The Brunswick news., 1919-08-19
THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY

son Of poor weaver born in a Sco;-
tish hovel who afterward rose TO un.
told opulence, teaches, it is that as the
Land of Opportunity America puts nc
bounds or brakes on that type OF ge-
MUS which reveals an infinite capacity
for work and taking pains. A factory
worker at eleven and from that time
on never free from constant toll which
rapidly changed with his opportuni.
ties, directed by an ambition and a
keenness of mind that never missed Il
chance, from the very first Andrew
Carnegie. with characteristic Scotch
ruggedness, did not whine or loob
to emigrant aid societies of college
settlements to coddle or pity him and
to help him but enjoyed himself al
work and lived up to one of his owl
celebrated sayings, Start poor: lear
on nobody: assume responsibilities
be ambitions" He never WINGED OF
whined. a man of opportunity himself
he was ever willing to share the
nance with others, and did so whe1
he infant iron and steel industrie
hat he had built up by his uncommon
;agaity had reached such a clmac
teric development that they held no
)nly America but all the world in Their
Zee, All this seems very simple to
day; but the day of billion dollar cor
porations seemed far off in the carl
seventies, when the ex-office boy, tn
photographer started in to maxi
steel and meet the industrialism
Great Britain on its own ground, bu.
n American terms in the wages pail
and the chance for all who worked
With him to come 20 their just re
ward without prejudice of caste o.
lass.
And then the fact that a great iror
master was grateful to his adopted
country is another lesson that is elo
luently revealed by his life. not only
when he was telling the story of 'tri
luphant democracy over here, bu
when he was whimsicaIly flingine
in the faces OF dukes and the laird
when he returned with the halo o.
unparalleled success about him tt
)ecome the Lord of Skio Castle.
md with this gratitude to Americf
vent a deeper and more intimate
ense of gratitude toward those VIII
,elped to make him and his caree
possible. which early DEVELOPED il
i'm that sense of stewardship. whe
rreat wealth came. that has resulted
n the ide-world benefactions to edu
alton and all those things that tent
make people better and happier i
a world at peace. But there was n,
,ose-water dilutiqhs in the Carnegi
methods. The struggle from the cou
lays in bleak/ /Dunfermline did nc
make him bitter; but they did max
him a fighter and one who had con
tempt for the slackers of life. Blu
all the fighting was so wholesome an
) oblithe. the attitude Of Cne VIII
took his pleasure in hard work tha
IN these days, when the pulling cry
those who repine because some on
is not doing something for them, th'
story of Carnegie is a tonic lreati
from the sharp moors Of Draw rae
to those sicklied over with the e&\
otic sentimentalism of oriental lass,
.udes which they mistake for the ne'
evangel Of a new industrial and SO
cial gospel.
The Carnegie gospel of hard wor
and plenty of it and don't miss you
chance is. however, not wholly obSo
lete, and those who read his rccor'
nay we'll hear it's deeper message j
mind He cared nothing for mer
wealth in the final analysis, save
50 far as it made him of use to hi
ime and of good report to his fellows
And so,he passes, not poor as he one
aid he would rejoice i'll being, but
a benefactor and distributor Of weat
without peer.