The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-11-22
4 SERMON on SUCCESS.

4 SERMON ON SUCCESS.
Charles Dudley Warner in Harpers.)
They were talking in the s1fokiug-room
Of the Pullman recalling recolcctions
Of old neighbors and acquaintance. A
m0ng the takers were elderly men, pion-
Gers in western life I'm the days OF Lin
coins law practice, The chat ran upon
one Jim Hardy chat was not his name),
deceased, who had left considerable mon
ey behind. Jim was spoken Of with g
certain consideration, though every
speaker contributed some disparaging
touch to the pictures OF the departed. 1t
was curious about Jim. You wouldn't
have expected such man, q man so mean
as he was and with so little ability, to
amount to anything But he went into
the war, and got to he paymaster, and
he made something ont OF that. After
the war he went into politics, and he
made something out Of that. Nobody it
seemed would have trusted Jim with
heefsteak, cooked or uncooked, but some
how he was lucky, and he did first rate,
and he "got there" | waited to hear Of
some good trait or quality IN Jim, but
ward any.
Well" remarked the judge, with the
slow dpliberation of one summing up
the whole case Jim Hardy made sue
cess of it | never thought he would.
This. was accepted as a just verdict.
The man was successful And yet !
could not but think that if Jim Hardy
could have heard what these acquaint-
ances said Of him, and have realized
what sort Of reputation he had left be-
hind, he would have doubted whether his
life had been Il success. From what |
heard Of him it seemed tQ me that Jim
in his mortal life of SUCCESS had been
kept pretty busy in lodging the law.
This train Of thought led me to try to
understand what this particular Ameri-
can idea Of success" is. which seemed
to the Pullman car jury to round out
career with some applause. As near as |
can make it out, it is the ability to keep
ont or Jail
This ability, which is no mean one,
accounts for some Of the big fOrtt mes
made in this country The unscrpulous
men who have made these successes,
however, should not have all the credit
for them. In most cases they would have
got into difficulties if they had not had
able counsel But they have been wise
enough to hire keen lawyers who could
tell them Just how far they could go and
keep within the statute law. There is
safety ia this 4 burglar has no such
aid No lawyer can or will tell him how
he can crack a safe legally and not run
the risk Of jail But if Il man has
mind to steal raiiraod, or to wreck
some corporation, some bank or Insur-
ance company and 're-organize' the
substance out Of the them, he must usually
20 10 a lawyer to contriye for him how
he can do it and not commit felony. Or
ii he has got into an Operation" that
begins TO looks as if it would involve him
in personal danger he needs the aid Of
lawyer who understands the intricacles
OF iudicial procedure For all moralsts
agree that an operation, however big and
brilliant, it is, that lands a man IN state
prison. does not make him success
full" man. No; it is as clear as PRINT that
the sort Of success which is common, and
which dazzles the eyes of multtudes, and
apologies in private talk and in the news
papers for so much, consists in getting
lot of money and keeling out of Jail. Leay-
ing q good reputation does not enter into
4
the calculation.
1t is amazing, when you think of it,
how this idea of success got around IN
the world. Jim Hardy must know now,
if he knows anything, and the other Jims
who were much more successful than he,
that their lives were failures. There
are no real mourners for such men, ex-
cept the few whose income may be inn
paired by their departure. knew man
who never made any money beyond de-
cent salary, who was a teacher, and
great moral and cheerful force in the
community, whose death was mourned by
the whole city, and is still regretted after
the lapse of many years Lis life is still
an inspiration to honorable endeayor
and right living, and yet / never heard
that he was successful. Only this, every
body respected and loved him. ! some
times wonder if these men who have got
great fortunes and high political posi-
tions hy smartness and trickery and be-
travail Of friends, whose names are al
ways In the newspapers, whose every
movement is chronicled, and whose every
saying il quoted far and wide, know how
little real respect is felt for them. But
this reminiscence Of travel Is rising into
sermon, and my only apology for it is
that ii was begot by the sympathy of
stranger for the fate Of Jim Hardy.