The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1894-02-24
THE FUTILE MAN.
A Definition of q Certain Kind of
of Bore.

Americans stationed in London.
There Is mother very exasperating
kind of man who steals what Is more
valuable than money, and that is time.
l. call this brand of individual THE Flu,
tile Man" You can do nothing for
him, or with him. He is hopeless, and
the law does not allow you 10 kill him.
My experience shows me that there
is a kind of man with a wabbly brain
who doesn't know quite what God pu,
him in this world for.
When you ask him what he can do,
as he has applied to you for some sort
of a situation, he answers, quite cheer.
fully: 'Oh! ] can turn my hand TO nj.
most anything"
Now, ! want to state right here, to
the boys and to the young men who dc
me the honor of reading what l write,
that the man who can do everything is
not worth a cent. There is no place
foe him on this earth, and the earth
does not need him.
My advice to boys is this: Make up
your minds not TO do everything, but
to do one thing, and hat thing partic.
ularly well. This is an age of special
lists. The man who can dig a ditch, the
man who al plane n board, the man
who can lay one brick on another, or
the man who can compose an opera, Is
the man who is needed. and who will
get along In this world.
The futile mar is willing and ready
TO turn his hand to anything. and CON
scqucntly he INT up and bothers me
and other busy men to find something
for him to do.
One pathetic fact about the futile
man is his willingness to work. His
nebulous brain. however, has never
taught him the stern fact that he must
do some one thing well and not fool
away his time doing everything badly.
Then he must storm the citadcls where
that particular thing is being done un-
til he gets it to do, and, when he has
got his situation, he must do his work
50 well that his employer cannot afford
to do without him.
give here a conversation which has
no particular point to it and whose
only merit is that it is 4 fair specimen
of some hundreds like it that I have
taken part in.
My office boy brought in to me the
other day the lard of a man whose
name | had a dim recollection of hay-
ing seen somewhere before. There
was a vague something away back in
my mind, as If ] had read a book by q
man of that name, but as | had useless
ly lost so much time of late in seeing
people, / said to the boy:
Ask him what he wants."
"He refuses to say what his business
is" answered the boy.
VERY well, go and tell him that he
must say what his business is before !
will see him"
After a few moments the boy re-
turned, saying: 'IIe says ne knows
You, but that perhaps you won't re-
member him. lie says he's from Amer
lea
.oh, very we'll, them" / said, show
him in"
The moment he came in l remem-
bered him. Some three months before
he had called on me and wasted the
best part of an afternoon while | ex-
planned to him hat 1 had no situation
TO give him and l did not know anyone
who wanted n handy man who could do
everything.
lie placed his hat on 4 table, his UNI
brella in a corner and greeted me with
great cordially. A happy, optimistic
air pervaded his manner toward me,
making one feel a cynical brute for not
being able to place him in a pleasant
and lucrative situation at ono
Il see that you do not remember me-"
he said.
''Oh! yes, / do" l replied. Have
you found a situation yet?'
NO, not yet; but | have two or three
people looking out for me, and | have
no doubt l will land on my feet yet all
right. You see there are so many
things | could do. I can do n little
shorthand, and have worked the type
writer n bit. | am a good salesman,
and understand three or four lines of
business. / can keep books, and under
stand banking. SO some of my friends,
/ have no doubt will soon place me. |
just dropped in o to see if you had
happened to hit on anything, anything
in the reporting line on some of the
dailies, for instance"
Il told you when you were here be- !
fore that ! don't know anybody con-
nccted with any daily in London, and
at the same time l Think that l venti-
lated my theory that no man car help |
any man but himself"
''Oh, yes" he replied cheerfully, but
q word in the right place often pnts n
man in 4 good situation. It's all Tom
my Rot to say that situations don't go
by favor"
They DON'T" replied.
We'll, I've knocked around the world
too much to believe that. There's
Blank. Now, couldn't you give me a
letter of introduction to him. He
mentioned a we'll known literary man
who had recently acquired a paper of
his own.
Il never give letters of introduction
to anybody. | never use 4 letter of
introduction myself. so I don't see why
] should inflict them on my friends
Besides, know that Blank has ten ap-
plications a day for situations, and
more than that when he has luck. All
the situations he has TO fill are filled, so
q letter will do You no good"
I'D be willing to try it." said the
young man; lit isn't much to write a
letter that may help a fellow, now is
it?"
Bat you forget that don't know
you at all. | can't conscientiously rec
a man that / know nothing