The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1907-01-04

be swallowed up in the same way. But
though all men should learn sfinancia
lessons by succession of failures
some will never learn that they have
their financial limitations any more
than some men will ever learn thai
they have their mental and their spir
itual limitations.
The Foolish Investor.
Here, for instance is good country
or city doctor. In the community IL
which he lives he is universally re
spected He makes a good living. He
has money enough to meet all his nee
essary wants. But he makes up bis
mind he ought to be rich. He feels he
can be rich if he will only invest his
savings in the far west or in the far
east or in some business in which he
is an entire "tenderfoot" A broker or a
mining agent hears of his desire and
says to him: doctor, we have mine
/ out in Montana. 1t is just filled with
gold. Why, you can stumble over the
nuggets as you can tread upon the
horse chestnuts during the fall time in
the east. Give us $4,000, and we will
make you a millionaire in two years.
! All that we need is little machinery
| to develop the mine" Did you ever
! hear such nonsense? In cold blood
could you conceive that all the miners
who have made mining their lifetime
business would walk right past that
Montana mine shining with yellow
gold and let a mining broker travel
1000 miles as a philanthropist to make
that country physician a millionaire in
two years? Yet that country DOCTOR as
some of you are doing today, will pour
his money into that hole in the ground.
Then because he made a fool out of
himself at first he will keep on and on
pouring his money into that hole in or
der to get back the money he has in.
vested.
Baker Was Not Good Editor.
What is true in reference to wild
, cat mining or land or stock specula-
ton is true in reference to business.
Here, for instance, is man who was
a famous baker. By his ovens he made
not only thousands but hundreds OF
thousands of dollars. He lived in one
of the largest cities in the United
States. He simply honeycombed the
town with his bakery stores. He cook
ed bread and pies and cakes for thou
sands upon thousands of daily Gus
toners. But after this man had made
a fortune as a baker he decided he
would make another fortune as an ed
itor He bought one Of the great dai-
lies of that city. AS a newspaper man
he was dead failure. What he cook
ed in his oven was eaten up by his
printing presses. Today that once great
baker has lost his newspapers and lost
his bakeries because he would persist
in investing in a business he knew
nothing about. What is the practical
deduction? Today those deserted farm
lands of the California mesa cry out:
merchants, stick to your counters.
Doctors, stick to your patients. Law
yers, stick to your briefs. Ministers
stick to your pulpits Men and wo-
men, do not go fOraging in financial
fields you know nothing about or you
will get stung. If as a financial lamb
you have once been feeced, then do not
continue to heed and obey the voice of
the same shearer. Let go. Let go that
foolish investment. Let go. When you
have uselessly sacrificed your money,
let go. DO not continue to sacrifice
the remainder. Let go. Let 60"
But my theme teaches another prac-
teal lesson. | would have the young
men encamp with us upon those de
serted California farm lands as well a.
the older men. l would especially have
the young man view those deserted
fields who against his better judgment
is being forced or is forcing himself
into a line of work for which he is not
adapted with a reverence for the wish |
es of his father and mother that does
the boy credit but is fatal to his pros.
poets in life. Come, young man, tell
me the ambition of your life. What do
you intend to be? oh" you say, 81
want to be a railroad man, or l want
to be a doctor, or l want to be a lawyer
or a civil engineer, or l want to be a
musician or an artist but | cannot.
You know, father has set his heart on
my being a business man. We live in
a small town in a western state. He
started in business there thirty years
ago. BY frugality and industry he has
the largest store in all that region. !
am his only boy, and he wants me to
carry the business on after he is dead
and come into the store and help him
now that he is growing old. But ]
hate business. Yes, l hate it. But l
suppose | will have to do it to please
him. Besides, if l do not go into his
store all the lifetime work of my ia
Their will be thrown away"
Follow Your Instinct.
What, have you no inclination to be
a business man? absolutely none.
Ny desire is to be a railroad man. The
other day l was on the outskirts of Los
Angeles, and there l saw back yard
fitted with a miniature railroad track.
There a little boy not more than eight
years of age out of wood had built a
whole railroad system. He had his
bridges and tunnels and switching
tracks and freight cars and passenger
trains and depots and car sheds. All
these he had made with his own pen
knife. This little fellow said he was
the president of the railroad system
and his younger brother was the con.
ductor, but he was evidently the whole
brain and force of that system. Now,
that was the way 1 used to find my
pleasure when a boy. l was always
thinking engines and building engines
My playground was the railroad yards.
My sweetest music was a locomotives
whistle BUT father wants me to 90