Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-25
The SuperfIuous Man.
in the Busy MaeIstfom


sweet attributes of kindness and the love
for simple and sweet things, and thus
have pronounced upon them the modern
DOOM for business is business nowadays.
| and master and man each pay the other
| for what he gets in return. Perhaps at
no time in the history of the world have
| men received so nearly the true reward
| for services as they do now. but they
| earn what they get, and it takes strength
and persistence to make ones worth
known and keep it up to sample. For
| this reason there are a large number OF
men who are always "Out of JOB.
They cannot help it; they do nothing pro-
nounced to warrant their discharge from
| their situation, nor do they do anything
meritorious enough to permanently re-
| tain them For this reason they are col
| . orless- These are the SuperfluouS men.
i There is. again, the man who has the
unfortunate temperament that Will not
permit him to make friends; VINO Is seiI-
conferred, with no little tentacles that
reach out and hold him to those who
| misht be of service to him. Ii he has
| ability he may retain his position In spite
| of his qualities. The man who has no
| ability who can do nothing well and VINO
| cannot learn. wanders from one SITUATION
| to another, never very long in each. He
may be intelligent and companiona5ie.
| well educated and we'll bred, but he
| fails to grasp the business of life.
When Men Lose Out.
But besides these are the men Of real
| usefulness, who are often out of work
| through i'll luck or business conditions.
Some of these find work again readily
enough others wait and watch long.
The worst of it all is Losing their grip"
| Then they sink out of sight, and those
who once knew them in business way
| know them no more They are atoms.
| and an atom is hard to see when one Is
not looking diligently for it.
| AS to getting to work again after one
| has lost a situation, there are some men
who lose heart and are done for. 10
| them there is only one situation In the
world, and that is lost The other fellow
says to himself, Somewhere in the
| world is man who has work for me 10
| do. l am going to find him."
| The most helpless man when he gets
| out of work is the young Englishman.
! The Irishman doesn't stay out OF stu
alton long. The German soon finds work.
! The Frenchman can turn his hand to
waiting on a table, but an Epglishman,
/ never.
There was once a young Englishman
| who lost his situation in bank through
change of management. He mad Deen
| living up to his salary of $125 a month,
so that when he left the bank he had SO.
a lot of English clothes that he had cast
aside and a pipe. He left his luxurious
| odgings and took cheap room. He
knew what was coming Day after day
| he walked the streets looking for an
| other situation. He was good man at
| his business, but no one wanted or needed
him.
| He got living down to a science. A
cup of coffee and roll for breakfast,
five cents: a glass of beer and beef
sandwich at noon five cents; dinner. with
some of his friends three or four times
a week and always on Sunday. nothing
| at other times, twenty-five cents. In this
way his SO lasted long time. Every
| morning he started out to look for work.
At every place they listened to him and
| read his letters of recommendation. put
shook their heads and said: You might
| drop in again next week, but really, We
| have so many applications, ETC." He grew
| to know this by heart.
Looking for Work Always.
Every morning when he started out he
considered that his days work was to
be looking for situation. and he worked
at it as if he was being paid a salary for
| it. Fortunately he had plenty of clothes.
brought from England and long ago dis
carded for American garments. These
he began to wear, and they gave him an
air of well being that did not jibe with
| his pocketbook. When he grew hungry
he walked and smoked his pipe, and when
| he had plenty of tobacco he was always
sure of being able to smoke out his hum
| ger. Gradually he fell out of touch with
the men to whom he went in search Of
work. His friends who had asked him to
| dine occasionally forget him. His clothes
went the way of all clothes after a while.
But in the meantime. he had learned that
art of looking respectful BILE on nothing and
satisfying his hunger without food He
| had learned to darn and mend to cook
simple things over lamp on tin plate,
! to hone razor to wash underclothes and
| I, ;oc. tn, hath
| tub, and many other valuable things. At
| last he came to the end of his tether. be-
yond which was nothing, for he had lost
| hope. That day he went into the office of a
corporation to say good-by to friend, for
| he had decided to go down to the lake
when night came on and jump of the
| dock.
why, where have you been Ately?"
said the manager of the office, I'VE lost
your address and have been trying to
| find you. We have a situation at $73 a
month on the books If you will take it,
Take it! Seventy-five dollars a month
to a man who had not had seventy-five
| cents week for a long time! And to get
to work. Take it! He went to work
that minute. 1t had been two years since
he had lost his last situation.
Went Back to the Farm.
There was another man in Kansas City
| "
of his. 1t did not worry him at first. for
| he knew he would get another in week
or two. Three days after that some one
broke into his room and stole all his
clothes, all except those on his back.
Then lie started out to look for work. In
| the next week he covered the town and
asked only for work in his own line at
| his old salary. The next week he was
| willing to stand a reduction. After that
| he would take anything. When his
| money was out he slept on the lounge In
a friends office, and realized what hun
ger was and meant. Not the hunger be-
| tween breakfast and luncheon or lunch
con and dinner. but the hunger bred be-
tween the luncheon of the day before
yesterday and the possible dinner OF
| tomorrow.
Finally he came to reading the bulletins
| before employment offices, but he was
not strong enough to drive a team and
scraper on railroad grade, nor yet stout
enough to shovel. He borrowed paper
every evening and ran to answer the
advertisements for mems services, but
some one was always f1eeter than he and
got there before him.
| He had a home in the country where
a mother was waiting to see him and a
| father would have been glad to help;
where there were three bountiful meals
day and soft and comfortable bed
! But when he had left home he vowed
| he would not return without money and
good clothes, and his foolish vow kept
| him away, although it pressed him sore
| to sometimes get paper and stamp to
| write to his mother that he was doing