Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 85, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 April 1914 — DOUBT OLD ADAGE [ARTICLE]

DOUBT OLD ADAGE

Do Early Risers Become Healthy, Wealthy and Wise? ■-—t——, Comparison Between the Agricultural Laborer and the Man Engaged In Legislation by Writer in Loo don Publication. London. —It almost seems as if there ought to be a society to protect us from the effect of the old adages. Most of us, fop Instance, have been taught that: Early to bed and early to rise. Makes a man healthy, wealthy arid wise. But is this really true nowadays? In times gone by, when artificial light had not been Invented —or was, too costly for general use—it is easy to understand that those people who got up at sunrise made the best bargain, because they got their lighting practically free of charge. 'Besides, this adage, like many others of its kind, was born amid agricultural communities, where economy of daylight is and must always be one of the secrets of making money. Nowadays, however, Arnold Goldsworthy writes In London Answers, most people live and work in towns, and their work is often done—sometimes necessarily done —by artificial light. It does not make any difference to your wages whether your work is done by daylight or by the glare of a jet of gas. Therefore, unless you, are engaged in the agricultural business, early rising will certainly not make you any wealthier. Will it make you any healthier? It IS doubtful. Most people have an idea that they ought to get up early In the morning. Nevertheless, they very rarely do It It may be that It Is more natural to rise with the lark, but we have been living on an artificial system for so many generations now that our .constitutions are getting used to the change. Who are the people who get up early in the morning, nowadays? Do they represent the “wealthy and Wise” of the population? Hardly. The early risers are usually the “hands” who 'have to be at their job early In the morning. Wealthy people do not as a rule Commence business before ten o’clock in' 1 the morning; and if they had to be up early in order to be wealthy, half the b? 8 offices in the city would be., poverty stricken tomorrow. Then, does early rising really make people “wise’’? Probably the earliest ■risers in the country are the agricultural laborers; but we do not usually hold this estimable class of men up as samples of our national wisdom. On the other hand, some of the keenest Intellects "of our times are to be found among our legislators, who begin business About noon, and are rarely able to get to bed till the small hours of the morning. Of course, if you have to get up early in the morning because your business compels you do so, it is no use argufng about the matter. But if, .you have the option of that extra hpur’s rest you need not get the idea into jjour head that it is a crime to yield to the very pleasant instinct for a little more sleep. After all, nature is not a bad guide when she talks to us individually. It may be very brave and Spartanltke to spring out of bed at five in the niornlng. But because that is what your grandpa used to dp, it doesn’t follow that it is going to do your nervous system any good as the years roll by.