Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1905-05-15

college fitted us for this active. DuS-
fling hard biting, many tongued world,
caring nothing for authority and little
for the past. but full of its living
thoughts and 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
thoroughness-the poor old college pre-
pared us to play our parts in this world
by compelling us, directly or indirectly,
TO devote the best part of our school
lives to acquiring a coDfessedly super
fetal knowledge of two dead Ian
guages." Such is the testimony Of
Charles Francis Adams in reference to
one of the educational fetiches of our
college life. Such, on broader scale,
are the fetiches 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 doF"
asks the hard headed world. Are you
an expert in any one line? Are you
capable mining engineer? Are you
first class advertising agentP Can you
sell goods? Are you an authority as a
real estate man? What can you do"
Nothing" says the young man. Il
am willing to do anything, but do not
know a trade have not become pro-
ficient in any one line Of work. But
am willing to do what am told to do"
'aThat 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 a well trained nurse or
schoolteacher or dressmaker? Are
you enough of an authority on French
to become a translator or are you
proofreader, master hand as mu-
stefan or a capable artist? The ques-
lions 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 uninhabitable houses. Half built
ships are absolutely useless to brave
the tornadoes 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 a man or woman in the past had
an opportunity to get complete edu-
cation. The higher schools of our ia
Tiers and mothers were few and far
between. Besides that, even If there
were fine schools in the past all chill
dren were not able to go to them. Per-
haps you were Ike my grandfather
He was the oldest of large family OF
children. He had to stay at 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 q good mind, g
good body and you have had good
many of the essential capabilities OF
success. Now, why have you been
such failure? Why is your life in Its
uselessness to be likened unto that halt
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. Yol
laid your foundations; you partly com
pleted your walls, but just when yol
were about to complete your work AM
win success you deserted the line o
work you were following and went t
dig in some other field to build anothe
kind of tower.
Did Not Stick to 1t.
Is not this emphatically true wit
you in business? What are you dom
l today? ooh" you answer, Il am in tn
2 mining business. Some of my friend
2 and myself have a dozen claims up i
1 the new gold fields. am bound soon t
2 be rich. There is no doubt about i
' We are within Il quarter of a mile c
D one mine where they have taken OF
i S1,000,000 in one year. We are on th
S same vein or line of ore. We are boun
a to get rich. Will you take some stoc
e in our mine? You can get rich too
e No, l thank you. In the first place,
S have no money to invest; in the Sc
2 ond, if l had l would not invest
: in your mine You are almost certai
) to make a failure out of it. If there
4 no gold there, then, of course, you cal
l not get blood out Of a turnip."
t there is any gold there you will let
E of it before you develop that mil
: properly. Some one else will get Il
{ profits. How do [ know? Why, tn;
, has been your record for twenty-fiN