VOL XIX.
'INDIANAPOLIS, IND., SATURDAY, NOV. 8, 1884.
NO. 45.
BRAIN POWER.
gow to Spend Winter Evenings.
BY PROP. W, A. BELL.
BUii before the :JIariorj County Agricultural and
Ujrilcultural Society, Oct. Wtli, 18*4].
Tull me how a person spends his leisure
time and I will measure very correctly
ihat person's general intelligence. The
inference that exists among men depends
Ijrjely upon what they do outside regular
(forking hours. The time that most persons "fool away" is sufficient to store
their minds with valuable information
,nd give a liberal education. A person's
vocation does not give to him responsibilities and social standing, but he honors or
degrades this vocation. If the legal profession is looked upon as being more resectable than farming, it is because lawyers, as a class, by their application, have
secured a
HIOIIEB AVERAGE OP INTELLIGENCE
than have the farmers. The social estimate of an occupation is determined by
the average intelligence and virtue of those
engaged in it. In this country, as in no
other upon thefaceof theearth,doestheao-
cident of birth or money stand for little.
Here a man is judged not by what his
father is, but by what he is; not by his
vocation, but by his power; not by his
dress and manners,  but by his  character.
The "learned blacksmith who mastered
more than a dozen different languages is
,3 much honored as the college president;
md tlie shoemaker astronomer of Spice-
land, is none the less respected because of
his usual occupation.
Intelligence stands for more to-day than
ever before, and as the years go on ignorance will be more and more of a reproach and it will grow more and more
difficult for an uneducated person to make
his way in the world. An ounce of train
worth a ton of muscle. Mere brute
force is valuable but needs to be' directed
md controled.
Itis
BRAIN   POWER
that has made all the discoveries and inventions, by which machinery now so
largely takes the place of mere muscle.
this machinery one man te enabled to
do the work of a dozen men. Steam and
electricity controlled by mind, are the
jreat physical forces of the world.
Almest every variety of labor is now-
done by machinery, and thus the work
of the world is being wrought and time is
left for the improvement of the mind.
With the aid of machinery a man can
cultivate five times as much land as was
possible for him to attend when I was a
boy —and he can do it with more ease to
himself.
But few other occupations, certainly
none outside those usually termed the
[sarned professions, afford such opportunities for self-Improvement, as does
that of the farmer. His winter evenings,
ind stormy or cold days when he cannot
tork, aff>rd ample time for reading; and
his solution which removes him from the
temptation to spend this time in idle
dp (a custom so prevalent in towns and
iities)isa circumstance decidedly in his
'avor. A person who will read only one
aour a day for only six months in a year,
Till in a comparatively  few years be sur
prised  at the   amount of  reading he has
done—the amount of information gained,
and at his broader views of life.
Let us imagine
THE   AVERAGE   FAMILY
with father, mother, boys . and girls of
varying ages, with the day's work done,
supper over, and all seated around a cheerful hearth. What shall the proceedure
be? Shall the father sulkily bury himself in his last newspaper? Shall the
older boys go out "larking?" Shall the
mother and older girls set themselves to
knitting and mending and thus demonstrate the truthfulness of the old adage.
"A man's work is from sun to sun, but
a woman's work is never done." Shall
the little ones be allowed to while away
the time as best they can until the grow
sleepy and are put to bed? Shall evening
after evening be allowed to thus pass without an effort to rise from the low plane of
mere existence, to the higher intellectual
plane of thinking and living?
Let us draw another picture of this same
family. Let us call the time just after
supper, "the children's hour." Let it be
the business of father, mother and older
brothers and sisters to see to It that the
'.'little folks'! have a good time. At least
one juvenile paper should be taken for the
sake of its stories and pictures. Simple,
innocent games should be provided.
At an early hour the little ones are
asleep. Now let some one read aloud from
an entertaining book. Let the boys and
girls take turns in this oral reading. The
advantages of such a course - are manifold.
In addition to the information gained, the
child gains the power to read with ease,
which his limited practice in school seldom gives.
TIIE HABIT OF READING
is acquired, a love for good books is formed, the desire to seek company away from
home is supplanted, and the door is opened
te a liberal education and to integrity of
character. A young man who has learned
to value good books as his friends, has
thereby fortified himself against one of
the greatest enemies to an upright manhood—viz., idle companions.
This program is not to be uniform and
arbitrary. Games and music should have
a place, and the books and papers should
be such as will interest as well as instruct.
The aim should be to make home attractive, because without interest and sympathy but little can be accomplished.
Boys and girls shonld not be compelled to
go from home to have "a good time."
Parents can have no higher purpose than
to see their children grow into intelligent,
virtuous, respectful men and women.
Parents live largely for their children;
they are ambitious to leave them as large
an Inheritance as possible. But while It
is true that most parents live for their
children, comparatively few know
HOW   TO LIVE'WITH"   THEIR CHILDREN.
To make home whatit should be, parents
must be interested in what children like.
It is folly to attempt to convert children
into old people at once. Besides, this continuous renewal of the youthful spirit on
the part of the parents is the best possible
antidote against growing old. If parents
will live with their children the benefits
to the parents will be scarce by less than
to the children themselves.
Thousands of young men,  especially in
and near towns and cities, having no provision made for their entertainment at
home, seek company elsewhere, and too
frequently find it in bar-rooms and saloons, where they are readily led into
habits that result in their ruin. It is safe
to say that a large majority of the cases of
profligacy and dissipation on the part of
young men, is the direct result of the failure of parents to make their homes what
they ought to be. Do you remind me
that many of these "Young Americans" go
out from wealthy families with elegant
homes? Yes, I remember that—and I
remember also that the family life in some
of these mansions is entirely barren of all
that makes our ideal home. I remember
also that some of the happiest families I
have ever known have lived in very humble houses. Thank God, that a happy
family life Is not dependent upon riches.
