The Washington herald., 1907-05-04
THE OPTlMIST.

Oscar Hammerstein Is a great impre-
sario. With implicit faith il his ability
to do things, he has In the short space Of
two years beeotae a national figure witt
his fine new opera house In New York. ano
his vast array OF famous singers.
Two years ago he was best known as
the owner of the Victoria Theater, a
place where vaudeville was given, and
where it is still given under his sons
management Two and forty years age
he landed in the metropolis with a
strange tongue and no money. He had
run away from his home in Germany be-
cause his father whipped him with a
skate strap. and he worked his way
across the ocean in a sailing vessel.
lie became a clgarmaker. lie invented
machines to do what had always before
been done by hand, and these brought
him in something And OF nights he
would climb the long flights of stairs 70
the top gallery IN the old Academy Of
Music, and drink in the singing OF Patti,
as if he had, indeed. got TO the real
heaven.
Between those days and these is strung
medley Of experiences. gains ana losses,
ups and downs, such as mark almost
every active career. And yet, when you
hear men and women talk about Oscar
Hammerstein to-day, you do not hear
much of these things. They are occupied
with the success his sudden rise into the
front rank OF those daring few who deaf
in the radium of amusements-opera.
And many man who reads Of this
man and his present success gets a
crouch on, and wonders why he hasn't {
had better luck, and why fate hash t
been kinder to him.
Does many a man wait patiently thirty
seven years 10 get the thing he wants?
Because that's what Oscar Hammer
stein has done Oh, yes. it sounds fine
enough now. after he got that thing his
heart desired. to tell of the wait and the
struggles attendant thereon. but would
you be willing to wait so long for the
thing you desire
Bring it right down to your own case
Get at the kernel Of the matter. You
know it's very foolish TO complain that
fate Is using you wrongly. Fate doesn't
use you AT all; YOU use fate.
And back Of all success you viii find
things that are just as easily within
your reach as the ultimate result seems
now 10 be without your reach.
It's a great thing TO learn to wait.
Shakespeare says in 'Othello" that he who
has not patience is poor, indeed. And he
who has neither patience nor persistence
is a pauper Of paupers.
We live in a rather rapid age but it Is
Just as necessary 10 wait nowadays as 1t
ever was and nothing Of lasting worth
is 10 be- gained by dashing ahead like a
four-Cylinder, 49-horsepower red thing.
There are a great many corners 20 be
turned in life. and its somewhat dan
gerous 20 approach them at high speed.
Work and wait, That's the way % get
20 the mountain tops.
Oscar Hammerstein didn't have half
the advantages the average poor Ameri-
can boy has. Even to-day he cannot
speak English as well as the ordinary
ten-year-old. But advantages count for
nothing at all if We do not make good
use Of them. And every one OF Us. down
to the poorest and least favored. has adj
yantages which will lead to something
better if we make the best possible use
of them.
But are we willing TO wait thirty-seVen
years? Or even twenty-fveo
There's the rub. We are impatient
We want 70 plant seeds to-day and pull
-ul-grOwn radishes tomorrow No mat
ter how old we grow, most OF us view
life as we viewed the little gardens we
made when children. We have 10 be
pulling up the sprouts 20 see how the
hing is growing underground.
We must learn 10 wait if we would get
anywhere at all. and the longer we can
wait, why, the farther we are apt 10 go.
LEIGH MITCHELL HODGES.