Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1897-07-24
BEHIND THE COUNTER
REV. DIR. TALMAeE TO statesmen AND
SALESWOMEN.

To Would Inspire Them With Honlthy
Ambition and AI.ay Many of Their An
noynnces Some Practical Advice and
Eloquent Elaboration.
WASHINGTON, July lS.-This sermon
Of DR.. Tulnngc, addressed to the great
bost OF clerks in stores and offices and
factories, will inspire such persons with
lealthful ambition and ullay many of
their unnovanccs. Text, Acts xvi, ID,
And certain woman named Lydia, q
rsller of purple, of the city of Thyntira,
which worshipod God, heard us, whose
heart the Lord opened. F" Proverbs xii.
30. "Seest thou man diligent in his
business. He shall stand before kings. p"
Tie first passage introduces to you
Lydia, a Christian mcrchantess. Her
business is to deal in purple cloths or
silks. She is not Il giggling noncntity.
but practical woman, not ashamed to
work for her living All the other wo-
men of Philippi and Thyatira havo been
forgotten, but God has made immortal
III our text Lydia, the Christian sales
woman. The other text shows you
man with head and hand and heart and
foot all busy toiling on up until he
gains princely success. "Seest thou a
man diligcnt in his business? He shall
s.and before kings
Great encouragement i'll these two
passages for men and women who Will
be busy, bat no solace for those who arc
waiting for good luck to show them, at
the foot of tho rainbow. "a casl1et of
barred gold. 1t is folly for anybody in
this world to wait for something to
turn up. 1t will turn down. Tho law
OF thrift is us inexorablo as tho law Of
The tides. Fortune, the magician, may
wave her wand in that direction until
castles and palaces come, but she will
after awhile invcrt the same wand, and
all tho splendors will vanish into thin
air
There arc certain styles of behavior
which lead to usefulness, honor and
permanent success, and there are GER
tain styles of behavior which lead to
dust, dishonor and moral default. l
would like to fire the ambition of young
people. have no sympathy with those
who would prepare young folks for life
by whiting down their expectations
That man OF woman will be worth moth
ing to church or state who begins life
coyed down. The business of Christian
ity is not to quonch but to direct human
ambition. Therefore it is that l utter
words of encouragement to those who
are occupied as clerks i'll the stores and
shops and banking houses of the coun-
try They are not an exceptional class.
They belong to u great company OF tens
of thousads who arc in this country,
amid circumstances which will either
make or break them for time and for
eternity. Many Of these people have al
ready achieved Christian mnnliness
and Christian womanliness which will
be their passport to any position. Ihave
seen their trials. l have watched their
perplexities. There are evils abroad
Which nuud to be-hunted down and
dragged cut into the MONDAY light.
Patience and Diligence.
In the first place, l counsel clerks to
remember that for the most part their
clerkship is only Il school from which
they arc to be graduated. Ittakes about
eight years to get into one of the learn
I'D professions. 1t takes about eight
years to get to be merchant Some of
You will be clerks all your lives, but
the vast majority of you are only i'll a
transient position. After awhile, some
December day, the head men of the
firm will cali you into the back office,
and they will say to you: "Now, you
hayo done well BIZ us, we are going to
do we'll hy you. We invite you to have
an interest in orr concern. You will
bow to that odict very gracefully. Get
ting into Il street Cur to go home, an
old comrado will meet you and say,
"What makes you look so happy to-
night?' "Oh," You will say, moth
ing, nothing. {" But i'll Il few days you
name will blossom on the sign. Either
in the store CT bank where you arc now,
or in some other store or bank, you will
take a higher position than that which
you now occupy. So L feel l am now
addressing people who will yet have
their hand OIL the helm of the world 8
commerce and you will turn it this way
or that. Now clerks, but to be bankers,
importers, insurance company directors,
shippers, contractors, superintendent
of railroads-your voice mighty ON
Change" standing foremost in the
great financial and religious enterprises
of the day For, though we who are III
the professions may, on the platform,
plead for the philanthropies, after all,
the merchants must come forward with
their millions to sustain the movement.
Be therefore patient and diligent in
this transient position. You are now
where you can learn things you can
never learn il any other place. What
you consider your disadvantages are
your grand opportunity. You see al
af1luent father some day come down a
prominent street with his son who has
Just graduated from the university and
establishing him in business, putting
$50, 900 of capital in the store. Well,
you are envious You say: "Oh, if I
only had chance like that young mani
If only had Il father to put 500, 600 in
business for me, then would have
some chance i'll the world. y Be not en-
vious. You have advantages over that
young NAH which he has not over you.
AS well might l come down to the
docks when vessel is about to sail for
Valparaiso and say, Let me pilot this
ship out to sea. - Why. l would sink
crew and cargo before 1 got out of the
harbor simply because I know NOTHING
about pilotage. Wealthy sea captains
put their sons before the mast for the
reason that they know it is the only
place where they can learn to be sue
cessful suilors. 1t is only under drill
thnt people get to understand pilotage
and navigation, and l want you to un-
derstand that it takes no more skill to
conduct q vessel out of harbor aid
across the sea than to steer CONNER
,;o1 osto hI;shnent clear of the rocks.