Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-06-24
LUCK AND LAZINESS
Two Things That Do Not Go To-
gether in Business Life.
HONEST EFFORT IS BOUND TO WIN
The Opinion of a Man Who Has
Made a Big Success.
TALK WITH JAMES J. HILL

Written for The Evening Star.
James J. Hill. president of the Great
Northern system of railroads which crosses
the territory between St. Paul and the Pa
cific and covers part of it with veritable
network of tracks. is short and broad in
person; in New England they would call
him "stubbed,'' making two syllables of the
word.
He believes in hard work. mixed with
thought. good company in business and
luck. These three things have helped him.
who began life poor boy on a sterile Ca
madam farm. to become one of the four or
five greater developers and railway mon
archs of the age.
Sitting in his st. Paul office the other
day Mr.. Hill discussed with the writer the
future of the country, present chances for
young men, and other topics of current
interest. Incidentally his talk threw much
light upon his own life ana personality.
Hill is an optiInist as you would expect
man of his type and achievements to be,
though he isn't blind to the fact that many
new and difficult problems have been
brought into existence by modern business
and social developments In spite of these,
however. he says there are stin innuner-
able opportunities for young men to win
financial success in the United States. The
development of the country has only he
gun 50 70 SPEAK ana LneTe II De plenty or
chances as long as development is going
on But the man who desires to get his
chance must work and persevere in his
work.
steady Workers in Demand.
1.-The crying need of the northwest to-
day said Mr.. Hill. lis men who have the
gift OF continuance We have sent 15.O0G
track laborers out in the past twelve
months, and yet We nave not had more
than 2,5o0 at work at any one time The
majority of the labOrcrs now at work in the
DdkO-as and Minnesota are Italians and
Poles The Italians are highly unsat iSfac-
tory As Il rule their object in coming here
Is solely to get enough money together 10
support 5hcm in IdlencsS at home. and they
hoard their earnings to the last possible de-
gree For this reason, and because they
come IRON 4 lard where food is not abund-
ant they rarely eat enough or well cnoug -
and 50 have not sufficient physical strength
to stand the strain Of long continued la
Dor The Poles are much more satisfactory
They are strong. hardy and willing: more
over. they are anxious to leave off working
Ter wages as soon as possible Conditions
Of political and personal freedom in Poland
are nos to their liking, and consequently
they DO not desire TO return TO the old
world, as the Italians do. but are prone tn
settle down on land in this country as soon
as they get money enough to do so.
West Of the Dakotas We use more JaDs
than men Of any other nationality. We did
nor begin the employment of the little
HIONE mon from Jhc orient from choice,
hut because We were Obliged to: we couldn' I
depend on men Of any other nationality
II IS only right to say that having tried the
JapS We find them the most satisfactory la
b"rcrS We have. They are willing cheer
fnl and strong; they work little cheaper
and that is point of course hut the great
advantage of the labor of the Japs over any
other labor now available in the northwest
Is their reliability. 1t comes mainly from
their temperance ard their personal clean
Illness.
Is There Work for All.
There is much talk that men cannot get
work to do in this country. 1t is not so
Every healthy man who is idle in the Unit
ed States today is so from choice. | do not
say, that every carpenter can get carpenter
work 10 do, or that every plumber can find
a job at his trade. but If he will take what
he can get, every idle man in the country