The Chemawa American, November 17, 1920, Image 1

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The Chemawa American
P r i n t e d a t C h e m a w a , O r e g o n , a n d D e v o t e d to t h e i n t e r e s t s o f I n d i a n E d u c a t i o n
Voi. X X III
W ednesday, Novem ber 17, 1920
IN E X C U SA B L E C A R E L E SSN E SS
T he o th er day we read an article about h ab itu al
carelessness, w hich is prevalent on th e part of so m any
people, and it occurred to us th a t th is w outd prove a
góod sub ject for discussion in th e colum ns of T he
A m erican.
T h e history of th e hum an race is full of th e m ost
horrible trag ed ies caused bv th e carelessness and in e x ­
cusable b lu n d ers of those w ho never form ed th e habit
of being accu rate, of th o ro u g h n ess, of doing th in g s
rig h t. W e know of an instance w here a most costly
lifeboat sp ru n g a leak, and w hile u n d erg o in g repairs
a ham m er was found in the bottom of th e boat— left
there by a careless b u ild er. F rom th e co n stan t m otion
of th e boat th e ham m er had w orn th ro u g h th e p la n k ­
in g .
’ M ultitu d es of people are hobbling aro u n d on one
leg, have lost an eye or an arm , or otherw ise m aim ed,
because of some d ishonest w orkm an who slighted his
w ork—covered up defects and w eak places. H ow
m any have lost th e ir lives because of dishonest, ca re­
less w ork, crim inal b lu n d erin g in the co n stru ctio n of
houses and other th in g s we use? T h o u san d s lose
th e ir lives yearly th ro u g h defective m achinery on ac­
co u n t of dishonest and careless labor.
E very w h ere we see th e trag ic resu lts of careless,
batched w ork— som ebody’s b lu n d er, som ebody’s habit
of being in accu rate. T h e w orst crim es are not p u n ­
ishable by law’. C arelessness, lack of th o ro u g h n ess,
are crim es ag ain st self, against h u m an ity , that often
do m ore harm th an the crim es w hich m ake the p er­
petrato r an o u tcast from society. W here a tin y flaw
or defect m ay cost a precious life carelessness is as
m uch a crim e as d eliberate crim in ality .
If everybody p u t conscience into th e ir wrork, did it
th o ro u g h ly an d com pletely, it w ould n o t only reduce
th e loss of h u m an life, as well as save valuable p ro ­
perty. b u t would give us a h ig h e r q u ality of m anhood
and w om anhood. It takes h onest w ork to m ake an
honest ch aracter. T h e h ab it of doing poor, slovenly
w ork, will, after aw hile, m ake th e w orker dishonest
in other thiii^s. T h e m an, w om an, boy or girl who
h ab itu ally slig h ts his w ork also slig h ts h is character,
for our w ork is a p art of us.
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No. 7
T h e m ajority of the people th in k too m uch of
q u a n tity and too little of q u ality . T h ey often try to
do too m uch and do not do it well. W e w ish to im ­
press upon our stu d e n ts at Chem aw a, in p articu lar,
and our readers in general, the great necessity of
realizing th a t the education, the com fort, the satisfac­
tion, the general im provem ent and bracing up of an
in d iv id u al com es from doing one th in g absolutely
rig h t, and of contin u in g to follow th e plan of doing
w hatever comes your way w ith precision; w hich will
outw eigh in character, in self-respect, the value th a t
attaches to m any th o u san d s of poor, careless, batched
jo b s. T h e m ental and m oral effect of half doing, or
carelessly doing th in g s, its pow er to drag dow n, to
dem oralize, can h ard ly be estim ated because the
processes are so grad u al, so subtle.
T h e h ab it of carelessness attaches so stro n g ly to
m any of us here a t C hem aw a, and elsew here, too, by
th e way, and is so reprehensible th a t we w ish to im ­
press upon you w ith all the force a t our com m and to
tak e heed, for the habit of doing th in g s poorly will
so dem oralize your general character th a t you will
unconsciously perform such a poor grade of w ork
th a t will resu lt in stu ltify in g your sense of honor and
finally m ake you unable to realize how w orthless you
have become— you will not know w hy you are such
an ignom inious failure.
A person who habitually does th in g s w rongly will
in tim e become really repulsive. H is ideals are
dulled, faculties palsied, am bition gone, and a
deteriorization occurs all along th e line, for the h u ­
m an m echanism is so constituted th a t w hatever goes
w rong in one p art affects th e w hole stru c tu re .
S tu d en ts, w atch your step. Be th o ro u g h and do
not dodge nor slip in rotten hours no r ro tten service.
N obody likes a “ ro tte r!”
T he boys in the d ra ftin g classes are w orking on
some problem s in carp en try and forging w hich they
will finish in th e shops. H ere is an o th er o p p o rtu n ity
for th e boys at C hem aw a. W e have m ore boys th an
room in these classes. If you are not interested d o n ’t
be surprised to find your place filled by som eone else
as Mr. Iliff has applications alm ost every day for this
branch of w ork.