William Morris, alias Tipperary Bill, Hanged June 1859

William Morris is said to have been from Tipperary, Ireland. He supposedly arrived in San Francisco by way of Ireland, but some claim he was one of the last of the ex-convicts that Australia dumped on America's doorstep back in 1849. 

Of course, such tales being what they are, no one really knows if Morris did in fact belong to an Irish Gang in Boston before coming West, or if he arrived in California while running from the law for a murder that he committed in New York City. What people knew for sure is that William Morris, alias Tipperary Bill, was a man who found it easier to steal and rob, and kills, than to work for what he wanted. 

What sort of character was he? Some say he was flamboyant, someone who enjoyed playing the part of an Irish nobleman or poet. While he might have seen himself as being some sort of Irish nobility, most saw the ex-con and a con artist, as a petty thief, a known highwayman, and a murderer who took the lives of others without hesitation. Most knew he was of the lowest character. 

The San Francisco Evening Bulletin newspaper is said to have described him best when they wrote, "Morris is one of the most hardened wretches possible to conceive. He is one of the most desperate and apparently incorrigible criminals ever seen."

Even before Morris committed the murder that finally got him hanged, there was at least one story about William Morris published on September 27, 1858. That was when the Sacramento Daily Union newspaper ran the following story:

Murder -- On September 13th, a man named John Collins from Iowa Hill, Placer County, was killed by a man named William Morris, alias Tipperary Bill, who was recently pardoned out of the State Prison of California. It appears that the two had a quarrel which ended in an impromptu street "duel" when Collins fell mortally wounded. Five shots were interchanged between the parties.

Later, when Morris was finally hanged on June 10th, 1859, the newspapers reported that there were about one hundred observers in attendance, including reporters from several newspapers, all there to witness the execution of career criminal and murderer William Morris, alias Tipperary Bill. 

The following was reported by the Weekly Stockton Democrat newspaper a few days after his hanging:

HANGING of WM. MORRIS, alias TIPPERARY BILL -- William MORRIS was hung in San Francisco on Saturday, 10th inst., convicted of the murder of W.M. DOAKE.  The housetops surrounding the jail were covered with men, women, and children, to witness the execution. The officers cleared the housetops, but the heights overlooking the scene were covered with people. The last words he uttered, after kissing the crucifix, before the fatal noose was adjusted, were: "For all the sins I have ever committed, I pray God to forgive me; I forgive all who has wronged me; God be with you all, and pray God bless you all; good-bye."

While it is amazing how it didn't take long for William Morris to find religion while waiting for his appointment with the hangman, and yes that's exactly what did indeed happen, the story above was sent by telegraph to newspapers across the country. The following report also went out by telegraph to syndicated news agencies: 

San Francisco News — Execution of William Morris, alias Tlpperary Bill.  San Francisco, June 10th., About five hundred people congregated in and about the County Jail, today, to see the execution of William Morris, alias Tipperary Bill. There was very little excitement. At the appointed hour, 12 o'clock, the door which opens from the north side of the Jail gallery into the yard was opened, and the officers, with the criminal, accompanied by two Father Confessors, made their appearance and ascended the gallows. Officer Ellis read the warrant for the execution. After the reading was concluded, the prisoner, with a crucifix in hand, stepped forward, and, in a firm but mild voice, said: 

"Gentlemen: I wish it to be understood that I leave behind me no verbal or written statement of any part of my career. I am willing to offer my life to God, as a sacrifice for the part, and hope that it may be accepted. God be with you all and bless you. I forgive and desire to be forgiven by every person, and I ask your prayers for my forgiveness for all that is past."

Morris then stepped back, upon the drop, and, kneeling down, he repeated, with Father Peter, the Apostles' Creed, as received by the Roman Catholic Church. At the conclusion of this devotional exercise, he arose, shook hands with his spiritual advisers, and signified his readiness for death. He ascended the steps with no signs of trepidation. His was the firmest tread of the entire ascending company. 

