The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-11-21
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE
NAN OF FORTY.FlVE
CONTINUED from page 81

In the legal profession Judge John A.
Blevlns does not see a great deal of
hope for the man who enters it after ne
has passed the age of 40, though he
agrees that its door is always open to
men at all stages of life, and a man
might attain success though he were
80 when he entered it, providing he had
the ability necessary for advancement.
His position can not be clearly under
stood, however, until after his words
have been read in full.
"A man may begin the practice of law
at any age, say *, and build up large
practice before he retires on account of
old age or other inhrmities. 1t is pos
sible, but not probable, for no man
can secure a practice before he is pre-
pared for it, and this means years of
study even after he is admitted to the
bar. When law, student is granted
the privilege of practicing in the courts
he may think he knows it all, but will
soon find he is mistaken If he is adj
mitted to the bar at Fl he will hardly
find himself competent to practice be-
fore he is 80, and it may be ten or
twenty years after that before he. finds
himself on self-sustaining basis. The
young man. therefore, has but little
ground for hope of much success before
he is 40, at the earliest, and as the older
man must necessarily go through the
same period of trials and tribulations,
| do not. see what chance there is for
him. If he is 15 when he enters the
legal profession he would probably be
65 before he had enough cases to pay
for his board and lodging and Office rent.
AS you suggest, however, it sometimes
depends very largely on the man. He
might, by lucky chance secure a good
case that would win for him some
reputation Immediately after he was adj
mitted to the bar, and this would bring
others, but if he did not have the sub
stantial foundation that only years, long
years, of study can give, it is hardly
probable that he would be able to hold
it, AS | said before, a man may enter
upon the practice of law at As, SIS, or
IS, but he would be better off if he
applied himself to something else that
required a less extensive preparation.
When a man has failed of success before
he is IS what he wants after that to
win is an occupation in which returns
are quick and the amount of prepare
ton necessary the verv minimum. Be-
fore IS man can play waiting game;
he is still in position to hope for re-
wards in the future After that age it
is the present that counts; he can no
longer wait, but must strike at the iron
of opportunity while it is still red-hot,
for it grows cold rapidly after man
has passed So"
The same argument about long prep
aration being necessary for success is
found in the banking world. though the
door of hope" is not closed to the man
of mature years, according to Mr..
Walker Hill president of the American
Exchange bank
40 succeed that is, to have every
assurance of success. providing one has
ability says Mr. Hill. "a man ought
to enter bank before he is 80. In other
branches of business a comparatively
brief period of preparation will fit man
for somewhat responsible positions, but
a knowledge of the banking business,
that knowledge which the high Off
Gals find necessary, must be acquired
from the ground up 1t can not be gain
eu in theory, not nv burning the mid
night oil over treatises on the proper
conductment of bank and its different
departments, but in actual practice in
its daily work l don't suppose there
would be any objection to the employ
ment' in bank of an inexperienced man
of IS. if his character was all right but
he would have to begin at the bottom,
and the fewer wears of life before him
would necessarily reduce his hope of
attaining high position. Promotion in
bank, in this bank especially. is won
entirely by merit. and the older man
would have an equal chance with his
younger brother in this respect, but
promotion in financial institution IS
also slow. so that at 65. just when adj
vancing years would coupel him to give
up active work, he would find himself
no farther advanced than the younger
man would be at 10. Among employees