The Pen is Mightier than the " Saw."

Manawatu Herald, 18 June 1898, Page 2

The Pen is Mightier than the " Saw."

Recently a junior clerkship examination, in connection with the Water and Sewerage Board, in Sydney, took place. Amongst other things the candidates had to write an essay. They were given three subjects to choose from, one being " The pen is mightier than the sword." But one bright youth was unacquainted with this wise saw, and when the examiner called it out he wrote "The pen is mightier than the saw." Here is his essay:— " A pen is mightier than the saw. A pen is much better in every way than the saw; the pen is much easier to use than a saw. In the first place, for instance, a man sitting in an office using his pen all day is by far better than a man out in the sun and rain using a saw. The pen requires much more art than the saw, a man with a saw has to exert himself a great deal. Is it not better to go to school and learn to write than to stay about the streets and not go to school ? When it is time for a boy to go to work, then is the time that you are sorry you never went to school ; he goes out to look for work, and he cannot write, and he has to go and do hard work with the saw. If you go into an office* and see a young fellow writing you feel very dishartened that you have to go out into the rain and saw wood to build a house. The pen is a very use* f ul article. If you put the two together, the pen and the saw, you find that the pen is by far the better. A man with a pen earns much more money than a man with a saw. It requires much more brains and care to use a pen than a saw. Therefore, for my part, I think that the pen is a great deal better than the saw."