When he arrived upon the platform, the Deputy Sheriff pinioned his arms, and the black cup was drawn over his eyes. At twenty minutes to one, Sheriff Doane unlatched the spring in the slide, and William Morris was hanging by the neck. The descent of the body was followed by a nervous straightening or stretch of the legs and a slight movement of the fingers. In less than one minute all perceptible movement, even of the slightest degree, had passed forever. 

At the expiration of twelve minutes, Dr. Ayers felt the pulse beating, but in three minutes more the blood had ceased to stir. At the end of half an hour, a plain cherry coffin was brought up the yard, and placed under the drop. In it was placed the body of the criminal. The cap was taken from his face when it was plainly discoverable that death had been caused instantly by the breaking of the neck and not by strangulation. The corpse had every appearance of that of a man who had died a natural death.

So what did William Morris, alias Tipperary Bill, finally do to reap the hangman's noose in San Francisco in June of 1859? Who did he murder in cold blood?

Well, on the 19th of November, 1858, a very angry William Morris walked into a saloon located on the Barbary Coast on Pacific Avenue between Kearny and Dupont. Two friends, Richard H. Doake (one source of five spelled his name Doak) and John Evans, had just walked into the same seedy saloon just moments before Morris. 

Both Doake and Evans watched as Morris walked in angry as all get out while looking for a certain woman. Morris is believed to have been looking for the woman who supposedly owned the place. It was almost midnight, and a saloon gal working there told Morris that the woman that he was looking for had left for the night. This made him even angrier and he became vulgar when talking to the saloon gal. 

That's when Richard Doake told Morris, "that's no way to talk to a woman." Doake was a sailor off of the three-masted bark Success. It's said the 23-year-old Doake was not a very big man, especially when compared to Morris who was described as being very tall and muscular -- an all-around big man. 

Evans saw an angry Morris turn toward Doake. Evans knew Morris was a dangerous man. And yes, it was then that Evans realizing the threat warned his friend Doake that Morris was carrying a pistol under his coat. Morris hearing Evans warning to his friend Doake didn't stop the 32-year-old Morris from challenging Doake to meet him outside in the street. With the challenge given, Morris is said to have calmly walked out of the saloon doors. Once outside, Morris called out that he was waiting. 

Evans and the saloon gal tried to convince Doake not to go outside, but he didn't listen to their good advice. It was when Doake went to the door to see if Morris was waiting as he said he would, that Morris stepped close and shot Doake in the neck -- right there at the door. 

Morris shot Doake before the young sailor ever passed through the doors and made it outside. The shot fired did not kill Richard Doake instantly. Doake staggered back, grabbed his neck, and fell. He actually lingered for a while before dying. Some say Morris held a gun on the people in the saloon to stop them from helping the dying young sailor. Once Doake was dead, Morris fled into the night -- leaving the Barbary Coast, San Francisco, and the man he murdered behind him. 

Alerted, the San Francisco Sheriff's deputies responded and started their hunt for Morris. A deputy's posse did not give up and after a few weeks, Morris was found and arrested across San Francisco Bay near the town of Benecia. Of course, as soon as he was arrested, he was put in chains and carted back to San Francisco. 

Once they were in the city, he was immediately taken to stand trial. Though he had been there before for other acts where no one stepped forward, this time witnesses came forth to say what they say when Morris murdered Richard Doake. The trial was short and the jury's decision was quick. And when the judge pronounced the sentence, that he would hang, it was reported that Morris jumped to his feet and angrily said, "Let it be soon!" 

Some say he may have regretted his request since the Sheriff put carpenters to work immediately to build a gallows to accommodate Morris's request. After that, it said Morris had a few weeks to listen to carpenters hammer and saw away while building the gallows erected right there on the grounds of the county jail. 

It was reported that he may have found religion and asked for a Catholic priest. Some said that he made his amends with God while waiting for the hangman. Of course, there were those who said that his making amends with God was just an act. They point to how he supposedly rehearsed his last words before he was hanged. Supposedly he practiced his last words as if they were the end of a stage performance and he was the star actor.

