Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-06-19
VALEDICTORY.
Laurence w. Phipps.

Laurence w. Phipps. This Is the day towards which we have been looking for the past four years. Each time that We have list ened to other class day exercises we have thought of the time when we ourselves would say farewell to, the joys and pleasures of high school life As freshmen, we merely thought of it as far off in the future; as sopho- | mores, we knew that we were one year nearer; as juniors we realized that it would overtake us before we knew 1t, and now as seniors We have reached the long looked for day. We, who have been together for the past four years, sitting in the same rooms, studying the same books, are now about to be separated, some ! to go one way and others another. But, although our high school days ! are over, the knowledge and experi- ! ence which we have gained through all these years will abide with us and | help us wherever we go.
 AS we now go forth into the future there is one goal which we, each of us should constantly strive to attain. | That goal is success. There is not one of us who wishes to make a fail-
 ure of life or to be looked upon as un- I successful but each desires to be of some worth and prominence in the | world.
 Anyone, who is about to choose his | life work, naturally takes up with l that line of endeavor in which he
 thinks he can become most successful and for the success he is willing to | work and labor with all his might
 for many years. He may choose a professional or business life, but
 which ever it is, his one aim is to ex-
 eel and to succeed in it.
 But what is success? If it Is the
 one thing towards which we are all
 looking it is essential that We have a
 right view of what the word success
 means so that we shall not ruin our | lives by aiming for a wrong end. There are many different opinions and ideas concerning success. One
 person may think that success lies in
 the attainment of one object, while another may have almost an opposite | opinion.
 John Astor, who had natural in- stinct for money making, came to this country from Germany and settled in
 New York. Within sixteen years he | had amassed fortune and that was
 onlya small part of his wealth when
 he died. It is true that he had many | fine characteristics, such as industry, economy and perseverance, but his one aim in life was to make money nothing higher, nothing nobler. AL though he succeeded in the accumu- lation of wealth, he was not success full as man. His life was only par tially successful because his one thought was of making himself rich. Sir Humphrey Davis was a man of different ideals. During the progress | of his scientific labors he noted the terrible yearly loss of life from fire | damp in the English coal mines. He gave the subject his best attention and invented the miners safety lamp. When the discovery was spread abroad in the press, wealthy promot- CTS offered him fabulous sums for his invention. He turned them aside with scorn, saying: "Gentlemen, I did not invent this for money, but for hu- manity."
 Though it may be the desire of every one to become rich, that must not be our only ambition. Some men are born with a natural skill for money making and it is right for them to make use of this talent, pro- vided they make this money honor ably and use 1t in the right way. However, success does not consist in acquiring wealth and honorable positions but, as some one has said. That life is successful one in which the best and most useful things of which a person is capable are att tempted and accomplished, and that life is a failure in which talents, op- portunities. and years have been vast ed away to little or no advantage" Osborne. when writing for the Mer- chants Magazine, said: Success in life consists in the proper harmonious development of those faculties which have been given us" and this is. think, what true success is.
 Having considered thus what suc- cess is, we inquire what the reason Is that all do not obtain it. There are two main causes for some of the fail- ures in life. The first is the fact that some do not appreciate the difficulties which must be encountered in order to become successful. and the second reason is the lack of a noble unwav- eTing aim in life.
 The first cause, the not appreciat- ing the obstacles through which we must make our way. is certainly one of the greatest hinderances to all people who are hoping for success. No man has acquired greatness who has not obtained 1t through hard la- bor. The essential aid to success is work. Daniel Webster once said. when asked how he had gained his great renown: 'I know of no superior quality I possess. unless 1t be the power of application To work and not to genius owe my success The honest testimony of the worlds great men asked as 10 the cause of their success Is conveyed in the one word labor.
 Therefore any one who wishes to make a name for himself must ex- pect to undertake a difficult task be- fore he can accomplish his purpose. Many an apprentice has not had the perseverance to go through the tedi- ous process of mastering his trade. but he must do it if he ever wishes to become a skilled mechanic.
 Another condition of success fn many cases is the having to begin