Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1902-07-03
The Man Who Knows 1t All.
Pittsburg Times.

III you nad uone SO lU mlght nave
saved him a lot of trouble" " "I
know it, but nevertheless I said
nothing. You see he is one of those
fellows who thinks he knows it all,
and will never accept any advice
from anyone, and so | kept silent"
This conversation referred to a type
of man with whom we are all
familiar, the man who apparently
seems to consider himself endowed
with heavenly wisdom, and who
thinks no one else possesses any
ideas worth needing. Everyone,
especially in youth, is apt to have
"a touch of this feeling. The less
knowledge a man possesses and
the less experience he has had the
more sure he often is that he is
infallible. The man who possesses
common sense very soon learns to
appreciate his own limitations and
to value the counsel of other we'll
balanced and experience minds.
He perceives that it is impossible
for one person to create corner
in knowledge, and that even the
greatest of intellects is liable to err.
He will not undervalue the virtue
of self-reliance but he will perceive
that to be worth anything it must
be based upon solid foundation of
knowledge and experience, and
that in rearing such the efforts of
others may be of the greatest
service. AS all Scripture was writ
ten for our learning, so was all
history. We can only accurately
judge of the future by the past,
and we can only become truly wise
by availing ourselves of the facts
brought out through the experince
of others who have like feeling
with ourselves.
The man who knows it all,
however, proceeds upon a different
theory. He takes for the guide of
his actions his own inclinations
and experiences, and regards him
self as entirely competent to come
to a correct conclusion without
making use of wisdom of the ages
or his contemporaries. To such an
extent does his self-confdence carry
him that should another suggest a
course of action which he really
perceives to be correct, and which,
perhaps, he would himself have
chosen, he will nevertheless, to
show his contempt for advice,
adopt another. Persons who are
aware of the failing of such a man
sometimes neutralize it by either
suggesting to him just opposite of
what they want him to do, or else
by making it appear that their own
ideas really emanate from him.
The wisdom of taking counsel has
been shown by the actions of the
greatest of nations. In such the
chief ruler has surrounded himself
with able men, to whom he looks
for advice. Our own President has
his Cabinet, to whose judgment all |
matters are submitted. |
lie may not act in all cases upon |
their advice, but he gets the bene-
fit of their views before making up |
his mind. Constitutional monarchs
also have their cabinet advisers.
Such are necessity in every |
country where there is freedom and |
progress. 1t is only in countries
where the people have no voice and |
where ignorance and unenlighten-
ment reign that the chief ruler is
permitted to act the role of the man
who knows it all. And even in
such cases trouble follows il the
ruler fails to consel with others.
The most successful business
man is he who invites the advice
and assistance of his employers
upon such matters as they are COM
petent to judge. In many instances
they have detailed knowledge of
their particular work which is not
by the head of the house
1t is but the part of self
for him to avail himself of
such knowledge. If, however, he
refuses, to do so, and discourages
any attempt ON the part of his en-
ployes to give him the benefit of
their experience he will inevitably
suffer in his business. The truly
wise employer will make a practice
of consulting his employees upon
matters concerning which they have
particular knowledge, and he will
encourage them to make sugges-
ions for the betterment OF their