So, while Richard Doake had the misfortune of having words with a killer in a saloon on Pacific Avenue on the Barbary Coast, William Morris, alias Tipperary Bill, was convicted of murder in March of 1859 and ended up walking to the gallows in June of that same year. Believe it or not, it was a mere 90 days from the time Morris was captured to his meeting with the hangman. 

To many, it was justice served.

Tom Correa

Crime & Craziness In The News -- Part One

With rioters burning police patrol cars in Atlanta, and a series of mass shootings taking place around the country, including some in California by shooters who do not meet the profile of mass shooters, there's a silly notion going around these days that says our world has never seen such craziness as we are today.

 
Well, read some of the following news clippings. The news clippings below may assure you that crime and insane acts of people have always been with us.

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QUARREL LEADS TO KILLING

New Era, Humeston, Iowa, March 17, 1887

In a quarrel in Lawrence County, Ky., on March 9th, Samuel Smith, aged sixteen years, shot and killed Stephen Hammond and his wife and wounded their two small children. 

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LYING IN WAIT

Perry Chief, Perry, Iowa, Friday, September 30, 1887

William Thompson concealed himself near the house of A. J. Thompson and shot three members of the family, one of them fatally. The murderer also shot a school teacher. His victims were his own cousins. He has not been captured.

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DEMENTED WOMAN'S DEED
Newark Daily Advocate, Newark, Ohio, May 8, 1891

She Puts Arsenic in the Coffee Pot and Poisons the Entire Family 

Catlettsburg, Ky., May 8. - Mrs. George Carter, who resides with her husband, made a deseprate but unsuccessful attempt to poison her entire family with arsenic Monday night. For some time the woman has been in a very despondent mood, and her friends fear she is insane.

On the day mentioned she placed a quantity of arsenic in the coffee pot. After the family had partaken of the evening meal, all became seriously ill; medical assistance was summoned, and the woman told what she had done, adding she wanted to die but did not wish to leave her husband and two children. One of the children is expected to die.

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LYNCHED FOR THEIR CRIME
New Oxford Item, New Oxford, PA, Friday, May 20, 1892

Two colored men, named Finkley and Smith, who killed a boy without provocation, were captured and lynched.

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INSULTS HAVE CONSEQUENCES
Landmark, Statesville, N.C., Thursday, June 9, 1892

N. H. Matofsky, a traveling occultist, and J. Will Harman, a Cincinnati drummer, charged with making insulting remarks on the street to women of Louisa, Ky., were placed on a raft last week by the citizens of the town and sent adrift down the Ohio river. They were rotten-egged before they started.

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MOTHER ARRESTED FOR KILLING HER CHILD

Daily Herald, Delphos, Ohio, Saturday, April 18, 1896

The body of an infant was found in a spring near Louisa, Ky., yesterday with a rock tied around its neck. The verdict of the coroner's jury was that it was killed and placed there by its mother, Orpha Stanley, a widow with nine other children, who came here three weeks ago from Johnson county. Mrs. Stanley is in jail.

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A SAD GOODBYE

Freeborn County Standard, Albert Lea, Minnesota, August 31, 1898

Mrs. Nancy Wellman, who died at her home at the age of 95 years, was the mother of 16 children, 11 of whom were married. She had 88 grandchildren, 192 great-grandchildren, and 31 great-great-grandchildren. She also raised nine orphan children.

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EX-SOLDIER SHOT
Marion Daily Star, Marion, OH, March 3, 1899

Harry Price, a young lawyer of Catlettsburg, fatally shot Jerry Moningham, this morning, while on the steamer, Argand, seven miles below here. Moningham was the member of the First Kentucky volunteers who shot his captain R. S. Carr, at Ashland last week.

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RENEWED AN OLD QUARREL

Sandusky Daily Star, Ohio, Monday, February 25, 1901

Dick Vinson shot and killed William Thompson. On meeting, they renewed an old quarrel and Vinson opened the firing.

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SLEW THE MARSHAL
Mansfield News, Mansfield, Ohio, April 10, 1902

At Fallsburg, in this county, Ralph Marcum, Marshal of Fallsburg, was shot and instantly killed by George Cooksey, whom he was trying to arrest for some minor offense. After Cooksey shot Marcum, he was wounded by a man named Edward Webb, but it is not known how serious his wounds are. Cooksey returned from the Philippines War recently.

