Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-06-15
AGGRESSION
FOR A MOMENT I.
Being an Investigation Into the
Subject, what Is Gen.
uine Success?"
BY 3. c. FORBES.

NEW YORK, June l5--One Of the most
successful men have ever known earns
the equivalent Of SIS week. lie Is not
famous outside his own little town. lie
has never done a spectacular thing in his
life. His name has never been in met
ropolitan newspaper He has contributed
nothing new to science, TO art to litera
ture. 10 religion or to any "ology or
ism His bank account, dare say, Is
not far up In the thousands Measured
BY the dollar vardstick. his career has
been a fat failure Why then do J de-
scribe this obscure, unwealihy man as
successful beyond most of his fellows?
Before answering, permit DEPRESSION.
I used TO talk weekly TO a wde-awaNe
lot of youth on general everyday, human
subjects What do you think. interested
them most Not morals. not sports. not
soody- goody matters, not adventure not
travel Nearly every time the topic was
left TO them to choose they replied Tell
US how the richest men in this country
made money to begin with. Sometimes
thew wanted to hear of intimate incidents
which young lads encountered in business
the ones who got on. The test OF
success. as understood and applied by
this class Of youths was. of course
money
once they asked who is the most
successful person you know replied
"a man earning less than $25 week.
They could not believe I was in earnest
So I had to explain.
This successful mans character was SO
genuinely, so consistently good so Tar
above reproach that he had an elevaung
influence upon his fellow citizens. He
reared a family Of seven sons and daugh-
ters. each one of whom followed I'm his
footsteps He was an ardent advocate
Of temperance and practiced it in every
form He was an enthusiastic worker
Tor his church He labored humbly but
ardently for civic righteousness and hap
piness His townsmen became so deeply
impressed with his qualities as a man
that-at first against his whitley called
him to a seat on the municipal board of
government Here his work proved so
valuable that higher civic honors were
bestowed. and had It nots been for the
fact that his daily labors prevented, he
would have been elected TO the highest
honorary position in the city, the equiv
alent OF mayor
But it was his purely domestic life that
most impressed mel had peculiar oppor-
tunitv TO know and study it. Not long
ago a Western lady, the newspapers tod
us. sought and obtained a divorce be
cause her husband was faultless-neVer
STAYED out too late, never got drunk,
never swore at her, gave her everything
she wanted and always treated her with
the greatest kindness. She simply could
moi stand" him, he was so eXasperating
lv good. This same lady would certainly
have divorced the man of whom | speak
He was like that plus Yet in 80 years
Of married life there had never been
family quarrel Nor did his children hate
hin~he was the best Of chums they had.
I knew him almost as well as they did,
and my feelings toward him were the
same as those who insisted upon hunorng
him with public office.
succeeded in convincing the youths
that this mans life was a success. Only
these lads were not old enough to be
cynical. not old enough to sneer at home
ly virtues, but young enough, despite
their inherited ideas of the almghtness
OF the dollar. to recognize that there are
some other things worth while, after all.
Curiously enough, one Of the very
prominent bankers now under the lash
for the clearing house methods some une
ago expressed sentiments very much the
same as the foregoing He has all the
money he needs lie has enjoyed the
highest OF financial and business honors.
He is extremely Wen regarded by other
fnanciers Yet after having experienced
such fruits. he counts them Of but utue
moment Does he worship the dollar?
Does he now measure success by dollar
bills Looking bacll-he does snatch oc-
casional moments for reflection he sees
things in a perspective different from that
now so generally in vogue some day
I may get him to write for this column
his mature verdict on Things that are
worth while.
Is all this despoahy puerile2 Is II too
preachy- preachy? Has " too little con-
nection with facts and comment on
finance and business should it have no
place in a newspaper concerned with the
dongs of the day? Perhaps. Then
again. since most that is done in finance
and business is an effort toward success,
the subject may not be very far out
of place Its treatment, however. IS l
fear. hopelesslN old fashioned Tomor-
row and other days something more up
to-date may he discussed