The Ocala banner., 1913-02-07
THE HALL BANQUET

The Ocala board of trade is to ten
der Mr.. Richard S. Hall a banquet at
the Harrington Hall tomorrow night
as slight token in appreciation of
what he has done for the upbuilding
of our city.
Giving full and candid expression
of our sentiments, not only as an indi-
vidual but as a property owner, we
are pleased to put ourselves on rec
ord as cordially approving and heart
| lily commencing our board of trade for
thus signally honoring our fellow cit
izen in so delightful a manner
In our judgment it is a beautiful
compliment, and all the more so be-
cause it is beautifully deserved.
Those of us who devour the news
papers and keep in touch with the
trend of affairs can but have noticed
that there is a growing disposition to
make war on our captains of industry
This unfortunately is especially no
ticeable on the part of those who are
seeking public preferment and have
themselves been failures along the
paths of business achievement.
These political hot air spielers want
| to make it appear that it is wrong to
make a success of a private enterprise
if in doing so one achieves great rich
es.
Yet, almost without exception, our
great captains of industry came up
from the ranks, and in doing so illus
trate the spirit and genius of our in
stitutions in a very marked degree.
We printed a little item within the
week where a brakeman on a rail-
road working for a daily wage, had
recently been made vice president of
the road, with a salary of twenty-five
thousand dollars per annum. 1t is no
exceptional case. Like instances are
continually happening
Mr.. Andrew Carnegie, who has CIV
en- so much to public philanthropy and
beneyolence as to make his name
world-famous, landed on our shores a
penniless boy and worked in the mills
for fifty cents a week.
The same, or almost similar, sto-
ries may be told of hundreds of 9TH
ers.
Jay Gould, whose daughter has
drawn the world to her in loving ad-
miration on account of her patriotic
and philanthropic work, started on his
financial career peddling rat traps.
His partner, Colonel James Fisk, ped
died silks.
So it may be said of him who will
be the guest of the board of trade to-
morrow night, that he came up from
the ranks.
If one had seen him few years
| ago he would have seen him in over
alls. He made himself what he is to-
day.
He had no prestige, nor monied
friends, and, in truth and indeed, he
was the architect of his own fortune
He achieved success by going out and
battling for it. And in his achieve
ments he was not afraid nor ashamed
to soil and tougher his hands with
honest toll
This paper more and more believes
in the philosophy of the fathers that
the man or the woman who makes two
blades of grass grow where only one
grew before is a benefactor to the
whole world, and in this sense the
distinguished guest of the Ocala board
Of trade is to his kind, and we can
not too highly applaud the members
of that organization for signally hon
oring him, as they propose to do to-
morrow night.
He deserves the success he has
achieved, and in benefiting himself he
has made Ocala the BENEFICIARY of his
bounty because better than giving
aims is to give employment to labor
and put ones money into the active
channels of trade.
Mr.. Hall is yet young man, and
has only fairly begun in his financial
career, and this. paper hopes that he
will draw all the people to him by
doing vet other and greater things for
the upbuilding Of our city