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BYSTANDER MORTALLY WOUNDED

Washington Post, Tuesday, April 30, 1907

Huntington, W.VA., April 28.- George Washabaugh, of Mount Pleasant, Pa., was shot and mortally wounded in Central City, a suburb, late this afternoon, by Edward Adkins, of Louisa, Ky. Adkins was intoxicated, and in being ejected from a saloon opened fire with a pistol at random on a crowd of bystanders, shooting Washabaugh. Adkins was arrested.

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TO PREVENT MOB VIOLENCE
Decatur Daily Review, Decatur, Illinois, Monday, August 31, 1908

Kentuckian, Who Caused Death of Two, Spirited Away

John Sprouse was brought here yesterday from near Cherokee to escape violence. He is accused of having set fire to the residence of Charles Cooper on Saturday, resulting in the destruction of property and the lives of two of the Cooper children. Cooper's wife and two children were seriously burned. Sprouse and Cooper had been engaged in a lawsuit over lumber.

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ROBBER ARRESTED

Washington Post, Washington, DC, Friday, December 31, 1909

Sam Crabtree was arrested at Kenova yesterday and charged with waylaying, assaulting, and robbing Charles Skiba, general manager of the Charleston sheet steel works at Huntington Tuesday night.

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SAFE ESCORT FOR WITNESS
Washington Post, Washington, D.C., June 12, 1910

Court Fears For Constable Who Appeared Against Vinson Gang

Charleston, W. Va., June 11. - The jury in the Federal court in the case of the Vinson gang of mountaineers, charged with conspiracy to prevent Federal Officers from making arrests, reported a failure to agree. The jury was discharged until Monday when they will again be sent back to consider the case. 

Judge Keller detailed a deputy marshal to accompany Constable Rowland Salmons, who was a government witness, back to the State line for fear that friends of the Vinson might attack him.

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BRIDE DRINKS ACID

Altoona Mirror, Altoona, PA, August 8, 1918

Honeymoon of Three Weeks Ended by Pathetic Suicide

Circleville, Ohio, Aug. 28. - Mrs. Mary Burton, while her husband was in Columbus, took a dose of carbolic acid and her body was found in the morning. She had hung a white card on the front door and left a long letter, the contents of which has not been given out. Mrs. Burton was married three weeks ago and was homesick and had no money. 

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GUN BATTLE FATAL

Kingsport Times, Tennessee, Tuesday, June 14, 1921

Huntington, W. VA., June 14 - Millard Meeks was killed and his brother Garfield and Deputy Don Cheek were seriously wounded in a gun battle at White House, Ky, today during a circus performance. Three men were wounded slightly. The fight started when the deputy sheriff attempted to place Meeks brothers under arrest on charges of disturbing the peace.

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DOG FINDS CAN OF GOLD

Washington Post, Washington, D.C., February 26, 1910

Following Whining, Digging Dog, to Find Can with $482 in Gold

Huntington, W. Va., Feb. 25. - A can containing $482 in gold was found by boys on their way home from school across the river from Huntington, in Lawrence County, Ky. The boys saw a dog digging away and whining at a hole under a deserted log cabin. They went over and found an old tin canister. It was full of gold coins, which it is believed had been there for more than 25 years.

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Miniature Hereford Cattle's Growing Popularity

About 10 years or so ago, I was contacted by a few readers who asked if I would research and write an article about Hereford cattle. I was told that it would be a help to some of their children who were in the 4H and FFA. It was then that I decided to do a few articles intended to be used mainly by youngsters involved in 4H and FFA. Frankly, I really liked the idea of researching different breeds of cattle to help 4H and FFA kids. The fact is that I love it when I see kids involved in that sort of thing. After all, being responsible and having to raise a critter builds responsibility, good self-esteem, and good character traits in youngsters. 

It's probably why youngsters living in rural America are brought up with a lot more respect for others and a better work ethic. They simply don't have the same problems as youngsters who live in urban areas. While that's a subject for an article all in itself, it's safe to brag and say that about ranch and farm kids without feeling like that's stretching the truth.

