We have recently been hearing much maudlin sympathy expressed for the “downtrodden denizens of the sweat-shop” and the “homeless wanderer searching for honest employment”，and with it all often go many hard words for the men in power.
Nothing is said about the employer who grows old before his time in a vain attempt to get frowsy never-do-wells to do intelligent work；and his long， patient striving after “help” that does nothing but loaf when his back is turned.
In every store and factory there is a constant weeding-out process going on. The employer is constantly sending away “help” that have shown their incapacity to further the interests of the business，and others are being taken on. No matter how good times are，this sorting continues：only，if times are hard and work is scarce，the sorting is done finer－but out and forever out the incompetent and unworthy go. It is the survival of the fittest. Self-interest prompts every employer to keep the best—those who can carry a message to Garcia.
I know one man of really brilliant parts who has not the ability to manage a business of his own，and yet who is absolutely worthless to anyone else，because he carries with him constantly the insane suspicion that his employer is oppressing，or intending to oppress him. He cannot give orders， and he will not receive them. Should a message be given him to take to Garcia，his answer would probably be， “Take it yourself！”
Tonight this man walks the streets looking for work，the wind whistling through his threadbare coat. No one who knows him dare employ him，for he is a regular firebrand of discontent. He is impervious to reason，and the only thing that can impress him is the toe of a thick-soled Number Nine boot.
Of course I know that one so morally deformed is no less to be pitied than a physical cripple；but in our pitying， let us drop a tear，too，for the men who are striving to carry on a great enterprise，whose working hours are not limited by the whistle，and whose hair is fast turning white through the struggle to hold in line dowdy， indifference，slipshod， imbecility，and the heartless ingratitude which，but for their enterprise，would be both hungry and homeless.
Have I put the matter too strongly？ Possibly I have；but when all the world has gone a slumming， I wish to speak a word of sympathy for the man who succeeds－the man who，against great odds，has directed the efforts of others，and having succeeded，finds there’s nothing in it： nothing but bare board and clothes. I have carried a dinner pail and worked for day’s wages，and l have also been an employer of labor，and I know there is something to be said on both sides.
There is no excellence，per se，in poverty；rags are no recommendation；and all employers are not rapacious and high-handed，any more than all poor men are virtuous. My heart goes out to the man who does his work when the“boss”is away，as well as when he is at home. And the mail who，when given a letter for Garcia，quietly takes the missive，without asking any idiotic questions，and with no lurking intention of chucking it into the nearest sewer，or of doing aught else but deliver it，never gets“laid off” nor has to go on a strike for higher wages.
Civilization is one long anxious search for just such individuals.
Anything such a man asks shall be granted. He is wanted in every city，town and village—in every office，shop，store and factory. The world cries out for such： he is needed and needed badly－the man who can“Carry a Message to Garcia”.
So who will send a letter to Garcia？
Elbert Hubbard
1899
故事人物简介
安德鲁·罗文(1857～1943年)
美国陆军上校，生于弗吉尼亚州的门罗镇（现西弗吉尼亚州），1881年毕业于西点军校。在中美洲地区，他曾以武官的身份与军情局合作，完成了许多小规模军事任务。作为一个军人，他与陆军情报局一道完成了一项重要的军事任务——将信送给加西亚，被授予杰出军人十字勋章。
美西战争结束后，他先后在菲律宾群岛等地服役，还在堪萨斯州立农业大学教授过军事学和战术策略学。退役后，他在旧金山度过了余生。
罗文的事迹通过《致加西亚的信》这本小册子传遍了全世界，并成为敬业、服从、勤奋、主动的象征。
卡利斯托·加西亚·伊尼格斯(1836～1898年)
加西亚是古巴革命家，古巴反对西班牙统治的起义领袖。直到1878年年底，由于他的起义活动，他被逮捕并一直关在监狱里。释放后不久又再次被捕。1895年，他到过美国。不久，在古巴美西战争中发挥重要作用，尤其是在埃尔坎尼。1898年，他作为古巴一个委员会的成员赴华盛顿与美国总统麦金莱讨论古巴事务。同年，他在华盛顿去世。阿尔伯特·哈伯德鼓舞人心的文章《致加西亚的信》发表后，加西亚的名字在美国家喻户晓。
威廉·麦金莱(1843～1901年)
美国第24任和第25任总统。1843年1月29日生于美国俄亥俄州奈尔斯市一个小工厂主家庭，南北战争时，年仅18岁的他应征入伍；1866年，他以少校军衔退役。退役后的麦金莱开始钻研法律，成了一名律师并积极参与地方的政治活动。1891年，麦金莱出任俄亥俄州州长。1896年，麦金莱被共和党提名为总统候选人，并在竞选中获胜。麦金莱任总统期间，大力振兴经济，使美国的经济有了很大起色，从而获得了“繁荣总统”的美誉。
麦金莱总统在任期间还发动了美西战争。这次战争使美国在古巴圣地亚哥海港外重创了西班牙舰队，摧毁了西班牙海军力量。在和谈中，美国还夺取了原本属于西班牙的古巴、波多黎各、菲律宾、关岛，并且吞并了夏威夷。《致加西亚的信》所描述的就是美西战争时的故事。
1900年，麦金莱以前所未有的票数赢得了总统大选，不幸的是，1901年9月15日，总统威廉·麦金莱遇刺身亡。