rs' sleep a day, is a good example of the
short, stocky type. While men of these types may make brilliant successes
in purely mental vocations, as the result of the development of their
intellects, and may keep themselves in a fair degree of health and
strength by games, exercise, mountain climbing, farming, or some such
avocation, they are, nevertheless, never quite so well satisfied as when
they have something to do which not only gives them opportunity for the
use of their intellects, but also involves a certain degree of physical
activity as a part of their regular work.

CHAPTER VII

SLAVES OF MACHINERY

To multitudes of men and women the lure of levers, cranks, wheels and
pinions is as seductive, as insidious, as heavenly in its promises, and as
hellish in its performances, as the opium habit. The craving for opium,
however, is an acquired taste, while the passion for machinery is born in
thousands. We have seen children, while yet in their baby-cabs, fascinated
by automobiles, sewing machines, and even little mechanical toys. We knew
a boy on a farm who built a fairly workable miniature threshing machine
with his own hands before he was old enough to speak the name of it in
anything but baby-talk. We have seen boys work in the broiling sun day
after day hoeing potatoes, pulling weeds, gathering crops, and doing other
hard jobs for small pay, carefully saving every penny to buy a toy steam
engine.

Parents usually look upon these evidences of mechanical ability with
pleasure. They regard them as sure indications of the vocation of the
child and oftentimes do everything in their power to encourage him in
these lines. They little realize, however, the supreme danger which
attaches to this very manifestation. Nor have they looked far enough ahead
to see what is, in so many cases, the lamentable result.

THE RESTLESS "MACHINE CRAZY" BOY

The boy of this type hates to sit quietly on a hard bench in a school and
study books. Some of the boys who went to school with us had imitation
levers and valve-handles fastened about their desks in an ingenious way,
and instead of studying, pretended that they were locomotive engineers.
With a careful eye upon the teacher, who was his semaphore, such a boy
would work the reverse lever, open and close the throttle, apply and
disengage the brakes, test the lubrication, and otherwise go through the
motions of running a locomotive with great seriousness and huge enjoyment.