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About The Chemawa American (Chemawa, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 29, 1922)
4 ? X The ChemawaAmerican ,,, . P r in te d a t C h e m a w a , Voi. XXV O re g o n , a n d D e v o te d to th e In te r e s ts o f In d ia n E d u c a tio n W ednesday, Novem ber 29, 1922 THE ID L E R ! I I I I b I ! I | I ■ ■■—■ —— . . - ■■ ■■ - J T h at w hich is statio n ary is said to be idle, and it is yea, aw fully idle. T h a t w hich ju st moves is also som ew hat idle. In an im ate th in g s are idle from ne cessity; th ere is no choice for lifeless th in g s, as id le ness is an enforced condition from th e very n atu re of th in g s. W h at we have in m ind is idleness which is inspired by laziness, and w hich is found only in a n i m al life. W e have m echanical contrivances w hich can be set to w ork by w inding, or by steam or electricity, or by th e w ind or by w ater or some o th er pow er or force. All of these m echanical conveniences are adapted solely for th e use and benefit of m ankind and are the resu lt of his m ental in g e n u ity . T hese m echanical th in g s really represent an im m ense saving of labor in th e w ork of th e w orld and w hat is accom plished by them is alm ost incredible. But back of th e activ ity of these m achines th ere stan d s th e g reatest force on ea rth , th e m ind of m an. T hese m achines are rep resentative of active, creative m en tality — not in an y sense arc they th e ch ild ern of an idle man or an idle women. T o do n o th in g is to idle; to do n o th in g is to stag- nate, m entally and physically; to have no desire wliat- ever to w ork at an y th in g is a m ost lam entable state or condition, and woe unto the m an or w om an, boy or g irl, who becomes self-doom ed to such a state. It is im possible to im agine a worse co n d itio n — am o re hope less fate. On every hand we are confronted w ith an arm y of w ould-be idlers who are drafted by th eir m ore active and capable fellow-m en and set to w ork. These w ould-be idlers may be said to be w ound-up in the m an n er of an eig h t-d ay clock and set ru n n in g . T ike a clock, they need co n stan t supervision to see that they do not ru n dow n, or stop from some of th e m any phases of inanim ation w hich abides w ithin them . T his seem s a rath e r drastic com parison to m ake between h u m an beings and m achines, and yet, sad to affirm, it is w holly tru e. W e apologize not for our u tteran ces, nor do we tak e them back. It takes a certain am o u n t of labor to feed and clothe and m ake com fortable th e people of th e w orld. By rig h ts, and every sense of ju stice, each individual should do his share of the w o rld ’s w ork. If he does not he is an idler yes, he is worse, because by his own in activ ity he is com pelling some o th er person to do his w ork for him . In such a lig h t the id ler is not sim plv a th in g of no im p o rtan ce— he is of sufficient im portance to m erit the contem pt of all. H e exp ects th e active, forceful people of th e world to provide for him thè necessities of life. Sham e upon th e idler! T h ro u g h No. 7 the sufferance of benevolent h u m an ity the idler is a l lowed to eat and live. It is our personal opinion that idlers are treated too well. It is our doctrine th at he who co n trib u tes in no way to assisting in the w ork of the w orld has no rig h t to expect to share in w hat other men and women produce. Is th ere a n y th in g am iss in our doctrine? O nly an idler will say so and w hen an objection is voiced, by th a t very act he w ho objects stam ps him self as an idler. H u m an beings are too k in d -h earted . T h ey suffer th e id ler to ex ist. Of course, they are hum an beings and are presum ed to be superior to th e beasts of the field and the insects of th e earth , but we believe, n ev e r theless th a t th e hum an family can learn from some of th e various insects th a t cum ber th e e a rth . C onsider th is, please: A n idler is a hum an drone; d o n ’t attem pt to deny i t —he is! Do you, reader, know w hat the bees do w ith th e ir drones? H ard as it m ay appear to the d ro n es (th e id lers), they kill them . H ere is som e th in g for the w ould-be idler to ponder. It is appalling, we adm it. T h e bee family is not alone in th e insect world in the m atter of individual in d u stry an d effort. T he ant is ju s t as w onderful and is a lesson in in d u strio u s effort for all of us. AU th ro u g h n atu re in d u stry on the part of bird and beast is necessary for creatu re life. Man is sm arter th an all of the dum b creatures of earth, but some men and women, boys and girls, have acquired a false idea or tw o in th e m atter of existence and the how by w hich they are to exist. T h e old Mosaic law of “ an eye for an eye and a tooth fo ra to o th ’’ m ight with justice apply to ou r arm y of idlers. In fact, those who produce n o th in g should receive n o th ing. On th is basis th ere could be no ju s t com plaint in o u r opinion. W h at rig h t has anybody to stretch fo rth his hand and sn atch bread from the hand of a n o th er— from the producer of th a t bread? In a sense, in effect, th is is virtu ally w hat the idler, the no n -p ro d u cer, does. Is this right? No! Ten th o u sand noes! L et our stu d e n ts at Cheinaw a give heed to these m atters, for they are im p o rtan t. Do not expect som e th in g for n o th in g . T his great school has been placed here by th e governm ent for your use. H ere you are given the o p p o rtu n ity to get an education; you are ta u g h t, fed, clothed, doctored when sick, etc., by the go v ern m en t free of all charge to you. W hat is th e g reat idea back of all this? It certain ly is not the de velopm ent of a horde of idlers—ju st the opposite, in fact. T he g overnm ent (th e people) w ant no idlers, no drones, it does not wish to expend m illions in th eir pro p ag a tion year after year. T h e object of Chem aw a, the same as other great schools, is to create a state of m ind th at will spell d eath for idlers— for drones.
