The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1885-02-06
EXCELLENCE.

One OF the rOunueSG, biggest, n OSG
aristocratic words in the language is
the word excellent. 1t is areal king of
words. To say that thing is excellent.
is to say more than very good; it is not
only very good, but it excels.
Now every man, woman or child
worthy the name, desires to excel in
something and this desire is the very
salt of ambitions. 1t preserves ana
adds piquancy to all other manly at
tributes. Still, salt must be used with
very much discretion. Do you know
that we all have certain sympathy for
any one, no matter who he is, who
strives to excel in, no matter what?
Thus ase-ball men, the bicyclists and
the roller skaters -as experts always
awake in me a certain admiration.
Here Is something, say they, in which l
can excel, here is room for me, place
and opportunity, and they take advan-
tage of it. | wish these young men
could have higher more laudable
ambition-some time they may have
at present, however, they seek to
excel in what offers. L had rather see
my boy excel in legs, if he could notin
brains. Better be first in baseball than
second in your line of work.
The world is oyerrun by men of me-
diocrity-fair teachers, fair clerks, fair
book-keepers, can be had by the ten
thousand, while expert men who excel
in these callings are rare, and can
scarcely be had at any price.
I was sympathizing with q young
man who had lost his position by
change of business in his house. : Il
have had four positions offered me at
larger salary" he replied. just think
of it, four large houses desiring the
services of one young man scarcely of
age. / doubt not you know OF such
young men.
How rare it is to see q young man do
his work better than he is paid for, to
keep his books not only correctly, but
neatly and legibly, to do up his bundles
nicely, or keep his goods in nice shape;
or, in word, to do anything better
than is expected OF HIM.
A young man is cautioned by the
home folks to save and lay up his earn
ings nine times, when he is once advised
to keep ahead in his standing, or tech
nical reputation. To hear young men
talk you would think that salary was
the one and only object for which they
worked. Business knowledge, or pro-
fessional standing or technical accom-
plishments they care nothing about
but ''what wages be I gettin'. "
Now did it ever occur to you that
what appears to be the primary consid-
grafton with a clerk, is secondary with
his employer? Salaries are graded ac-
cording to work. [ fancy Ihear hun
dred young men jump up and say:
"Not with us, they amt" I reply,
Of course not, you are hired only to
take the places for which good men can
not be found, but when the right man
comes he will fix his own salary, and
you will be bounced.
Said wholesale man to me: ''We
had rather have one man than two, and
give him all the salary, but we can't
find them" Said President - of the
- Railroad, to me: Il tell my Super
inteudents to get young men for brake
men that we can push along up"
find, however, on that, as on other
roads, where you see one young man to
push up, you see nine scrawny, big
mouthed, impudent lNafers at the
brakes His Superintendent are eyi-
IDENTIFY unable to find the right kind OF
men.
| advise, then, every young man who
lis unappreciated, and is paid only half
he earns, to throw up his place at once;
his services are wanted all up and down
the street; but be sure what you do.
An insurance man once told me his
company made him work on a salary,
for when he worked on commission he
earned too much; it scared them. A
few weeks after he was peddling
lightning-rods on commissions; he found
a company with nerve enough to stand
the racket of his sales. OF course in
certain houses young men are over
worked and underpaid in many in
stances. A young man of this sort
asked for an increase of salary. When
it was refused him his mean employer
saw with delight that instead of getting
dumpy over it he went to work with
new zeal and energy. Again refusal,
and again more zeal and work, and
again and again, which only fixed the
merchant in the belief that the smaller
the salary the more work. At the end
of three years he went to his employer
and said he was going to leave. Mop
said his employer, II was going to
raise your salary the next month. " The
young man went, and took with him
the best clerks, that for those years he
had been drilling, and set up for him
self next door, and in two years bought
his employers stock at forced sale. An
exceptional case? OF course it was ex-
.ceptional Such young men are rare,
but you see how it was done. He was
working for larger salary than his
present salary. He worked to excel.
. A young man on small salary has
more incentive to work than ne of large
pay, A well-paid man can afford to be
indolent; not SO a man who can barely
make ends meet.
You say it is hard to excel nowadays,
with so much competition. Hard! You
are right, my boy, and hard is a light
word. There is no road so rough, hard
and discouraging as the road to excel
lence, and one requires nerve to tread
it. And be assured that you will not
be crowded or jostled
But it is often said excellence in a clerk
is unappreciated. Possibly, then, here
come in sef-pride and self-respect. The
dissatisfaction of excellence is well
worth while. A young man found him
self behind a dry-goods counter, and
being man or pride and self-respect.
he chafed at being called a mere count
er-jumper. Sohe cut his hair off short, and
bought magnifying glass for seventy
five cents, and went to work to magnify
his calling. In two years time he
passed from a $40 clerkship to a $1,000
expert and the New York buyer for the
house. Pride and self-respect have a
market value. This is another excep-
ltional case. Young men oftener take
pocket looking-glasses than magnifying
glasses into a dry-goods store. To test
this, go up and down the store and ask,
not only clerks but employers, questions
Involving the textures of goods sold,
and see how little excellence there is in