Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1908-06-11

ample of the effect of opening thu
door to personal initiative than was
embodied in John w. Mackal
Brought by his parents to this coun-
try and left fatherless while yet a
child, his sole inheritance was that
blending of Scotch and irish char
acteristics which has ever made for
success. There is no need to depict
at length the incidents which marke
his early career How, as lad,
while his form was still acquiring the
sturdiness which subsequently be-
came a noticeable feature, he WORKED
for the pennies SO welcome to the
widowed mother; how. meanwhile, he
struggled doggedly to master the de-
tails OF trade; how with keen fore
sight he quickly abandoned carpentry
to study mining; how at the age of
twenty he worked his long passage
by way Of the isthmus, and, arriving
in California, toiled for years to earn
the pittance necessary to maintain
physical existence and to enable him
to prosecute his practical study; how
even in that arduous labor he dem.
onstrated his superiority in industry
by obtaining higher wages than any
other man who worked in the mines
all this personal history is familia
and need be referred to only to in
dictate the completeness of his prep
aration for the opportunity when it
should come.
1t is difficult to recall the name of
man in whose notable success
chance played so small a part. Nd
favoring Fortuna directed his steps
to the mountain of gold and silver;
no advantage whatever was his be-
You'd that which himself had made
by rigid application to details, theor-
etical and practical, which gave him
the mastery of his pursuit. But that
sufficed. OF all the thousands whl
swarmed over the wealth-laden hills
but one was fully equipped to per
ceive and grasp the great opportunity
when it appeared; but one possessed
the essential knowledge of craft; tn,
resourcefulness to avail himself of 1t:
Offering; the intrepid spirit to urgt
him on and on. deeper and deepel
into the promising earth, while 9th
egs were succumbing to impatienc
and despair.
Others there were who remained
steadfast to the end and won thei
superb rewards. but none can ris
from a perusal of the fascinating mar
ratiyes of that long period of mingl
ed hope and doubt without realizing
that his was the president, the inspir
ing, the resolute, the dominant spiri
to which their faith was pinned. On
who studies and weaves together tn
fragmentary records of that time ca
but marvel at the tenacity whic
made possible the achievement. An
a glow OF pride suffuses the faces @
| us all when we reflect that II was GU
! country, our free and just repubii,
/ that not only held open the door {
: opportunity to the lad from over tn
} sea, but guaranteed to him by he
laws and customs the permanent pc.
: session of all--whether thousands
: millions, or if it had been SO, bi
: lions-that skill and energy pre-
/. duced.
: Would we have it otherwise now
! After a century OF successful demon
: stration of the wisdom of encouragin
individual enterprise and incitin
creative genius by assuring full I,
: compense, shall we permit ourselvt
to be led by fair-speaking pandere
/, into the morass of mediocrity, whiC
:, is now. ever will be. and ever shoul
: be, the abiding place of people wi
! refuse to maximum OF capacity Il
q maximum of reward?
The lesson of John w. Mackay
life lies not in the wealth he acquire
e but in the work he did His was Il
i true American spirit. Money W;
! but means to an end. The million
e he had Won he risked without hesit
i ton upon project OF world-wic