The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1897-02-04
SUCCESS AND FAILURE.
SAM JONES WRITES ABOUT The GIFT
OF GENIUS.

Two Classes OF Men and Their Place
! in the Worid-One Succeeds While
the Other Fails-The Distinguishing
! Features Between Them-MOre in
the Individual Than in the Opportu-
nifty, Says the Georgia Evangelist. i.
Humanity IS MANY sided, is Of many
kinds all CASTS, colors, cIiques and
kinds. In all phases of life we have
| diversity. America in It's social ranges
! from the dudes Of the four hundred to
the old rednDsed buns in the back
| alley saloons; from the society woman
to the old darky hunting 'possums be
cause his home IS out Of meat. In the
business world, from mllionares down
to mendICants. In the political world,
they range from Gladstone to a state
legislator. There may be something
| below that, but he is nearly out Of
sight. In the farmer life, from the
b!g planter down TO the old darky
with the stiff cared mule In the man
ufaCturIng circles, from Carnegie, Of
| Plttsburg, to the red neck of Mississip
pI, sitting up with his tar kiln. In the
railroad world, from George B. Rob
erls, president Of the Pennsylvania, to
the brakeman on some jerk water road
out west. Oh, the millions Of teeming,
struggling humanity between these two
extenlties in all the classes | have
mentioned. Energy and thrift and
brains head the procession in the com
mercial and professional world, with
now and then genius like Edison in
electricity; Wanamaker in merChan-
disc; Milton Smith in rallroading; a
Philip Armour Ill manipulating.
A man who does big things, great
big things, and keeps on doing them,
is genius. Just any ordinary com
mon fellow could not do it the first
time; and he cannot keep on doing it.
An old fashioned cannon will shoot as
loud as a Gatlng gun, but it can't
keep on shooting a hundred times a
| J
pour water on it. a little peg won't
fill big hole. You have got to brush
the peg or lose it. a frog might be as
big as an OK if his hide would stand
the stretch, but ii bursts on the way
y mule might pull as much as an en-
gine, and then again it mightn't. \
few great men lead the procession in
all lines. A Brooks, SpurgeOn, a
Reecher, will pitch the tone for a cen
tuTy higher than most men can sing il
the theological world. Here and there
a farmer is getting rich, broadening
his acres, shows the world what g
farmer can do if he Is man as wei
as farmer. \ man who succeeds a
one thing, many have succeeded a
many Others. \ failure is a failure. |
takes pluck and vim and brains tt
get there" If a fellow has got them
and don, ''ge, there he ought TO be
lett and left forever. There Is a gOOC
deal of Independence and dogmatisn
about fellow who gets there. A mar
who IS always worklng, struggling anC
doing something loses sympathy will
tramps and ldlers. \ man who keep
and saves and aCcumulates loses sym
pathy with the prodigal and wastetul
y man who studies and thinks anC
grows intellectually soon parts com
pany with fools. One man will TAX
a great railroad system and bankrup
It, Another man will take hold of {
bankrupt system, like Samuel Spence
and the Southern System, and literall
raYe 1t from the dead. One paste
can take church and run it like
thing of life. Another soon gets
ready for spiritual interment. On
=, farmer converts sunshine and shower
into grain and wheat and oats an(
corn and cotton and potatoes. Fo
another man all these things seem /
make only weeds and grass. One col
lege graduate has taken the curriculum
OF the school simply as a springln
board to leap into higher and bette
success. Others have come home frot
college to board with their daddlt
until their daddits in law furnish equa
or better lodgings. One man beglr
brakrng on railroad. BY and by h
s president of the road. Another fe
low starts ont as vice president an
winds up without the position of brake
man.
Gravity inverted carries man W
ward. He who can lnyert gravit
don't need wings to fly. \ Josep
Pulitzer can take a daily newspapt
out of the dust and give it the larges
circulation of any newspaper in tn
world. Others turn the newspaps
over into the hands OF the sheriff {
: receiver. There is more in the ma
than there IS in the land. If a DO
4 has got in him what we call metal
his blade of knife he Will cut h
;, way. If he has not he might as We
stay down and take 1t easy. \ ll,
., fellow was running along in front of
% gentleman on the sidewalk once an
:ee couldn't keep out of the way wei
The gentleman said to him: Get or
of my way, boy. What are you fit f
). anyway?' The little fellow reple,
Il am the stuff they make men o,
Of" There is the point at last.
the fellow has go, the stuff in him tn.
can make man then he gets ,her
There is a diversity in wives. Som
: wives are but wings TO their HUSBAND
by which they can fly from hilltop
: mountain-top until they soar in II
: attitudes OF success. Other wives a
but mIllstones about their husband
neck. 50 in every phase of life The
come and go. They go up and ,hs
come down. Ambition, effort, eCOl