Palisadian. [volume] (Cliffside Park, N.J.) 1906-current, 1908-04-01

business said retired merchant to me the
other day, but there is only one kinq t t1at
for himself and acts upon his own Judgment
regardless of what others may say or do.
have trained many young men IN business,
including three of my own sons | have made
some mistakes. If ] had the thing to do over
again | would not try to boss them too much
AS rule, | would merely suggest and let
them work out their own conclusions, grad
ually leading them up to the point where
nearly every question that came up before
them might be decided by them and not by
some one else The dominating influence OF
master mind in an office often Kills an
sense of initiative in the heads of different
departments and the men under Them ana no
large business can flourish that has not the
benefit of many wills working with freedom
wills not constantly subject to hard-and-tast
rules"
Looking over the histories of successful
business men and men in all walks OF life,
tive, am free to admit that the old mer-
chant is right. 1t is the same in politics,
in finance, in art. in literature. The, man Of
inceptive spirit-the Wagner, who does not
find his inspiration in the old recognized
rules of harmony and of theme, but who dares
defy them; the Carlyle, who evolves his own
them; the John Hancock, who writes his name
boldly upon declaration of independence
full month before the other signers; the
Andrew Jackson, who contrary to express
orders captures St. Augustine and teaches the
Spanish that they must not inclte Indians to
war upon American citizens-these all
first in a movement Their names written
high and will always be remembered.
OF course, not many of us can be great
artists, writers, warriors nor masters, of
finance. But there is not the slightest hope
of any of us being anything at all if we
consent forever to be led or to be driven.
We must leave the widespread ranks of the
mastered and the tethered. We must deny
the right of others to think for US. We must
that environ us. We must think our thoughts
and lead own lives in our own individual
way are lost.
Employers become weary of the department
head the clerk that constantly consults
them on the most trivial AFFAIRS Even IN
weighty matters, an employer likes to teel
that he can trust to the judgment of the
men there to represent him. He enjoys the
self-reliant way, even in the work of the
verest underng.
When Stanford, Croker, and Huntington
were building the Central Pacific Railroad
and rushing their track ahead that they
might secure large grants of land promised
point within given time a freshet washed
away canyon bridge and it was impossible
to convey rails and ties to the front. Charles
Croker who fastened to the scene OF the
washout, urged the superintendent of con-
struction to throw up a bridge, of any sort
that would carry tram, so that the vaiu-
able land might not be lost to the company.
While Croker worried and fretted over the
delay the superintendent went methodlcally to
work to draw plans for new bridge. lie was
one of those men that can work only IN
grooves. When the design was presented to
Crocker he said angrily:
''Weli, you've taken lot of time to get
this thing on paper. l didn't want plan-I
wanted bridge, and j wanted it as fast as
you could throw it together.
The superintendent retired in a huff.
young workman that with others had heard the
calling down" of the official, stepped up to
Croker and said:
Pm not a civil engineer, but I build
that bridge for YOU
Build it in twenty-four hours?" asked
Croker, eagerly.
Yes, sir-in twenty-four hours
That's the kind of talk / want to hear"
said the elated Croker. Go ahead; take
charge and build it
And right over the heads of the wise rail
road constructors, the superintendent, the as
sistant superintendents, and all, the young
workman took charge and got down to bust
ness. He directed the cutting down of lot
of trees he had material brought from afar
by train crews; and he set carpenters to work
throwing up the commonest kind of corncrib
abutments. Over these he ran his trusses, ties
and rails In less than twenty four hours the
trains were running across the canyon. The
young workman was William Hood, chief
engineer of the great Southern Pacific system,
who has since done some of the most daring
and complex construction work in this country.
The man of initiative the of self
-eliance the man that the point quickly
md actc ,,nOO If indeDendentlV-he is the man