The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1902-05-29

This man of whom the Savior speaks
in the text, wherever and whatever else
he may have been, was failure. He ''be-
gan to build but was not able to finish"
1t lis miserable and lamentable thing to
fail. Each of us doubtless has at some
time or other envied to greater or less
degree those who enjoy success in life,
but who ever envied person that was
an acknowledged failure? No one who
is sane desires or expects to be failure.
Yet nothing is more common than to
find people who are failures in the most
terrible sense of the word. My young
friends, by your own invitation we are
called upon this evening to address
you. You who are young in life.
You who have life with all its gol-
den dreams, its enthusiastic hopes, its
magnificent possibilities in the future.
AS we look into your faces we think of
the possibilities for failure or success
that are imprisoned in each Of you, We
love to think of the successes that some
of you, perhaps all Of you, will achieve.
We dread to think of the failures that
are possible in every life. We address
you this evening in the hope of thor
oughly arousing your faculties to in
creased and more determined activity in
resisting those tides of life that would
lift you high in the reefs of time and
leaye you total and fearful wrecks.
Success is possible to each one of you.
Not perhaps in the same organs alike
possible to each, but nevertheless posi-.
BILE in no inconsiderable degree to every
one. This is true because success is
within the reach of any man or woman
who will take the pains to succeed.
And we would impress upon your mind
that because Of this fact it follows that
failure is not only a miserable some
thing, but in large measure is entirely
inexcusable. Those words of the text
construe criticism passed by the world
and voiced by Jesus Christ upon the
work of this man who had begun to
build tower and was compelled to de-
sist, for some reason or other, before it
was finished. The world assumes for
itself the right to pass criticism upon
every mans life. Sometimes we think
such criticism is harsh and severe. But
of this we are sure that if at last we are
compelled to look back upon life that
has proved q failure we, ourselves, will
be the severest critics of our undoing
Charles Lamb once wrote play for the
stage, and when it was to be played fol
the first time he was present. The play
WIS condemned as failure by the audi
'ence. But the loudest kissing came
from the gallery where Charles LIANT
was sitting. AS the audience turned
their gaze to the place where Charles
Lamb sat they saw that it was the
author who was kissing, more loudly
than anyone else, his own production
Thus it will be when the final act of the
drama of life is on in the judgmen,
scene. If our life has failed none will
feel it more keenly nor recognize it more
clearly nor condemn it more loudly
than ourselves. In addressing, you or
this subject of 'Failure" this evening
two methods of treatment suggest them
selves. We might point out to you tina
qualities which prevent failure and leae
on to success, but have chosen to SPEAK
to you earnestly of the shoals and reef.
and sand bars of life upon which many
are stranded and brought to awfu
failure.
First, many people fail in life because
of lack of thorough preparation fol
life's work. We are more and more
convinced the more wide our observation
extends that the vast majority of people
who fail IN life do so not because of an,
lack OF opportunity to succeed, not be
cause of any lack of capacity or nativ,
talent, not because of unfavorable en-.
vironment, but because of incomplete ane