As for writing about Hereford Cattle, after I put out an article on the breed, I found myself writing, for all the same reasons, about different cattle breeds, breeds of horses, goats, sheep, and even pigs. And to be honest, when I first took on the task of writing an article on Hereford Cattle, the breed, I didn't think it would be that tough. Boy was I wrong! 

I figured to do the article on Herefords with the help of the various Cattle Industry and Agriculture University websites out there. I figured I'd use those websites as source material to supplement and support what I thought I already knew about the breed. Well, what I found out was that even after me helping move and work a lot of white face cattle during a lot of gatherings and brandings, I still found that there was a lot that I simply didn't know. 

Of course, my friends, as always, just proved that we can always learn something about what we thought we knew about. In that case, I learned a lot about the Hereford breed that I simply didn't know. And yes, as far as I'm concerned, that's the biggest benefit of doing research. Whether it's doing research about cattle, horses, firearms, or about moments and events in our history, there are things that I find that I didn't know -- and find fascinating. And that, well that makes the time and effort worth it. 

As for the bottom line of the article Hereford Cattle - The Icon of the Cattle Industry, I still believe that what I wrote back in 2013 remains true today. "Herefords have demonstrated they are high-quality beef cattle in every aspect. Most ranchers will agree that Herefords are tough as nails and can almost subsist on twigs and rocks because they are excellent foragers, while also being excellent mothers, and providing a consistently excellent eating experience for consumers." 

The full article can be found here: Hereford Cattle - The Icon of the Cattle Industry

Well, it wasn't too long ago that I was contacted by a reader from the Miniature Hereford Cattle of Illinois which is an organization that was created so that owners of Miniature Hereford Cattle in that state and other interested people would "have a central location to connect." 

Their website states, "The Miniature Hereford breed was developed by Rust and Roy Largent of Fort Davis, Texas in 1970. The Largents were going against the industry trend at the time for larger, taller cattle. Their goal was to develop an efficient, smaller beef cow through selective breeding.

Difficulties plagued their early attempts but in 1981 the first true Miniature Hereford bull was born. His name was LS REAL MT 3, and he is present in the genealogy of almost every Miniature Hereford alive today."

After exchanging emails, and doing my own research, I found that the interest in Miniature Hereford Cattle is growing in popularity all across America. This new information enabled me to edit my 2013 article on Hereford Cattle to include information about Miniature Herefords. While I did include that information in that article when I rewrote the article, I'm bringing this to your attention today because a few of you have written to say that they didn't realize that the original 2013 article on Herefords now includes information about Miniature Herefords. So, if you have not read it lately, here is the additional information on Miniature Hereford Cattle:

So now, here is something more about this breed. There are Miniature Herefords. To the uninformed, those who know very little about Miniature Herefords may see them as “great pets” that are somehow genetically defective or not equal to full-size Herefords. Well, they are wrong. A Miniature Hereford is a full-blood Hereford.

The distinction between the full-size Hereford and the Miniature Hereford cattle breed is that the Miniature Hereford is simply not as tall as the normal full-size Hereford that we find throughout our country. 

While ordinary Herefords are outstanding, Miniature Herefords have their advantages.

I’ve read that the “Purebred Miniature Herefords” are free of the dwarf gene and subsequently that’s why they are registered with the American Hereford Association (AHA). Yes, just the same as their larger counterparts. As for their bloodlines, their pedigrees within the American Hereford Association can be traced all the way back to when Hereford cattle first arrived in America.

Herefords have proven their hardiness time and time again, their incredible ability to adapt to any environment, and their ease of gaining weight to produce high-quality beef. Because of these superb traits, Herefords are treasured by cattle producers. Miniature Herefords are no different.

Because of their smaller size, Miniature Herefords are much easier to handle compared to large cattle. They require less space and Miniature Herefords are excellent for children because of their docile nature. And yes, this makes Miniature Herefords the perfect 4-H or FFA animal. And really, as most of us who have been involved with 4-H and FFA projects for children, we all know very well how such projects help instill a sense of responsibility, pride, and accomplishment in youngsters.

