STORIES OF

THE DAY'S WORK

COMPILED AND EDITED BY

ROY DAVIS

PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH, College OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY

COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY GINN AND COMPANY

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

423.12

606494

The Athenæum Press

GINN AND COMPANY PRO-
PRIETORS BOSTON U.S.A.

PREFACE

Aim of the book. The present text is the outcome of several years' work in which the authors have examined most of the available literature that deals directly or indirectly with the industrial field. All the selections and exercises have been tested in the laboratory of the schoolroom and have been finally admitted because they are in line with the primary aim of the book. This aim is to bring together material that will interest and inspire the student. At the same time, if the teacher so chooses, the book may be used for extended work in English, as the text gives abundant opportunity for study in the classroom and at home.

It is believed that the book will find acceptance not only in technical, industrial, commercial, and junior high schools but also in vocational schools, night schools, and in upper grades of grammar schools. The book is also likely to meet a long-felt need in certain courses in many schools of the ordinary type. The fundamental ideas of the text have been heartily approved by so many teachers with widely diverging duties that the authors have confidence that teachers and pupils of all high schools will find in it a fresh and stimulating viewpoint.

That this viewpoint should be taken the authors do not feel called upon to demonstrate. It has long been conceded by most thoughtful teachers. The nature of the departure is, however, of such vital importance that it should be carefully outlined to avoid possible misconception at the outset.

Not a technical reader. There has been no attempt to produce a reader dealing with industrial or commercial subjects in a technical way. This is the one thing which the book most emphatically is not. A technical reader would sacrifice almost all the ethical, moral, and cultural considerations which give the study of English its greatest value.

None of these considerations have been sacrificed. The cultural appeal is strong, the moral tone is high, and the ethics of everyday living is emphasized in a way that makes the book unique.

The selections. The selections are taken from the works of well-known authors and deal with modern conditions in a way that is always within the comprehension of boys and girls. While these selections are, for the most part, industrial in character, they cover a wide range of the inspirational aspects of work, emphasizing above everything else the true dignity of all honorable labor. They are replete with action and human interest and have been found to hold closely the attention of all pupils. They cannot fail to stimulate thought and arouse ambition. They emphasize the importance of adequate preparation for life and the high standards of character needed for

success.

The plan of study. Exercises upon most of the selections have been prepared in accordance with the following plan:

1. A list of words for careful study (placed at the close of the volume).

2. A list of subjects for themes and talks (one in outline).

3. Questions for class discussion or debate.

4. Lists of books for collateral reading.

5. Exercises on the context. These are partly for individual assignment.

6. Supplementary lists of collateral reading and subjects for themes and talks.

The book as a whole is not and could not be even approximately exhaustive. The selections are indicative of a kind of material that may be used effectively in almost every school. The supplementary lists indicate where additional selections may be found, and the exercises give a viewpoint from which the teacher may see an inexhaustible field of interest and value to the pupils. In some instances where the nature of a selection makes exercises inadvisable they have been omitted, and in other instances it has seemed best that the teacher should supply such additional work as is fitting from the supplementary lists at the close of the book.

It is almost impossible for the authors to express adequately their indebtedness to Mr. Clarence H. Lingham of Ginn and Company; Mr. Everett L. Getchell, Secretary of the College of Business Administration, Boston University; and H. Warren Foss, Headmaster of the Kelley School, Cambridge. These gentlemen have not only chosen a number of the selections and passed judgment on them all but have also prepared many of the exercises.

The authors are also greatly indebted to the following publishers and writers, whose generosity in permitting the use of copyrighted material has made the existence of the book possible: The Roycrofters for selections from "A Message to Garcia," by Elbert Hubbard; Collier's Weekly and Mr. James Francis Dwyer for "The Citizen"; Doubleday, Page & Company and Gene Stratton Porter for selections from "A Girl of the Limberlost"; Fleming H.