Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1907-06-20
Madison, June IS.


large audience at the armory Sunday.
President Van Hise chose for his
subject, The Attainment Of Success
and his treatment Of it was profound
and forceful
The exercises included an inVoca-
ton by the Rev. F. T. Galpin, Baptist
church: scripture lesson by the Rev.
p. d. Knox, st. Patrick's Catholic
church; benediction by the Rev. Ar
thur T. Reed Of the Pilgrim Congre-
gationaI church. President Van Hise
spoke as follows:
How many during the four years
that you have been at the university
have met every engagement with your
instructors punctualIy? Possibly more
ayes would be heard if the question
were asked: how many have taken as
many cuts as they dared? Probably
the great majority find your places
between these extremes. You of the
middle group have not met all your
engagements; you have intended to
meet as many as could be kept with
out too great inconvenience. Doubt
less many of you think that an Occa-
sionaI failure to meet an engagement
is a small matter, and in one sense
this is true, but in another sense it is
not. Those who during the four years
have acquired the habit of meeting
promptly and without fail every en-
gagement made have a great advant-
nh
contrary policy; for in any vocation
failure to meet your engagements
promptly will be a heavy handicap. If
your first job is with a large business
or industrial concern such failure will
not be tolerated. A man who takes a
position N a bank in a commercial
house, in manufacturing plant, may
once fail to be at the appointed
place at the assigned time and have
that pleasure overlooked. IF, however.
failure occurs twice, his position be-
comes precarious, and if it occurs
three times without an extraordinarily
good reason. dismissal is little short of
certain Therefore the student who
at graduation has learned to meet his
engagements with invariabIe prompt
ness, is many laps in advance of the
man who has not acquired this habit
Accuracy Always Priced.
THE second of the qualities to
which l wish to call your attention is
that of accuracy. How often have
many OF you said in reference to a
piece of work: Oh I understood the
principle, the mistake was merely nu-
merical'
The quality Of accuracy is a rare
one, but one which, like that of pune
tuality, can be- acquired by the duIest
of men in the class; indeed it is often
possessed in 4 greater degree by the
dull man than by the acute one, be-
cause he has taken pains in this par
ticular while the reader man has not.
But to the one who is swift in his
work and who has given little thought
to accuracy, warning. Your duller
companion who has acquired this
habit, unless you remedy this defect
during the next few years, will pass
you in the life march.
tiles which are necessary for your
success is reliability. BY reliability
mean the execution of the orders Of
your superfors with unfailing certain
ty. This quality of reliability is rarer
than either punctuality or accuracy
The great strain Of an executive posi-
ton is not so much in the planning
the work as in seeing that the thing
is done. A project is created. plans
are formulated for its execution, and
the different parts of the work are
assigned to various men. The chief
would have comparatively easy time
If he could be assured that all these
men would do the work assigned to
them. But he knows from experience
that if left to themselves some of
them will fail in the performance Of
their parts All executive officers will
appreciate the immense relief one
feels when he finds that among his
subordinates is one to whom a task
may be assigned with the certainty
that it will be executed.
All May Have Qualities.
These, then, are the fundamental
qualities leading to success-punctual-
ity. accuracy and reliability. He who
possesses them may be sure that he
will be in demand. Ten times as
many men could be used by the world
at the present moment as can be
found who possess them, yet every
member of this class may have all If
he will. You who now possess them
have an immense advantage over
those who have been negligent in
these respects. Promotion is sure to
come to you.
OF ResourcefuIness.
In the matter of resourcefulness
the efficiency and thoroughness OF
your education will be tested You
who have neglected the opportunities
Tor acquiring knowledge and training
in Your college work will be heavily
handicapped. You who, upon the
other hand, have spent the best efforts
OF twenty or more years of your life
in acquiring a thorough education VIII
be in a favorable position TO handle
problems AS these problems arise
you viii find no bit of knowledge that
you have acquired viii be too remote