Show at one time in 1864 lincoln said 1 I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end when I 1 come to lay down the reins of power I 1 have lost every friend on earth I 1 shall at least have one friend left lef t and that friend shall be inside of me time has given proof to the sincerity sincee ity with which lincoln abided by that strong yet simple statement in the hands of one who is great it ib holds the key to eventual and lasting peace of mind in the hands of one less great it may hold the key to oppression permitting him to commit injustices as long as he is sustained by egotism but the egotist must sometime be humbled to dust and know remorse when conceit no longer upholds his every act in this fact lies the ultimate truth of lincous Lincol ns words applied to the lives of others when a life is brought to conformity with eternal principles of unselfishness and sincerity peace must eventually follow and seeming injustices wilt before the eyes of those who felt them we may haggle about other statements made by the great emancipator whose birthday we celebrate february 3 12 32 2 but but in the endee must accept them for the simple truths they contain in the american home and in the general walk of life character developed by scouting finds expression scouting is recognized as a preventative of ills resulting from wasted and misdirected energy DAILY the american people take good railroad service for granted they have been so long used to constant improvement improver rint in our basic transportation medium that they have lost sight of the fact that everyday every day the lines perform a 1 miracle of the f first magnitude for example last year the two million freight cars operated by american railroads traveled more than miles yet every minute of every day the location of every one of those cars is known and recorded by the railroads that is an inconceivably intricate job ob but it is accomplished without trouble or excitement other startling facts aarts are easy to find in the story of railroad operation the rails haul a ton of freight a mile for less than a cent out of every dollar they take in 45 cents goes to labor the school taxes they pay educate children a year you are safer on a railroad train than in your home railroad efficiency need argumentative support it is a clear cut undeniable fact and the lines record becomes all the more remark remarkable ablo when it is considered that they have not been able to earn even so modest a net profit a as 9 5 A per cent in any year since the war and carry heavy regu regulatory latori and legislative burdens that are not borne by their competitors peti tors the railroads provide one of the brightest chapters in the magnificent history of american industry |