Keep off the Wire.
There is a big fire down town, and instantly the telephone exchange is swamped with inquiries, most of them merely aimless and curious. Just at that time the firemen, police, ambulance men, and possibly the soldiers, need an unobstructed telephone service.
Perhaps there is a terrible explosion. Perhaps there is a riot. Perhaps there is an earthquake or a tornado. Keep off the wire, unless you have urgent and necessary business with it. Save the wire for the authorities, for the instrumentalities of order and rescue.
Yes, and when someone is very sick, do not annoy and distract the doctor and nurse with your chatter. Keep off the wire.
And when there is a quarrel between two families, do not increase the trouble with gossip. Keep off the wire.
And when the city or State or nation is meeting a severe emergency, do not sit down and inflict a letter upon the mayor or governor or President. Keep off the wire.
You may be a perfect Solomon, but even Solomon sometimes best showed his wisdom by keeping still.
Only a Rat.
It was on the Great Northern and City Railway, running out of London. Many thousands of passengers are carried by this line into the world's metropolis. It is a new line, but it worked smoothly, without a hitch, until, one day, it was tied up for thirty minutes.
Everything came to a standstill. Passengers fumed. Conductors wondered and fretted. They could get no signal to go ahead and had to hold their trains stationary. There was lively telegraphing and telephoning, but all to no purpose.
At last the trouble was located, and what do you think it was? At Moor-gate Street Station a rat had gnawed the insulating layer off the signal cable! Probably the inquisitive rodent got a severe shock, as inquisitive folk are likely to. At any rate, the place was patched up, the leak in the subtle electricity was stopped, the signals began to work, the trains began to move, brows smoothed out, and the trouble was over.
But it had cost thirty minutes, multiplied by no one knows how many people. And all because of a rat's teeth.
Moral: Don't meddle.
Moral No. 2: Mischief runs far from the starting-point.
More Moral: Watch the little things.
Moral to End With: When your part of the world goes wrong, don't jump to the conclusion that the universe is out of joint; it's probably only a rat.