66 WE ARE ANTS UPON A MOUNTAIN, BUT WE'RE LEAVIN' OF OUR DENT, AN' OUR TEETH-MARKS BITIN' SCENERY, THEY WILL SHOW THE WAY WE WENT." -RUNYON MAKING AND BUILDING I raise a voice for far superber themes for poets and for art: To exalt the present and the real, To teach the average man the glory of his daily work To manual work for each and all, to plough, hoe, dig, I say I bring the Muse to-day and here, -WALT WHITMAN, MAN, A CREATOR The earliest men had no tools, no spears or knives, no bows and arrows, no sheep or horses or cattle. They had nothing to depend on but themselves and what nature gave them for food, clothing, and shelter. They did not know how to weave cloth, cook food, raise crops, or build fires. They lived in trees and caves, and ate the wild berries and seeds which they could find and the small animals which they could catch with their hands. Since that far-away time of helplessness, man has reached a position of power. Now the four corners of the earth minister to his wants, and the very forces of nature of which he used to be so fearful are his servants. This advance has been due largely to his skill as an inventor and a builder. From small beginnings like the stone hatchet, his inventions have grown until now his tools are of the finest steel; his factories hum with machinery of all kinds; the steam engine and the electric dynamo run his mills and move his trains. Man has won these triumphs only through constant struggle and by overcoming great difficulties. Few who carry watches, cross bridges, use telephones, and ride in automobiles or elevators know how these inventions came to be or how they work. Few have knowledge of the men who created them or of the victories by which they were won. And yet the stories and poems that deal with these themes are full of romance and wonder of a different sort, perhaps, but just as entertaining as are the tales of knights and ladies and castles in the brave days of old. |