There are many reasons to choose a Miniature Hereford. They are small and compact. They mature quicker than their full-size counterparts. They eat 30-40% less than their full-size counterparts. They adapt to a variety of environments with varying conditions and temperatures. They really have a gentle disposition. Their dispositions make them easy to handle, especially for children taking part in 4-H and FFA. In reality, Miniature Herefords make great 4-H or FFA projects.

All of these are winning factors, especially since Miniature Herefords require less acreage and cost less to raise. The advantages of Miniature Herefords for more Americans today make them the perfect cost-efficient beef cattle to raise on smaller farms. And because more and more families on small family farms today are raising beef for themselves, Miniature Herefords sound like the perfect choice for American families with limited acreage.

As with the original article, the above information has been compiled from many sources. I hope you found it interesting and useful. And please, don't forget to visit Miniature Hereford Cattle of Illinois.

Tom Correa

The Cardinal Virtues — Courage 1902

Article below from The Cardinal Virtues, 1902

By William De Witt Hyde

Courage

If man were merely a mind, wisdom to see particular desires in the light of their permanent consequences to self, and justice to weigh the interests of self to the impartial scales of a due regard for the interests of others, would together sum up all virtue. Knowledge, in these two forms, would be virtue, as Socrates taught.

We feel, however, as well as know. Nature, for purposes of her own, has placed the premium of pleasure on the exercise of function, and attached the penalty of pain to both privation of such exercise on the one hand, and over-exertion on the other. Nature, too, has adjusted the scale of intensity of pleasures and pains to her own ends; placing the keenest rewards and the severest penalties on those appetites which, like nutrition and reproduction, are most essential to the survival of the individual and the race; thus enforcing by her rough process of natural selection a crude wisdom and justice of her own. 

Moreover, these premiums and penalties were adjusted to the needs of the race at a stage of evolution when scanty and precarious food supply and a high death rate, due to the combined inroads of war, famine, and pestilence, rendered nutrition and reproduction of vastly more relative urgency, in comparison with other interests, than they are to-day.

Pleasure and pain, therefore, though reliable guides in the life of an animal struggling for existence, are not reliable guides for men in times of artificial plenty and elaborate civilization. To follow the strongest appetites, to seek the intensest pleasures and shun the sharpest pains, is simply to revert to a lower stage of evolution, and live the life of a beast. Hence that combat of the moral nature with the cosmic process to which Mr. Huxley recently recalled our attention; or rather, that combat of man with himself which Paul and Augustine, Plato and Hegel, have more profoundly expressed. 

This fact that Nature’s premiums and penalties are distributed on an entirely different principle from that which wisdom and justice mark out for the civilized man renders it necessary for wisdom and justice to summon to their aid two subordinate virtues — courage and temperance: courage to endure the pains which the pursuit of wisdom and justice involves; temperance to cut off the pleasures which are inconsistent with the ends which wisdom and justice set before us.

The wide, permanent ends at which justice and wisdom aim often involve what is in itself, and for the present, disagreeable and painful. The acquisition of a competence involves hard work, when Nature calls for rest; the solution of a problem requires us to be wide awake, when Nature urges sleep; the advocacy of a reform involves unpopularity, when Nature suggests the advantages of having the good opinion of our fellows; the life of the country calls for the death of the soldier, when Nature bids him cling to life by running away.

Now, since we are not ascetics, we must admit that per se pleasure is preferable to pain. If it were a question between rest and work when weary, between sleep and waking when tired out, between popularity and unpopularity, between life and death, every sensible man would choose the first alternatives as a matter of course. Wisdom and justice, however, see the present and partial pain as part of a wider personal and social good, and order that the pain be endured. True courage, therefore, is simply the executor of the orders of wisdom and justice. 

The wise and just man, who knows what he wants, and is bound to get it at all costs, is the only man who can be truly brave. For the strength of one’s courage is simply the strength of the wise and just aims which he holds. All bravery not thus rooted and grounded in the vision of some larger end to be gained is mere bravado and bluster.

