The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-10-11

and man got up and said that he had
come to the conclusion that advertis-
ing men were born and not made;
he had never seen one that was made
vet that ever amounted to anything.
When ne had finished asked him for
the privilege of asking him a Ques-
ton, and he said he would be glad
to answer Ii. So I asked him who
published the birth list. because had
never seen one. Now IL advertising
men are born only, and not made, or
IL other men are born only and not
made, then some person or persons
should make 1t their business to print
birth list and tell us when these
geniuses are born SO that we can
watch them grow up and then go and
get them for our business. No, / tell
you, gentlemen, that men are made as
we'll as born. Every great man this
country ever produced, whether in po-
litical life, in army life, In profession
al life, or in the walks of business
that man was a developed man rath-
err than born man" believe that
some men are more adapted to cer-
tain things and have more natural
ability along certain lines and can
make a better success of one thing
than another, but / think it is wrong
in this day and generation to be
teaching young men that they have to
be born to things. The trouble has
been with the young men that / have
had in my business, that so many of
them expect promotion without being
prepared for 1t or without deserving
1T. Promotions In business are not
automatic; man must do something
to make himself at and worthy of the
job ahead Of him If he expects to get
1t and hold 1t when a vacancy occurs.
So that say ability would be the
third quality.
Three Kinds Of Men.
Now there are just about three
kinds Of men in the world. First, the
man that you tell once to do thing
and you can just forget all about II,
because it will be done. The second
Is the class that you have to tell four
or five times to do it, because they
forget. But the third kind is the kind
that is really worth while-the kind
that has made this country great
commercially, that has particularly
the western part of our great country
and that is men with initiative; men
who do things before you get chance
to tell them. because they have mind
of their own and they think and act
upon their own impulses and own
Judgment. We hear a great deal in
certain quarters nowadays about the
young man not having as good a
chance now as he had forty or fifty
years ago. To my mind this is abso-
lutely untrue. There never was a
time in the commercial history of
this country when there was such a
demand for men of brains and where
corporations and merchants are will
ling to pay such high prices for brains
as at the present time. No, / am glad
to live in a country and at a time
when / believe that all men have
equal opportunities for making sue
cessful careers. l am glad to live In
a country where poverty is no barrier
to progress but where 1t can be prov
en- almost to q mathematical concIu-
sion that 1t is positive benefit, be-
cause just as the young man is taught
to overcome the obstacles Of his youth
will he be able to overcome the busi-
ness problems of his manhood. There
is only one aristocracy In this coun-
try that we know today, and 1t is not
one of blood, either. 1t is the aris-
tocraey Of, brains and decency. II is
not brains without decency either,
and 1t is not decency without brains,
but 1t is brains and decency.
The next quality we all need, and
need badly, is a thorough knowledge
of our business. I believe that man
is the best lawyer that reads the most
law books and keeps up to date. I re-
member one time of attending a con
vention Of agents in Berlin, and there
was one man among the 200 statesmen
present who had been the leader for
four years in succession, and after we
had given him his yearly prizes / ask
ed him If he would not tell the other
men present why he had led all the
force for four successive years. His
name was Benno Hoffman, and Benno
could not have been more eloquent III he
had taken four years to think about
it before he replied; but he spoke up
at once and said, "The only reason I
know Of is because defy anybody in
all of Germany to ask me question
about my business that I cannot an
swer."
Now the next quality which is nee
essary to successful men is the quail
ity Of tact-knowing how to deal with
different temperaments and getting
along with all of them. Tact consists
not always so much in what you say
as the way you say 1t. Tact is the
ability to make plain statement to