The Meeker herald. [volume] (Meeker, Colo.) 1885-current, 1917-01-06
What Ambition
Can Do
BY M. QUAD
Copyright. 1916. BY the Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate.
BY M. QUAD

| Iloh oNcT lic uiia WHY ~
with your most eminent citizens You
have n site here to be proud OF. and
your sawmlll is equipped with one of
the finest steam whistles ! ever heard.
Your hogs look fat and contenied
MS they walk up and down the ave
nucs Such cows as | have encounter
ed are Of kindly disposition. and the
alarms of war seem not to have dis
turbcd you.
There are only seven persons pres
cnt at my lecture. but probably the
measles and the whooping cough kept
the others in the house. have del!v-
cred lectures where the audience num-
bcrcd only one person. but spoke
with the emphasis. philosophy and
logic that | use where the audience
numbers thousand ! shall do SO to-
night. You shall have the worth OF
your money and perhaps double the
value am going to tell yon what
ambition cun do.
Take the case of Socrates. He has
been dead some time. but he did not
kick about dying when his time had
come and history has left us II good
record of his ambitious doings. He
hogan life as a corner grocer. and In
those days every grocer had To give
sixteen ounces to the pound.
Seeing after year or two that
| there was no show in the grocery
| business for an honest man. Old Soc
rates decided on change. He closed
| up his shop md went to school to
| learn to be IA statesman and IN orator.
| Such was his ambition to get there
| that in two weeks he knew more than
| the schoolmaster. 1t wasn't two
months nftcr the change occurred that
he made II Fourth of July speech
| that knocked all the older orators gal
ley west. He used his big words in
| lust the right places and he sluns his
grammar around with the utmost lib
| eraity. From thence Oh he began to
| elbow his way upward. Those who
had reached the top rung of the lad
der tried their best to keep him down.
but failed in their designs, The time
| came when Socrates almost had the
influence of king.
Having got all the honors that
could he showercd upon one nun and
having accumulated about billion
dollars. he peacefully passed away.
But, my friends. we need not so
back 80 far to cite our cnses. Take
that Of Napoleon. He was born OF
| humble parents. He lived in IL garnet,
Hot biscuit and clover honey were not
for him Nothing but ambition saved
him from becoming n tin peddler or Il
| barker for summer show. lie hnd
ambition. and he won. He chopped
cord wood for 20 cents n day until he
had saved money enough to take him
through military school. When
| through with this school he took com
mand of the army of France. ana tue
way he did lam the rest of Europe
was caution For forty years or
more he kept things going. Between
his wars there was hardly time FOR
him to go fishing He licked the en-
envy In most of his battles. and when
he didn't lick 'em they could not catch
up to lick him.
ambition made Napoleon the great
est general of the world. and the great
est general finally became an emperor
ana Hluue IDt "Il'lS WI W "i'"''
him. In truth. he became little too
ambitious He started ont to give
Europe Il last dressing down. ana al
the battle of Waterloo he got the
dressing down himself Be ambitious.
but don't expect to hold four aces III
every hand.
And there was John Hancock. first
to sign the Declaration of lndepend
ence. What did lie amount to before
he signed: Nobody took Off his hat to
him His name was never put up for
an office He could not have gone TO
the alderman of his ward and got a
sidewalk required 1t was said of him
that he was very quiet man. but he
did no, know tater bug from II
beetle
..AIl of a sudden. however. Mr.. Han.
cock felt ambition stirring in his
breast. He got up and took his hat OIL
its peg and said to his wife:
".Hannah. l think will go over to
the old statehouse and sign the Dec
laration of Independence. Something
tells me I ought to do it
And she replied:
Yes. John. you had better 20 over
and write your name as large as you
can. 1t will blufi the British If 1t
doesn't do anything else
And who was John Hancock half
an hour after he had signed? Why.
the men of Washington were whoopinS
for him and. carrying him about on
their shoulders. and. you take my word
for it. next day he could have had any
thing in the gift Of the town. He shot
right up like green bay tree. and t"
know John Hancock was something
that every man in the land could he
proud Of He died respected and loved
by all.
My friends. there Is nothing to com
pare with ambition. II beats the sky
scraper elevator In hosting man up
The rope never breaks and let's the cage
fall II tue ambitious boy or man Is
Ia, k,x, lS<, ri, II tF,u