The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1897-05-20
Letter from Philadelphia.
Correspondence of The Journal. ]

young trend IN Waldo county who Is a
reader of your valuable paper and who
makes several inquiries relative to a young
man coming to the city and entering the
insurance business for a vocation. Now,
l am very fond of the grand old State of
Maine and especially Of Waldo county. |
love her m0untains-those noble old hills,
which | have known all my life-and as |
look at them | feel an uplift and purpose
to live grandly, nobly. They remind me of
the many who have lived about them and
loved them as friends but who have climb
ed the Eternal Hills, and | gladly give
such information as far as | am able to do
so, briefly, and through the columns of
The journal. Longfellow says that, zone
learns to face facts III a great city" In
other words, one counts for what they are
worth, in the city or out of the city, and
need expect large pay only for excellent
work. This statement may be modified
little, however, by the element of the
good character of the person seeking rec
ognition.
A poor boy of average education cannot
hope, unless through influence, to gain a
position of trust with any business assoc
citation nova days until he has thorough
ly qualified himself for the work. In the
work which pertains to the business of life
insurance the first thing for representa-
tive to learn is to perfectly familarze
himself with the different plans and meth
DDS of the various companies doing bust
ness not only in our government but in all
civilized nations in the world A few DAYS
ago gentleman who has long been in
business in Philadelphia was speaking to
me about the secret of success, and refer
red to the late Theodore A. Havemeyer,
one of the sugar kings MI Havemeyer
is reported to have said some wears ago
that together with his brothers, he was
brought up and drilled and disciplined in
every detail of the sugar business as if he
had been one of his father employees. |
quote his statement:
knew, ne Sald, now to fire up I'M
der the boilers, how to run the engines.
| built an engine once myself | knew
how to refine the sugar and how to mar
ket it. | knew what was fair DAYS
work for a man, because | worked alono
side of the men, Another requisite is APP
plication and alertness. We were ALWAYS
on the lookout for some better way to do
thing, and our success is largely owing
To inynptinn hro11n1,t h.
and experiment. Another need is inteo-
rity and promptness in business dealings.
We always paid cash as we went along,
but if one has to give notes they should
be promptly met. We filled our orders
always according to agreement. Another
rule is to keep away from liquor, and we
always followed it. The practice of these
rules, combined with frugality and ordi-
nary faculties of mind, will bring COM
mercial success to any man"
L desire to have it understood by the
readers of this article that disclaim any
connection or sympathy with unjust COM
binations of capital, which is indeed
subject worthy of the careful study of
every intelligent citizen, and of the earn
est, vigorous efforts of our wisest states
men; but | am led to believe that there is
a good deal of common sense in the state
ment of the "Sugar King" SO in the
business of life insurance. 1t has risen to
the dignity of profession, and a promi-
nent and successful position in the bust
ness can now be gained only by close ap-
plication and study, and if young man
is not willing to do this and keep away
from the saloon and those places licensed
to brutaliZe and degrade pure woman
hood he had better remain away from
Philadelphia and the cities. John Stew
art Mill has said, SIN a republic each cit
izen is prince and a king, and the char
acter of each has its part in determining
the character of the government. This
is very true, and to my mind there is no
source of danger to the young man, and
through them to our beloved country.
that can compare with the licensed sa-
loon. Every day as l look about me in
this great city see scores and scores of
men who have been ruined by drink.
Gail else is gone, from those great ewes
The soul has fled,
When faith is lost, when honor dies,
The man is dead.
The annual liquor bill of Philadelphia
is nothing less than $40, 900, 900 and in
the State something like 800, COO, 600;
and is it any wonder that we have
hard times, that our cotton factories and
woollen mills are not so busy as in former
years, and that manufacturers cannot dis
pose of their goods? Our country has in
creased in wealth year after year, and
there is no nation in the world where the
la boring man receives SO high wages as in
the United States. In 1870, the wages
paid for labor in all our manufacturing
industries were s775, 5s4, 343; and in the
same year there were spent not less than
500, 425, no for strong drinks. At the
close of the prosperous year of 1898 there
had been paid to the laboring people in
wages the stupendous sum of over 81, :
200, OOU, 600, and at the close of the same
year there were spent not less than $780,
600, 900 by our laboring people alone for
strong drink. Our working people can
not pour six hundred million dollars an