest prompts every employer to
keep the best those who can carry a
message to Garcia.
This Man Says Times are Scarce.
I know one man of really brilliant
parts who has not the ability to manage
a business of his own , and yet who is
absolutely worthless to any one else , {
because he carries with him constantly
the insane suspicion that his employer is
oppressing , or intending to oppress him.
He cannot give orders ; and he will not
receive them. Should a message be
given him to take to Garcia , his answer
would probably be , "Take it yourself ,
and be damned ! "
Tonight this man walks the streets
looking for work , the wind whistling
through his thread-bare coat. No one
who knows him dare employ him , for
he is a regular fire-brand of discontent.
He is impervious to reason , and the only
thing that can impress him is the toe of
a thick-soled No. 9 boot.
A Spiritual Cripple.
Of course I know that one so morally
deformed is no less to be pitied than a
physical cripple ; but in our pitying , let
us drop a tear , too , for the men who are
striving to carry on a great enterprise ,
whose working hours are not limited by
the whistle , and whose hair is fast turn
ing white through the struggle to hold
in line dowdy indifference , slip-shod
imbecility , and the heartless ingratitude , j '
which , but for their enterprise , would
be both hungry and homeless. I
A Word of Sympathy for the Man Who ]
Succeeds.
Have I put the matter too strongly ?
Possibly I have ; but when all the world
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