Of the many applications of courage, two of the simplest will suffice for illustration: the courage of space, to take the pains to keep things in order; and the courage of time, to be punctual, or even ahead of the hour, when a hard task has to be done.

Even if our life is a small, sheltered one, even if we have only our house or rooms to look after, things tend to get out of order, to pile themselves up in heaps, to get out of our reach and into each other’s way. To leave things in this chaos is both unwise and unjust; for it will trouble us in the future, and trouble the people who have to live with us. Yet it costs pain and effort to attack this chaos and subject it to order. 

Endurance of pain, in the name of wisdom and justice, to secure order for our own future comfort and the comfort of our family and friends, is courage. On the other hand, to leave things lying in confusion around us; to let alien forces come into our domain and encamp there in insolent defiance of ourselves and our friends, is a shameful confession that things are stronger than we. To be thus conquered by dead material things is as ignominious a defeat as can come to a man. 

The man who can be conquered by things is a coward in the strict ethical sense of the term; that is, he lacks the strength of will to bear the incidental pains which his personal and social interests put upon him.

The courage of time is punctuality. When there is a hard piece of work to be done, it is pleasanter far to sit at ease for the present, and put off the work. “The thousand nothings of the hour” claim our attention. The coward yields to “their stupefying power,” and the great task remains forever undone. 

The brave man brushes these conflicting claims into the background, stops his ears until the sirens’ voices are silent, stamps on his feelings as though they were snakes in his path, and does the thing now which ever after he will rejoice to have done. 

In these crowded modern days, the only man who “finds time” for great things is the man who takes it by violence from the thousands of petty, local temporary claims, and makes it serve the ends of wisdom and justice.

There are three places where one may draw the line for getting a piece of work done. One man draws it habitually a few minutes or hours or days after it is due. He is always in distress, and a nuisance to everybody else. There is no dignity in a life that is as perpetually behind its appointments as a tail is in the rear of a dog.

It is very risky — ethically speaking, it is cowardly — to draw the line at the exact date when the work is due; for then one is at the mercy of any accident or interruption that may overtake him at the end of his allotted time. If he is sick or a friend dies, or unforeseen complications arise, he is as bad off as the man who deliberately planned to be late, and almost as much to blame. 

For a man who leaves the possibility of accident and interruption out of account, and stakes the welfare of himself and of others on such miscalculation, is neither wise nor just; he is reckless rather than brave. Even if accidents do not come, he is walking on the perilous edge all the time; his work is done in a fever of haste and anxiety, injurious alike to the quality of the work and the health of the worker.

The man who puts the courage of punctuality into his work will draw the line for finishing a piece of work a safe period inside the time when it is actually due. If one forms the habit and sticks to it, it is no harder to have work done ten days, or at least one day, ahead of time than to finish it at the last allowable minute. Then, if anything happens, it does no harm. 

This habit will save literary workers an incalculable amount of anxiety and worry. And it is the wear and tear of worry and hurry, not the amount of calm, quiet work, that kills such men before their time.

I am aware that orderliness and punctuality are not usually regarded as forms of courage. But the essential element of all courage is in them — the power to face a disagreeable present in the interest of desirable permanent ends. They are far more important in modern life than the courage to face bears or bullets. They underlie the more spectacular forms of courage. 

The man who cannot reduce to order the things that are lying passively about him, and endure the petty pains incidental to doing hard things before the sheer lapse of time forces him to action, is not the man who will be calm and composed when angry mobs are howling about him, or who will go steadily on his way when greed and corruption, hypocrisy and hate, are arrayed to resist him. 

For, whether in the quiet of a study and the routine of an office or in the turmoil of a riot or a strike, true courage is the ready and steadfast acceptance of whatever pains are incidental to securing the personal and public ends that are at stake.

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About the Author: 

William De Witt Hyde was an American educator and academic administrator who served as the president of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, for thirty-two years, from 1885 to his death in 1917.

