The mirror., 1917-10-04
% DOUBT we have all
heard the old saying:
Nothing ventured, moth

HHS2kH Nothing ventured, moth
uE&yAgy ing gained Some say:
1 made a venture and lost Others
say: I took a chance and / didn't
exactly win; but I got a lot of ex-
perience and ideas so I will be able
to be more successful next time.
But the man who thinks he can
break all rules in here or outside;
a man who thinks that he is taking
a wise chance and is going to make
good and is going to succeed as
we'll as the man that obeys the
rules of mankind and is playing
safe, is wrong. He is subjecting
himself to more inglorious defeat
than he went down before that
placed him here. His anticipations
of getting by may be realized for
a short time. He may be sly
enough to escape the tolls of defeat
and punishment for a short time;
but time is but playing with that
man; he is but playing out on the
rope that is soon to be his defeat.
Just so surely is time wrapping
the coils around him drawing them
tighter and tighter, until at last we
are thrown-thrown in sight of
our goal that we thought we were
going to reach, watching others
that have arrived safely. A man
makes himself what he is. He
either pulls himself up to safe
footing on the ladder that ascends
to success, or he will not endeavor
to overcome the motive that
prompts him to commit the deeds
that place him where he is today.
Yet you will see some that in spite
of the recent humiliation that they
have allowed themselves to be
placed under, still have the idea
that they can beat the game out on
their on idea. Their past failure
is not enough. They wish to place
themselves under greater humilia-
tion, heedlessly throwing away all
chance of being lifted up to a bet-
ter moral standard. In fact. they
have lost part, this time. Now
they wish to play the game their
way-the way they played before,
and lose all.
did you get by your last triala
Did you think you held a winning
handa You say you are going to
let your mistake of yesterday be a
help for today. Yes, if you are
still determined to play the game
on the same lines that you have
been playing it on. Unwilling to
change your tactics; then you will
make the mistakes of yesterday be
help today-a help to plunge you
into deeper, more hopeless state
of moral wreck. Rejected at last
by the hand that would guide our
destinies if we would but let him.
Yet you say you can win. Do you
consider yourselves better men
than those that have tried what
you are trying to do and have gone
down. Are you so intellectual that
you possess an insight into the flu
ture and thus are able to side-step
what fate has reserved for you if
you still persist in following your
ideas? If that is the case then you
can thank the institution for the
wisdom that you have acquired;
for you certainly did not possess il
when you came in. And yet you
say that you can't learn anything
in here. So you say you're not
taking the chance l am. And
can win too. How can you win on
a chance that you haven't got!
You're only as an obstruction in
the path of those that are endeav.
Oring to make success of the rest
of their lives. People soon lose
interest in the men who are really
willing to take a chance and play
safe. You want to remember thai
a man marches in line back of you