Democratic messenger., 1905-05-20

college fitted us for this active, bus
Ting. hard biting, many tongued world,
caring nothing for authority and little
for the past. but full of It's living
thoughts ana living issues, in dealing
with which there was no man who did
not stand in pressing and constant need
of every possible preparation as re-
spects knowledge and eXactitude and
thoroughntSs- the poor old college pre-
pared us to play our parts in this world
by compelling us. directly or indirectly,
10 devote the best part of our school
lives to acquiring confessedly super
fetal knowledge of two dead Ian
guages." Such is the testimony Of
Charles Francis Adams i'm reference to
one of the educational fetiches of our
college life. Such, on n broader scale,
are the fetichcs in reference to the ed
ucation of the average young man or
woman of today.
Let us take the average young man
on commencement day. College or
school days are over. The foundations
of the educational towers have been
laid. young man, what can you do?"
asks the hard headed world Are you
an expert in any one line? Are you
capable mining engineer! Are you
first class advertising agent? Can you
sell goods! Are you an authority as a
real estate. man! What can you dow
Nothing" says the young man. II
am willing to do anything. but do not
N I M
ficient in any one line of work. But l
am willing to do what am told to do"
"That is not enough. To be willing is
not necessarily to be capable. What
can you do!'
The Wheel of Fortune.
The wheel of fortune turns. The
daughters, brought up in luxury. have
to go out and make living. Can you
cook? Are you an expert stenogra-
pher? Have you papers which signify
that you are well trained nurse or
schoolteacher or dressmaker! Are
you enough of an authority on French
to become translator, or are you
proofreader. master hand as a mu-
sician or Il capable artist? The ques-
tions which face you. o woman, are
these: What can you do thoroughly and
well? On what subject can you speak
as an Al authority" Half built towers
are uninha bitable houses. Half built
ships are absolutely useless to brave
the tornadocs of the Atlantic ocean.
What can you do? What can you do?
What one thing can you do as well as
If not better than any one else?
But the half built educational tow
ers are not To be condemned nearly as
much as the deserted, half built enter
prises of life which we see everywhere
around us 1t was only here and there
that Il man or woman in the past had
an opportunity to get a complete edu-
cation. The higher schools of our IA
thers and mothers were few and far
between. Besides that, even If there
were fine schools in the past all chill
drcn were not able to go to them. Per-
haps you We're like my grandfather.
He was the oldest of large family of
children. He had to stay ut home and
help work the farm that the younger
members of the family might have
enough bread to eat and enough cloth
ing to wear. Thus the only education
you received outside of the three RS"
was out of the university of Hard
Knocks" But in spite of this handicap,
my friend, you have a good mind.
good body and you have had a good
many of the essential capabilities of
success. Now, why have you been
such failure? Why Is your life In its
uselessness to he likened unto that half
built tower which PLATE, the governor,
erected and toward which Christ point
ed when he spoke the words of my
text: l will tell the reason. You went
to work and worked hard. You de-
veloped yourself along one line. You
laid your foundations; you partly COM
pletcd your walls. but just when you
were about to complete your work and
win success you deserted the line Of
work you were following and went to
dig in some other field to build another
kind OF tower.
Did Not Stick to II.
Is not this emphatically true with
you in business? What are you doing
today? "Oh." you answer. II am in the
mining business. Some of my friends
and myself have n dozen claims up In
the new gold fields. am bound soon to
be rich. There Is no doubt about 1t.
We are within quarter of mile of
one mine where they have taken out
$1.000.O00 in one year. We are on the
same vein or line of ore. We are bound
to get rich. Will you take some stock
In our mine? You can get rich too"
No. thank you. In the first place. l
have no money to invest: in the Sec
ond. IL l had / would not invest it
in your mine. You are almost certain
to make a failure out Of It, II there is
no gold there. then. of course. you can
not get 'blood out OF turnip." If
there is any gold there you will let go
of it before you develop that mine
properly. Some one else will get the
profits. How do l know? Why. that
has been your record for twenty-five
years. In the last quarter of century
YOU have dabbled in at least ten differ