Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1875-02-18
Room at the Top:

To the young lnen annually making
their entrance upon active life, with great
ambitions, conscious capacities and high
hopes, the prospect is, in ninety cas-
es in hundred, most perplcxing. They
see every avenue to prosperity thronged
with their superiors in experience, in So
cial advantages, and in the possessi' of
all the elements and conditions of sue
cess. Every post is occupied, every of
fec filled, every path crowded. Where
shall they find room? 1t is related of Mr..
Webster that when young lawyer sug-
gested to him that the profession to which
he had devoted himself was crowded, the
great man replied: Young man. there
is always room at the top" Never was
4 wiser or more truthful word said. There
undoubtedly is always room enough
where excellence lives Mr.. Webster was
not troubled for want of room. Mr.. Clay
and Mr4 calhoun were never crowded.
Mr.. Evcrts, Mr.. Cushing. and Mr.. O'Con-
nor have plenty or space around them.
Bcecher, Dr.. Storrs, Dr. Hall and Mr..
Phillip Brooks would never know, in
their personal experience. that it was
hard to obtain desirable ministerial
charge The profession Is not crowded
where they are. Dr.. Scquard, Dr.. Will
lard Parker, and Dr.. Hammond and are
not troubled for space for their elbows
When Nelaton died in Paris, he died like
Moses on mountain. When Won Gracfc
died in Berlin, he had no ncighbor at his
altitude.
1t is we'll, first. that all young men re-
mem Der that nothing will do them so
much injury as quick and easy success,
and that nothing will do them soNuch
good as !. struggle which teaches, then,
exactly what there is in them, cducates
them gradually to its use, ins'ructs them
| in personal economy, drills them into a
patient and persistent habit Of work, and
keeps them ut the foot Of the ladder until
! they become strong enough t. hold every
step they are enabled to gain. The first
years Of every mars business or protcs
sional life are years Of education. They
arc intended to be in the order Of nature
and Providence. Doors do not open to d
man until he is prepared to enter them
The man without a wedding garment
may get in surreptitious]y, but he immc
| RI ,fnlv in
We think 1t is the experience Of mos
successful men who have. watched the
course Of their lives in retrospect, thai
whenever they have arrived at Il point
where they are thoroughly prepared to g
up higher, the door to a higher place has
swung back Of itself, and they haye heart
the call to enter. The old die, or volun
tarily retire to rest. The best men wht
stand ready to take their places will sue
coed to their position and its honors ant
cmolamcnts.
The young men will say that only & few
can reach the top. That is true, but it i
also true that the further from the bottom
enc goes, the more scattering the neigh
bo:hcod. One can fancy the illustration
that every profession and every calm!
is pyran,idal in its living constituency
and that while only one man is at the to]
there arc several tiers of men below hin
who have plenty Of elbow room, and tha
it is only at the base that men are 81
thick that they pick the meat out OF or
another's teeth 10 keep them from starv
ing. II u man has no power to- get out o
the rabble ut the bottom, then he is self
convicted o? having chosen calling "
profession to whose duties he is not ad
apted.
The grand mistake that young mel
make, during the first ten years Of thei
business and professional life, is in idl,
waiting for their chance. They seem t.
forget, or do not know that during tina
ten year, they enjoy the only leisure the.
will ever have. After ten years, in tn
natural course Of things, they will be at
sorbinyly busy There will then be n
time for reading, culture, and study.
they do not become thoroughly grounde'
in the principles and practical details Q
profession during those ten ycars; if the,
do not store their minds with usefu
knowledge; If they do not pursue habit
ofr,ading a, I'd observation, and social il
tcrc,urse, which result in culture, tn
question whether they will ever rise t
occupy the place where there is rool
enough for them will be decided in til
negative. The young physicians an
young lawyers who sit idly in their oft
ces, and smoke and lounge away the tim
"waiting tor something to turn up,' ar
by that course fastening themselves fo
life to the lower stratum where their stru
gle for bar" livelihood is to be perpc
ual. The first len yea: s are golden year
+ that should be filed with systematic rea
ing and observation. Everything til;
tends to professional and personal exec
lence should DC an object of daily pursui
To such men the doors of success open {
themselves ut last. Work seeks the be-
/ hands, as naturally as water runs dow
hill, aud it never seeks the hand ofa tr
fler, or of one whose only recommend
ton for work is that he needs it. YoCn
men do not know very much any WA.
and the time always comes when the
look back with wonder upon their earl
good opinion Of their Requirements an
i themselves.
| There is another point that ought N
to be overlooked in the treatment of til
subject. Young men look about the
and see great w9easure of worldly su
cess awarded to men without principl
They see the trickster crowded with pu
lie honors, they see the swindler rollir
in wealth, they sec the sharp man, the
ar, the dcmagoguc, the timc-server, IL
trimmer, the scoundrcl who cunning
manages, though constantly disobeyir