The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-06-23
THE SUCCESS OF FAILURE

menting the President of the College.
he a imbibed the common hough
or the world in every age-that he
Who does not the enemy in
battle has failed.
DIR. Samuel l.. Langley.
A lew days ago there occurred an
incident on the floor of the House OF
Representatives which strikingly il
luStrates the Subject We are discussing. |
A distinguished member of the House
called attention to the fact that sew
eral years ago on the foor of the same
House. a membe denounced m un-
measured language DR.. Samuel F..
Langley. then secretary of Smithson-
ian Institute, for improper and gross
extravaganza of expenditure Of money
IN the effort to find a flying machine.
II was said hat the speech of that
member really broke DIR. Langley's
heart, and while that statement was
somewhat exaggerated, it is stated on
good authority that there is no doubt
that it fastened the death of the great
inventor. Shortly before the attack
upon him in the House the flying
machine constructed by DR.. Langley
had made an effort to IL and through
some mistake or accident, as many
OF you Will recall. in sending it off it
fell into the river. was taken out and
placed in the Smithsonian Institution
where 1T remained until quite recent
~. 1t was hen turned over for ex-
perlmental purposes to MI. Glenn H.
CurtlSS, one Of the abIeSt of mOdern
! avlatOrs. and he flew it. He flew
with the original Langley machine,
which by press and by people had
been universally considered a failure
and the criticism of which failure had
haStened the death of the inventor.
And not only did this original ma
chine of Langley'S fly under the skill
ful guidance Of Aviator Curtis, but it
carried. in addition to the pilot, a
weight of something like $50 pounds
AS a matter OF fact, it was not a fail
ure- Langley had proved the prin-
clple of flying, the marvel Of modern
wonders n al invention which is
revoiutlonizing modern methods Of
hghtlng the world over, and yet while
the died under the belief,
not hat he was a failure. but that
the world considered him a failure,
his machine, as a matter of fact, was
an even greater success than he ever
dreamed it to be.
Man Superior to Victory.
1t remained for Kipling to teach
the world in two lines the profounAest
of all truths-that the Man is supe-
rior to chance or accident-or what
ever you call it-Of victory or defeat
Some weeks ago where more than q
million people stood with uncovered
heads. as the bodies of the brave lads
who gave their YES in Vera Cruz
were borne on caisSOns through the
metropolis of our Republic, the Presi
dent Of the United States quoted
i kipling to emphasize-the point tina
every man should
meet with triumph and dis
And treat those two imposters jus
the same"
What a Shattering Of old ideas i.
contained in, this new conception
compressed in the lucky number O
thirteen words. From the days whel
: a Roman cOnQuerOr drove his trium
: plant chariot under arches and owe
: roads Strewed with flowers with hi
vanQuiShed foes tied to the chario
wheels, to make "a Roman holiday
to our day the Victor has been crown
:. ed and the Vanquished left to forget
a ~fulneSs, or to be upbraided because h
did not win. Shakespeare caught tn
true spirit when he declared:
h 1T is not in the power of mortals
To command success.
9 III do more, Sempronius.
I'll deserve it.
zee Lived Greatly.
Q But Lee did more than Shakespear
t or kipiing: He lived the principl
II liiCSC poe1S tHuI11ldttd. Aud ~ NV Z
v it with dignity and honor in a day G
q misunderstanding, of prejudice, c
a sectional rancor, and of partisan bit
9 %ternesS. And greater than his inca,
nation of this principle. Lee brougf
all the world to see that failure We
= not failure, but hat it was in re
s ality the triumph of devotion to dut
l. which endure after the tumuit an
le the shouting end. More than tina,
h By his accomplishing fortNude h
le taught his cOuntrymen that it We
, their duty ana privilege
| ON stepping stones of our dead selvt
'e To higher things"
)1 Il cannot believe that any man hs
failed, or the principles for WhiC
u he commended, have ever failed whic
l. he has left to the world a life So rio
he and full, clean and serene. as To mai
every man who studies it DESTROYS
IN doing something and being bett.
e, himself. though all know his mob
u contribution. Nobody ever hear
~ him say he was making sacrifice
d denying himself" He put into dai
. practice the high standard set up /
II Robert Louis Stevenson 10 enoun