Let it be remembered that character is
not a matter of chance—it is first the re-
Bult of hereditary tendency. It is natural
for a child to be like his parents. His
tendency to idleness or industry, to profligacy or economy, to selfishness or generosity, to temperance or intelligence, to
dishonesty or Integrity, depends largely
upon the fixed character of his parents;
but it depends still more upon the education of the child—not school education
solely 01 chiefly, but upon the education
that comes from the example and teachings of the home. These facts should
make conscientious parents tremble at
their responsibilities.   In this country the
HOME IS THE UNIT OF SOCIETY;
It is the center of civilization. Upon it
the school, the church, the State must
rest. We must look to our homes,chiefly,
for all advance in higher, purer living, and
In broader,clearer thinking.
You tell me again that my plan seems to
Involve the expenditure of quite a little
sum of money for'books and papers. Admit it, and for what can money be more
wisely used? Benjamin Franklin said:
"If a man empty his purse into his head
he cannot lose it. An investment in
knowledge always pays the best interest."
Parents too often toil, and save, and econo-
mizo; nay, even stint themselves in order
that they may leave to their children a
large estate, and how often is it the case
that this money proves a curse rather than
a blessing to the children. How much
wiser it would be to put at least a part of
this money Into the heads of the children,
and thus make a.permanent and safe investment In a bank that never breaks, and
always pays good dividends. Intelligence,
culture and character cannot be estimated
in dollars and cents. "What shall a man
profit if he gain the whole world and lose
his own soul."
Parents should always be much more
concerned about what their children shall
be, than about what they shall have. They
should give them a good education, and fit
them to take care of themselves and live
to some purpose, although by so doing
they can leave them as an inheritance only
an
UNTARNISHED NAME AND A NOBLE EXAMPLE.
Yes, get the books and papers, get them
In some way. Buy them, borrow them,
gat them from the township library, I almost said steal them. Where there is a
will a way will be provided. Get the
books, get the papers.
These two suggestions may be of value
in this connection:
1. The township libraries originally well
selected, have been allowed to fall into
disuse,and in many cases have been largely lost, for the reasons that they were provided before the people were ready to appreciate them, that no suitable places were
provided in which they could be kept,thai
no new books have been added for many
years, and because the township organization was not adequate to their management.
At present these troubles do not exist or
can be easily reined ied,and an effort should
be made to induce the  next legislature to
pass a law enabling township trustees to
levy a small tax for the purchase of new
books for these libraries. A yearly tax of
one cent on each one hundred dollars
would raise a sum ample to make these libraries the means of inestimable good to
the perJple. The teachers of the State have
decided to make an effort in this direction,
and if the farmers will join them, there
will be no doubt as to the result. The legislature will do what the people demand.
2. In the absence of sufficient library
accommodations let several persons in the
same neighborhood combine and form a
sort of
CIRCULATING LIBRARY.
For example, suppose that each of a half a
dozen families should buy two good books
In the course of a year, and having read
them, should loan them to the other families in the circle. Thus ample reading
matter would be supplied at slight cost.
Papers and magazines can thus be exchanged to a limited extent. There is no
good reason why the average fai mer should
not supply his family with all necessary
reading matter. The question is not. can
he afford to do It, but rather can he afford
not to do it. Not long since I heard a good
woman complaining that her two boys, 12
aud 14 years ot age, had no interest in
books—that she had tried in vain to keep
themhomeof nights and have them "study
their books." A little investigation revealed the fact that the only books to be
found in this woman's house, aside from
the Bible, some school books, and Milton's
Paradise Lost, were a few copies of "Congressional Reports" which had doubtless
been sent to the husband free of charge.
And yet this man was worth 320,000.
Think of a father's owning a fine farm
with an elegant house and spacious barn,
living in comfort, with a family growing
up around him, and yet
WITHOUT A LIBRARY,
without a book or a paper, adapted to the
capacities and tastes of their children. He
provides bountifully for their bodily comforts, but is starving to death their higher
intellectual and spiritual nature. He is
allowing them to merely vegetate. Such
a state of things is a sad commentary upon
a father and mother's ideal of the great
ends of life and their duty as parents.
Man cannot live by bread alone. The
chief end of life is not to make money.
Think you I have drawn an ideal picture
that cannot be realized except by a few
favored ones.   Not so, not so.
I know many families who are putting
into actual practice all that I have suggested. The parents in these families are
endeavoring to get the good out of life as
it passes, and are not foregoing all pleasures, and making all sacrifices, and enduring all hardships in order to accummulate
a competence, which always comes according to their estimate, after they have
lost their capacity to enjoy it. They have
determined to retain the confidence and
sympathy of their children, and thus keep
control over them, by being in a sense
their companions. Thus parents make it
their business to have a good time, and to
see to it that their children have a good
time, and they are careful to see that this
good time does not consist solely In the
gratification of the appetites and lower
faculties.
Yes there is ample time and ample
money In the great masses of homes to realize all that has been herein suggested, aU
that is lacking is the appreciation of its
necessity, and a will to bring it about.
What would not you and I give to-day
for the information and the culture we
might have gained had we from our youth
up spent our leisure time in profitable
reading. And it must be remembered that
this reading is not a burden, but soon become a great pleasure.
These entirely practical suggestions if
carried out would increase the intelligence,
would Improve the morals, would increase
the capacity to enjoy life and would increase the quality of farming, and the social standing of the farmer a hundred fold
In a single generation. Shall the attempt
be made? A proper use of winter evenings and leisure time will do it.