The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-05-11

!
terest to the parents who have to ad-
| wise with such children. 1t is the out
| line of an address delivered by Mr.
L. L. Kiene, the managing editor OF
| this newspaper, to the members of the
graduating class of the Silver Lake
high school. and is as follows:
The other day the dispatches an
nounced the promotion of a young
man to one of the most responsible
positions in the Santa Fe railway sys-
tenn. He is not yet middle aged. but
he has secured a place which older
men have toiled for years to reach,
and failed.
The father of this man is a boiler
maker in the Santa Fe shops. He had
no money to give his children higher
education, and when the man who has
just been promoted was little more
than child, he was apprenticed in the
Santa Fe machine shop. He had not
even completed the course in the grade
schools, but from the first he was ex-
ceedingly proficient, and completed his
apprenticeship in three years. when it
usually requires four. At the end of
that time his ability had attracted the
attention of some of the officials, and
he was given charge of gang of men,
Though he was only a boy, he won
the respect of those who worked under
him, and in a short time was promoted
to better place.
1t was not long until he received
another and still another promotion,
and each time he justified the conf
dence Of his superiors and made good.
He finally was put in charge of the
big shops in Topeka, the largest rail-
way shops in the world, in which his
father still works as q boilermaker.
There was no question concerning his
ability, and the shops were never run
so well, nor conducted SO successfully
as they have been under his guidance.
Therefore, it was natural that when
the position of superintendent of mo-
tive power became vacant this young
man, with little education so far as
books and schools are concerned,
should be suggested for the vacancy;
and his appointment followed.
The officials have no doubt concern
ing him; they know that he will make
good. He has energy and ability to
adapt things to his way of thinking,
and a thorough knowledge of men.
combined with a loyalty to the in
terests he serves. that cannot be ques-
toned.
Now, will paint you another pic
ture:
There died in Topeka the other day
an old man who has lived in the city
for thirty years. He lived in little
house to himself. He had no friends,
and wanted none. He was seen fire.
quently on the streets, dressed in
overalls, pushing a wheelbarrow. He
accumulated money, but lived wholly
within himself.
One day a neighbor who had noticed
that no one had been around the little
hut for several days. pushed open the
door, and found the old man on the
called, and neighbors, impelled by
curiosity, who had never been inside
the little house, gazed upon the mani
mate form of the hermit.
They were surprised to find the
house filed with books well worn,
and showing the unmistakable evil
dence of having been repeatedly read,
and they were all good books. Heavy
leather bound volumes of art predomi
mated. There were also beautifully il
Illustrated books of travel, showing that
their owner was fond of the better
a man of more than ordinary intel
ligence.
The fact is that this old man was
a graduate of one of the largest col |
leges in the country. He was fitted
for a profession, but for some rea-
son which no one knows, he gave up |
the fight, and settled down to live the |
life of hermit. without friends. and |
contented to spend his time reading, |
planting trees, and saving money.
I have given you a brief sketch of |
the lives of these two men,, simply to |
show you that an education is not |
everything, that a degree in college
does not necessarily make useful |
man or woman, that your success in |
life will depend largely upon yourself. |
Many young people go to college and |
are thrown into an environment that
Is new to them. They associate with /
young people that have been reared |
and ofttimes they leave
school with an idea that honest labor
is degrading. They crowd the ranks
of the professions, and in a great
many instances are failures. do not
mean to say that a college education |
Is a bad thing, but I do insist that a |
college education alone will not make
any man or any woman a useful citi-
zen, and that whether you are a col
Iege graduate or whether you quit
school in the eighth grade, or at the
of your high school course,
your future is what you yourself make
It. Honest labor degrades no man,
and no woman, and the person who is
able to adapt himself to circumstances.
who will do we'll whatever his task
may be, will rise, while the college
graduate who is a sluggard and a snob
will always remain in the rut.
We must not forget that the stand
ards by which we are judged are theI