The railroad has compelled us all to live fast. The pace of the
locomotive kills. Everywhere we see among our people an alarming
increase of serious diseases. People become anxious, irritable,
nervous and hurried. Something snaps, and the end comes quickly.
As an evidence that this intensity of experience is harmful, we
may notice the rapidly shortening hours of labor, the increase
of holidays, the lengthening of vacations, and the disposition
among the city people to spend more and more time in the country
during the summer. All these are defenses against the wear and
tear of city life--why? Because people and things can be moved
so fast that all business moves faster and faster, and for such
a killing pace we must have the relief of more rest and longer
vacations. The railroad has in all these directions changed our
social and business life so that we lead wholly different lives
from all the men who have gone before. On the other hand, it has
been of very great mental benefit. It is said that insanity was
at one time very common among farmers. The dulness and stupidity
of their lives drove them into mental collapse. The railroad now
brings the town to the farm, the city paper comes to the rural
fireside, and trips to town are cheap and easy. The appalling
monotony of country life is quickened by the rush of the train
through the quiet valleys and life seems more worth living,
because more interesting. Balancing one thing against another
we must conclude that there is a gain in all this.--CHARLES
BARNARD, _The Chautauquan_.
(1067)
=Fastidiousness=--See COOLNESS IN DANGER.