Scientific American Supplement, No. 623 | Page 5

to do it would be
to say, "Yes, sir," very promptly, go off and not more than half read the
letter, do something and be back in five minutes with some question or
ill-digested answer; then upon receiving a polite hint as to the method
to be employed, go off and repeat the operation the next five minutes;
then on receiving a short reply, in what appeared to be an unnecessary
tone of voice, get a little flurried perhaps, do worse next time, and in
the end feel very unpleasant without having accomplished much, and
make the gentleman seeking assistance lament the difficulty in teaching
young men practical work.
It is possible, on the contrary, for a young man to exceed his
instructions and volunteer advice that has not been asked. If he has
unfortunately gone too far for some time and been sharply spoken to,
he may fail the next in not fully doing the work intended. Simply
putting down a column of figures would not necessarily mean
tabulating facts. The arrangement and rearrangement of the columns
aid in classifying such facts, so that the results shown by them will be
readily seen and a great deal of labor saved in examination. A good rule
in a case of this kind is to try and find some work done by other parties
of a similar nature, and thereby ascertain what is needed and expected.
Reasonable questions to ascertain, where records are to be found and
the kind of records accessible, are always proper if made at the proper
time without interrupting an immediate train of thought; and with such
information as a start, if a young man will endeavor to imagine himself
in a place like that of the one who has finally to decide, and try to
ascertain just what information will probably be required, then patiently
go to work to find and present it in condensed shape, he from that
moment really begins to be useful and his services will be rapidly
appreciated. It is a good rule always to keep the memoranda obtained in
accomplishing a result of this kind; so that if further information is
required, the whole investigation need not be made over.

This remark suggests another line of thought. Some young men with
quick perceptions get in the way at school of trusting their memories,
and omit making complete notes of lectures or of the various tests
illustrating their studies. This carelessness follows them into after life,
and there are instances where young men, who can make certain kinds
of investigations much better than their fellows, and promptly give a
statement of the general nature of the results, have, when called on
afterward for the details, forgotten then entirely, and their notes and
memoranda, if preserved, being of little use, the labor is entirely lost.
Such men necessarily have to learn more careful ways in after life. It is
a good rule in this, as in the previous case, to make and copy complete
records of everything in such shape that they may be convenient for
reference and criticism afterward.
One of the important problems with which you will have to deal in the
future is the labor question, and it is probable that your very first
experience with it may be in direct antagonism with the opinions of
many with whom you have heretofore been associated. It is an honor to
the feelings of those who stand outside and witness this so-called
struggle now in progress between capital and labor, that they believe
the whole question can be settled by kindly treatment and reasonable
argument. There are some cases that will yield to such treatment, and
one's whole duty is not performed till all possible, reasonable, and
humanitarian methods are adopted. There has been an excuse for the
organization of labor, and it, to some small extent, still exists.
Time was that the surplus of unskilled labor was used on a mercantile
basis to reduce wages to such an extent that it was almost impossible to
rear a well nurtured, much less a well educated and well dressed family,
and, moreover, the hours of labor in some branches of business were so
long as to shorten the lives of operatives and make self-improvement
impossible. The natural progress of civilizing influence did much to
abate many of these evils, but the organization of labor removed sores
that had not and perhaps could not have been reached in other ways.
Having then an excuse for organization, and supported by the success
made in directions where public sympathy was with them, is it to be
wondered that they have gone too far in very many cases, and that the

leadership of such organization has in many instances been captured by
designing men, who control the masses to