The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1908-07-30
AMBITION.

AMBITION.
Wholesome ambition, the desire to i'm
prove and advance for the sake of the i'm
provement and advancement, is a stimulant
to effort that is useful and beneficial.
"Vaulting ambition that overleaps itself p"
is mischievous. Every man of action is
ambitious. If he did not desire to rise he
would not exert himself. But the term is
usually applied only to men who aim at
high places far above them, and those who
sacrifice honor itself to attain the goal.
Ambition thus carried to an extreme is, OF
course, mischievous in its effects upon char
scter And 50 also is that ambition which
is satisfied with the applause Of the multi
-ude instead of being content only when
he greater power or opportunity is used
or the good Of humanity. The modest
ambition of good men is a stimulant to
effort, but j sets no particular goal before
It, and is not of "a kind that sanctions the use
Of questionable meansto obtain preferment.
Young men ought to be ambitious to i'm
themselves for higher places in the bust
ness and social world than they occupy in
starting out in life, and they should cherish
the ambition to strengthen themselves in
all ways for the sake of the good they may
do when powerful or rich. Wholesome
ambition OF this kind will lead them to do
their full duty or more than their duty at
all times: they will be Jealous in work,
when acting under this kind of stimulant.
But if their ambition should be to win the
applause or excite the envy of other men;
if they should seek power or place not for
the opportunities thus obtained of serving
the public, but for selfish agrandizement,
then, their purpose being base, they will
be likely to become INSCRIPTIONS respect
ing the means to be employed to attain
their object. The man of ambition without
high principles to guide him may become
overbearng or weak and sycophantic; he
may pursue his aims with open violence or
by trucking to his superiors. In either
case he loses the respect of just and hon.
orable men. The American people are
quite familiar with the effects of ambition
upon political leaders. They have seen
some stoop to crime to encompass success
and others abandon their principles or try
to hide them in order not to give offense to
large body of voters. Fortunately the
criminals and the trucking schemers when
they aspire to the highest offices in the gifts
of the people are seldom successful even in
getting party nominations. Party leaders,
anxious only for party success, instnctely
shrink from nominating men who will ap-
pear weak before the people; hence those
who have been led into devious ways by
their ambition are seldom chosen to head
the ticket, nominations falling to other
men just as ambitious perhaps, but more
modest and with higher purpose than the
mere attainment of power or place. Whole
some ambition may be differentiated from
selfish ambition by the kind of goal that is
aimed at. A man with the right kind of
ambition has some general purpose in view
not particular office; as, for example, a
desire to introduce certain reforms or to
serve his country or his party in some way
that appears to him to be important. The
selhshly ambitious man, however, has a
more definite purpose in view. He is think
ing of himself alone, and he wants par
ticular office for the sake of the honors it
will bring to him. He cares nothing for
country or for his party, or for any general
but is ready to adopt any policy
that will bring him votes and enable him
to gain his single object-an office. There
IS vast difference between these two am
billions. One is to be applauded, the other
condemned, and young men especially
should be on their guard as to what kind
of ambition they allow to grow up in their
minds. They must have ambition of some
kind or they will become listless. useless