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The special work to which I had been appointed at Fair View was the
school work; although my instructions given by Superintendent
Roberts on the eve of my departure for Africa gave full liberty to
evangelize as well as to teach. My manual read something like this:
"Do not be satisfied to be merely a school teacher. Be an
evangelist. Go out to the kraals, preaching as you go. Make the
salvation of souls your one and only business." -from "Chapter
XIII: My School" The missionary work of Westerners in Africa is
long and storied-here's another tale of the long-term attempts to
convert a continent. Privately published, this is one woman's
account of her Christian work in Zulu country, from her
childhood-she was born in 1863-on farms in Iowa and Kansas, where
she had a youthful brush with death that led to her conversion to
an active Christianity, to her return home after long years doing
the Lord's work. The time in between is fraught with culture shock:
her difficulties in learning the Zulu language, her disdain for
Zulu tradition and mythology, even a particular scorn for the food
she found unpalatable. Stolid and unbending, this is a curious
document of a less enlightened time, a firsthand look at the
mindset of a bygone time.
Aggressive voices promote minority special interests. Wealth is
concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. The middle class is under
siege. Giant corporations and big business threaten democracy
itself. Such was the state of the United States after the Civil
War, and if it sounds familiar, then it only underlines the
continuing relevance of Herbert Croly's The Promise of American
Life, first published in 1909. Croly saw an American culture
desperately fragmented, torn by the transformation from a rural,
agrarian economy to an urban, industrial one, and called for a
righting of societal and economic imbalances through collective
national efforts and strong government. President Teddy Roosevelt
backed his theories, which also influenced the shape and scope of
FDR's New Deal years later. But the historical import of Croly's
passionate and stirring manifesto on Progressive political belief
is overshadowed by its pertinence to the social and economic issues
facing Americans today. American journalist HERBERT CROLY
(1869-1930), one of the foremost political philosophers of the
early 20th century, helped found The New Republic magazine in 1914.
This candid essay by one of the nation's leading businessmen
originally appeared in American Magazine in November 1916. In it,
Charles Schwab, one-time president of Carnegie Steel, U.S. Steel,
and Bethlehem Steel, offered his secrets for success. Surprisingly,
he didn't believe that genius was required -- he believed in hard
work. "For thirty-six years I have been moving among workingmen in
what is now the biggest branch of American industry, the steel
business," Schwab wrote. "In that time it has been my good fortune
to watch most of the present leaders rise from the ranks, ascend
step by step to places of power. These men, I am convinced, are not
natural prodigies. They won out by using normal brains to think
beyond their manifest daily duty." Thanks to his appreciation of
devoted workers, Schwab placed the ability to succeed in any
employee's hands. More of Schwab's surprising insights are
contained in this fascinating look at the path to success, written
by one who traveled it. CHARLES M. SCHWAB (1862-1939) joined
Carnegie Steel in 1879 and became president when he was 35, working
closely with Andrew Carnegie. He sold the company to J.P. Morgan,
and became president of Morgan's new corporation, U.S. Steel.
Schwab later ran Bethlehem Steel, a company known for its
efficiency and competitiveness. During World War I, Schwab became
Director-General of the Emergency Fleet Corporation for the U.S.
government.
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