The mirror., 1923-01-11

for getting into a paying and successful
business of your own. Cynical critics,
pessimistic wags, and salary hunters to
the contrary, not withstanding. No offense
intended and no disparagement of labor
involved, but the world needs and must
have business men, and you gentlemen
can be among them if you will. There is
no hocus pocus or magic about it.
eyes, if one is lucky, like you for in
stance, having good old dame fortune
hand you three first class hotels in four
years." interrupted Jack, with an envious
look as he glanced about the room.
"No, Jack" replied Harvey, "You're
wrong Dame fortune never gave me
collar that I haven't earned. And as for
luck believe rather in pluck"
eyes, pluck!" laughed Jack.
"But whom shall we pluck" inquired
Fred, laughing at Jacks sally.
II don't mean the kind of pluck that
you refer to-" replied Harvey. "It doesn't
pay; and it would put the worlds best
business man into the bankruptcy court in
short order if he should try it. refer to
courage in the face of difficulties, and
confidence in ones own self. But beware
of egotism, for it invariably spells disaster.
Jack squirmed uneasily about in his
large and comfortable armchair in silent
testimony of his dislike for thus being lee
tured, but the speaker only smiled indul-
gently and continued: 81 fully realize
that you believe that am defending those
so-called inspirational business articles
merely for the sake of argument, but such
is not the case. am only interested in try
ing to influence you to aim at something
higher than mere job. And any salaried
position is, in the last analysis, merely a
job, and dependent upon the pleasure of
the big boss himself. It's an even chance,
that with little experience, you might
develop even more efficiency and executive
ability than he himself has attained, but
if he should become aware of that con-
tingency, he can if he SO chooses, contrive
to either let you go or make conditions so
unpleasant for you that you will resign of
your own accord. He might justify his
action, to himself, as thus removing
potential menace to his own position or
possible advancement l am, of course,
assuming that the shop in question is an
open one, and that therefore you are not
protected by union regulations"
"For my part would choose to be in
dependent, even though it involved moth
ing more than running a peanut stand.
Many competent man has been drugged
into lethargy by pay check, and in after
years discovered that his very ambition
had been sapped, and his initiative de-
stroyed by its subtle influence. If you
can make money for others, you can make
money for yourself, providing you give
yourself freely and apply your every
resource to the task; which is merely
another version of the old Greek philoso-
ply, That which give, keep, and that
which keep, lose Your talents must be
used or else they are lost"
"This may seem to be a depression from
the subject on which we started but never
theless it is in intimate relation to it, Too
many men imagine that there is a royal
road to success, over which dame fortune
leads her elect to opulence, regardless of
business principles. But that is not true.
Eternal vigilance, unceasing attention to
details, and hard svork is the price she