The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-05-20
WHY SOME PEOPLE
 SIMPLY STAND STILL
Ny SOPHIE IRENE LOEB


 The other day q chauffeur was sent to take me and others a distance of 3o miles. He waited for me fully half an hour Tn front of the house. When I came out l asked this young man if everything was all right and if he was prepared for any mshaps.
 "Oh, yes. everything Is all right" he assured me. We went about five mics and one of the tires blew out. As this is not a difficult matter and can be readily adjusted in a few min utes. we thought nothing of 1t and got out of the car to wait for 1t to be fixed.
 The chauffeur immediately in- formed ne that his snare tire was not blown up. When he went to look for his jack it was not there, so that he could not even raise up the wheel. Furthermore, he had forgotten to bring an extra tube and while he mad patches to put on the punctured tube, he did not have the equipment necessary with which to make the patch-and there we were consider able distance from a telephone. abso- lutelY helpless.
 TO make long story short, we were stranded for two hours. We had to send for an emergency car to bring q tube and get us ready to go on our way-the thing that should have been done before we started
 And the most exasperating part about it was that the young man put up an argument when he was told about his shorteoming. Here he had been assigned to d journey. the sole custodian of the car and it's equlp- n.cnt, and never had even seen to it that he had the wherewithal to fix such q small matter as a blow out" T.. al ;-j-e in, H in the nope that nothing would hap pen.
 If he had taken the chance only for himself and his own time and his pos- si ble loss of temper and inconveni- ence. that would he bad enough, but he was taking chance on my time and my friends and put us to the disagreeable task of waiting and worrying about the appointment we expected to keep at the end Of the l journey.
 Such people often remain in the rut ! simply because they do not do the job that is distinctly theirs to do. Their success is slow and not always sure.
 The old in function in the Bible is one of the Wiscst. especially for to- day. 1t reads something like this: If ' ou have been faithful over few ,hings you will be made ruler over | many.
 The man who cannot he faithful on | his particular job rarely gets further. lie usually stands still. And that is perhaps the greatest suffering of mankind today--the fact that you delegate something to some | one and thcn have To follow 1t up to see that it Is done It is the same old Message to Garcia. Just stop to think if it were possible for every body to do the work which they have engaged to do; what an easy world in which to live this would be.
 Consider If you did not have to tell a person twice to do thing what miserable moments would be averted no. not moments, but months and years If they could be counted up.
 It does seem reasonable that the | chauffeur would See to it that he had all of his para phernalia in such good shade as to give him the least possi- ble trouble.
 learned afterward that this man is an excellent mechanic: that he has done some splendid work and has it in him to go far in his profession. All he needs to do is to concentrate. There's ihe thing! To concentrate on the business at hand. The rest will take care of itself. Besides. this man has splendid example in his em- ployer whose efficiency traits are the cbief elements in his makeup.
 Few people expect unreasonable I thihSs me truth IS mat many man treats his job lightly. He does not take it to heart. Then they won der why they stand still
 You have got to take your work seriously. You must he prepared to take the responsibility for the thing you are going to do. and the oppor- tunity to which you are looking for ward always comes. This is an un- l failing law.
 In other words. no matter how small your job make it your job and see to it that you perform it so we'll that you will be called to higher ! things