The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1910-04-14

knowledged to be the wisest Of man.
kind.
And his name was-solomon.
soLoMoN's SECRET OF SUCCESS
The audience now sees what I am
driving at.
: solomon. wisest Of kings and men
author OF the sanest and safest OF
books, was a gambler.
compared with the mining risk he
TOOK, the widest risks of our day are
ch1ld's play-school boys amusing
corner.
What shall we do about it? Say
that 1t was the single folly Of a mar
otherwise chief of sages?
No; for, since the world made its
hrst summersault in space, the sole
child of folly has been disaster. But
gamble, so far from breed
aire. and enabled him to build the
temple.
And no king Of our day could dupli-
cate that temple, even at the cost of
Joining the bread line.
There is no getting around 1t. Solo
mon made himself richest of men by
a gamble. And that gamble. so far
from convicting him of folly. was the
crowning Illustration of his sagacity.
Evidently, to profit by his lesson. we
must revise some of our fixed notions.
First. let US recognize the truth thai
there are cumberland gamblers.
One kind OF gambler puts his last
gold piece on the red, and when black
comes up, goes forth and sends a bull
gardens.
He trusted to brute luck; his only use
for a brain was to shoot that bullet
through 1t. He believed-no, not be-
lieved, for belief implies intellect-he
deluded himself with the notion thai
something may be got for nothing, in
this world.
Prompted by greed, debilitated by
self-indulgence. narcotized by igno-
rance. he shut his eyes and Jumped.
He hoped to land in the mines Of
oph1r; u what happened was, that
ne tumbled over a steep place into the
sea.
He was one kind of a gambler-tae
Kind that Solomon was NOT.
Here let me call your attention to
something:
We have gambling houses. run by
gamblers. They are frequent
ed by men who bet on the turn Of the
ole, always losing in the long and often
In the short run. and pauperizing them-
selves If they keep at it.
1t Is these emo the keepers Of
the establishments-who are the real
gamblers. ~
The keepers Of the establishment are
not gamblers at all; for, so far from
counting chance, they are sedulous to
take no chances.
Their dice are loaded, their cards
marked, their roulette wheels obey
their hand. They always play the sure
thing.
Not on cny gambling OF their own,
but on their customers gambling do
they grow rich. They work on a prin-
toner's.
And the imbecility which prompts the
formers laps should not be blamed on
the gambling house keepers, who
merely afford facilities for the exploit
tation Of this imbecility.
BE that as 1t may, Solomon belonged
to neither class.
What sort Of a gambler. then, was
HIS SORT OF A GAMBLER.
When the great king. casting about
for means to build his temple, adopted
the Oph1r mines scheme, he was neither
shutting his eyes and jumping at haz-
ara, nor was he playing q sure thing.
NO absolutely sure thing exists; even
a loaded die may lose.
solomon knew he was taking a risk.
The promoters might be liars. or self
deceived. That was an obvious risk.
DO you know how Solomon met it?
by his profound knowledge of the
human heart. He tested the integrity
and judgment of those promoters to the
last fibre, as he would test the rope
Whlch was to swing him across an
abyss. 80
Other risks he met by his knowledge
OF natural laws n of human affairs.
was a mine likely to exist where they
said? Could it be as rich as they as
serted? Was labor for its working
available? Would expenses outweigh
proHts. Vital questions, to which his
wisdom must find
The Great King, in short, was not
under the delusion that Something may
be had for Nothing. He was ready to
give the Quid pro Quo.
Against the treasures Of Ophir, he
staked the treasure Of a wisdom not
less inestimable. He knew that. to
bring to the struggle intelligence. pru-
dence and persistence such as to equal
lie the odds. He did not shut his eyes.
but opened them to their widest.
Yet, after all precautions and calcu-
l%atioas, be sure that Solomon knew his
risk, and that even his wisdom had its
limits. Yes, Ophir was a risk; but a
risk worthy a kings taking! and SOLO
mon was king and man and gambler
enough to take it.
If he lost, the temple could never be
built, and his reign would be a failure.
But, with his wits about him, with
all his resources at command, he ac-
cepted the challenge Of dest1ny-and he
Won.
That was the sort of gambler Solo,
mon a
OTHER GAMBLERS.
That was the secret Of Solomon: he
was a gambler.
And without hat element in his ma
ture, never, for all his wisdom, would
he have accomplished the mighty works
by which we know him and for which
we honor him..
Nor was it a blot on his character; it
was one of his noblest endowments.