Born in Winchendon, Massachusetts, on September 23, 1858. Hyde graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1874, from Harvard University in 1879, and from Andover Theological Seminary in 1882. Ordained to the Congregational ministry in 1883, he was a pastor in Paterson, New Jersey, from then until 1885. Thereafter, he became president of Bowdoin College, also holding the position of chair of mental and moral philosophy at the College.

Americans Should Know Where Our Food Comes From

What I want for us in 2023 is not that much different than what I've wanted for years.

For many years, I've wanted our American agriculture industry to be free to grow and produce what we need without government interference. I grew up understanding that American farmers and ranchers fed the world with reliable, safe, sanitary, healthy food. We did so because our methods of ranching and farming reflected our concern with quality assurance. 

Of course, while quality assurance has meant safety controls and inspections which are the primary tools for American ranchers and farmers, Foreign Ag Importers don't have to adhere to such quality control guidelines or regulatory laws. In fact, according to the FDA, "the FDA is not authorized under the law to approve, certify, license, or otherwise sanction individual food importers, products, labels, or shipments." 

Please understand. According to the FDA, "Today more than 200 countries or territories and roughly 125,000 food facilities plus farms supply approximately 32 percent of the fresh vegetables, 55 percent of the fresh fruit, and 94 percent of the seafood that Americans consume annually." 

Yet, today, we import foods from other nations that have zero methods of inspection, and the risks of Americans becoming ill by way of consuming produce, meats, and seafood from other countries is a bigger problem than ever before. Actually, from what I've been told by friends in the medical field, more Americans than ever are experiencing illnesses caused by eating contaminated food imported from other countries. 

Foreign Importers "can import foods into the United States without prior sanction by FDA, as long as the facilities that produce, store, or otherwise handle the products are registered with FDA, and prior notice of incoming shipments is provided to FDA." Also, Foreign Imported "food products are subject to FDA inspection only when offered for import at U.S. ports of entry." 

In fact, while provisions of U.S. law say "importers of food products intended for introduction into U.S. interstate commerce are responsible for ensuring that the products are safe, sanitary, and labeled according to U.S. requirements, and all imported food is considered to be interstate commerce," none of the FDA inspection processes apply to imported agricultural products. 

The problem that I have with this is that the Federal Government is all for allowing uninspected, possibly unsanitary, and subsequently unsafe agricultural products into the United States from foreign countries. But to make matters worse, the FDA says that private American family farms and ranches are types of establishments that are considered "unapproved food sources." 

So while the FDA states "American consumers seek a safe, diverse, and abundant food supply that is simultaneously affordable and available throughout the year. To help meet these consumer demands, the United States imports about 15 percent of its overall food supply," the FDA also suggests food establishments should reject food from private American family farms and ranches. 

The FDA does that while acknowledging that Foreign Agriculture Importers don't have to adhere to U.S. laws regarding agricultural production, inspections, safety regulations, and sanitary requirements. The Federal Government does not, and cannot, hold Foreign Agriculture Importers to the same standards as American Agricultural Produces. 

This is spelled out by the FDA when they say, "importers of food products intended for introduction into U.S. interstate commerce are responsible for ensuring that the products are safe and sanitary." Reading this statement by the FDA, we can see that the Federal Government is "trusting" the unregulated agriculture producers in foreign countries to not do what American ag producers are forbidden from doing by law. And by the way, that trust is broken daily since we know that Foreign Ag Producers are not concerned with American laws -- including our laws forbidding the use of know carcinogens as pest control. 

The bottom line is that allowing the importation of unsafe and unsanitary foods into the United States is an example of Globalists trying to further globalize the agriculture marketplace -- even if it means placing Americans at great risk of illness and death. This is especially true in regard to the detriment of our children and our seniors because of sacrifices in food safety measures in most foreign countries. 

It is said that for American consumers, the primary advantages of imported agricultural products are the cheaper prices, availability, and of course variety. But, since millions of Americans get sick each year from non-existent food-safety standards and shabby at-best inspection regimes, the number one reason that we Americans should know where our food comes from is that foreign agriculture producers and those importers who deal with all sorts of countries, especially those unfriendly to the United States, simply don't have our safety in mind.

Tom Correa