West-Jersey pioneer., 1867-05-03
T. JONES YoRKE.

Our State and Country has given us MANY
instances of men who have risen to em;nence
from the purc force of charaster which thew
have developed, irrespective of any special
advantages of birth or education. The secret
by which they rise is not always well under
stood, the steps Of the ladder are hidden in a
mist from the eyes of the community and the
mountain tops they reach appear to CLEAN in a
sunlight that is inaccessible to the feet of the
ordinary traveller upon life's highway, vet an
acquaintance with those men through all the
history of their career OR the unveiling by them
of the secret by which they reached their emf
nence generally reveals the fact, that it was
simply by the devotion Of themselves, through
thick and thin, in rain and sunshine to any,
thing they undertook, that made them eventu.
ally conspicuous and assured to them the palm
OF success in any project in which they might
DC engaged. Among the prominent illustra-
tons of this fact in our own State is Judge
forke. Very few men occupy position
superior to him in the public estimation upon
this one point of successfully achieving what
ever he undertakes. Every look from his eve
and expression from his features tells you this.
They do not say that he will undertake pro-
ject you may wish bat they say that if he does
undertake it, it will be successful His iron
gray hair and whiskers impress you in the
same way. His calm firm step indicates eau
tious reliance and his voice seems to measure
out just words enough to accomplish his un-
dertaking, and no more than are needed for
this purpose. While member of Congress
this characteristic was eminently developed.
He would not ally himself with every project
that his friends might propose, but it was soon
seen that whatnvor he did ally himself with
was nearly sure to be successful. 1t was just
| SO again in the final triumph of the Railroad
enterprise for West Jersey. Years passed
after he united with its inception before it
gave forth many signs of development, he
was the same confident patient toiler and
worker through all those years, and while his
associates frequently became disheartened and
were half disposed to abandon the project, he
worked on with the same assurance of success
as if he already heard the locomotive whistle
blowing along the lines. Amid the perplexi-
ties which attend the elevated position Of Pres
ident of the road which recognition Of his
power has assigned him, the assurance of
success is stamped upon all his plans and ac-
complished in their results. Yet Judge Yorke
possessed probably fewer advantages than are
given to most men. The early age of twelve
fonnd him depending upon his own resources
and from that on through early manhood he
added the care and assistance of reIatives-
Yet in spite of this he rose steadily until for
years past he has been power in the state
The secret oft all is found in an expression of
his own ssWhatever I decided, after mature
thought, to do, gave my whole attention to
it till it was done.' This is probably the
greatest secret of his success and it is secret
accessible to any of our young men and if faith
fully carried out would make failure impossi-
BILE and success a certainty. We commend
the Judge as an example of our principle, to
the earnest consideration of young men who
are looking about them for principle upon
which to rest the law of their business life.