Carrying A Message to Garcia

Last night’s Superbowl match-up had me nervous for the city of Philadelphia. Odds were strong – that regardless of who won or lost the game – Philadelphia would be erased from the map. Burnt to the ground by notoriously enthusiastic fans. And if the Ertz TD had somehow been reversed - I know for certain Philadelphia and all it's historical sites would be but a memory. The good news is, as of print this Monday morning – the Liberty Bell was still on Market St where it belongs. And there is the hope that mankind as a people has progressed in such a civilized fashion.

Early on in the game, both kickers made it painfully obvious that their box pools did not contain the traditional 0, 3, 4 & 7 that most people hope to get when they pony up their money. But whether your team won or lost – the game delivered some impressive stats: 1,151 total yards, 505 yards passing by a losing QB, and Nick Foles - the first ever player to both pass for and catch a TD in a Superbowl. I feel like we got our monies worth. 

On July 1st, 1993 – I reported to Induction Day at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD and the only thing sitting on my desk when I arrived with my boxes of military issued “stuff” was a roughly two-page essay written by Elbert Hubbard on February 22nd, 1899. It was titled “A Message to Garcia”. This essay was on every Midshipman’s desk incoming with the Class of 1997 - and 1987, and 1977, and so on going back to pre-World War I era from what we were told. It was our first order – read the essay multiple times and be able to converse about it with our upperclass plebe summer detailers. If you’ve never read – or even heard of this essay – you can find it here: https://www.benning.army.mil/infantry/199th/ocs/content/pdf/Message%20to%20Garcia.pdf

It was written quickly - actually in about one hours after supper one evening – and published in the March issuance of The Philistine. And then surprisingly, orders started coming in for the essay in reprint. American News Company ordered a thousand. Then the head of NY Central Railroad asked for a price on 100,000 in pamphlet form. But Hubbard and his company would need two years to fill the order in their small print shop - so reprint rights were granted and 500,000 were made with an advertisement on the back for the Empire State Express Line. The director of Russian Railways was in the US at this time and he took interest in it – so it was translated to Russian and given to every railroad employee in Russia. Other countries followed; Germany, France, Spain, Turkey, India (referred to in 1913 as Hindustan) and China. When war broke out between Russia and Japan, every Russian soldier sent to the front was given a copy. The Japanese – finding it on all their Russian prisoners, concluded that it must be a good thing and translated it as well. And on the order of the Mikado, a copy was given to every man in employ by the Japanese Government – whether soldier or civilian. And by 1913, over 40 million copies of “A Message to Garcia” had been printed – making it the largest circulation of any literary venture ever attained during the lifetime of the author.

Some of these statistics are debatable and extremely hard to corroborate – but that is ultimately irrelevant. "A Message to Garcia" is unarguably part of American history. In the Watergate tapes, Richard Nixon can be heard using “to carry a message to Garcia” in his conversations with Kissinger and Ehrlichman. Even the facts of the story - as delivered by Hubbard and often debatable as well - are ultimately irrelevant. The story is a timeless metaphor and has been an inspiration to now hundreds of millions. So while this essay turns 119 years old on Washington’s birthday later this month – it is still an extremely relevant story. The message is simple: When asked to perform a task, ask not How? Or Why? Or Wouldn’t it be better if…. ? Just do it – and you will become more valued and respected than you ever imagined possible.

The views expressed here are those of Rob Madden. They should not be construed as the views of Hartford Funds.