The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1923-06-14

who thinks he cam On the follow
ing day, with every spark Of school
patriotism, every ounce OF strength
they went into the game against their
larger opponents and won.
Again, twelve men were to speak In
a prize contest. The first prize was
prize of $50. There were boys In
that contest who did not need thef$50;
there were others who felt over-con-
fident. But there was one fellow who
needed the money and knw exactly
what the proposition of winning 1t
meant--work. He worked. Speak
ing of II to US afterwards he said:
ado you know when i was speaking
I had only two stray nickels in my
pocket, and every time heard those
two stray nickels jingling, I made up
my mind that / would have thai
prize"
1t was the spirit of the thing that
drove him to victory. And it's the
spirit you show in every contest In
life that is going to give you the vicu
tory. Remember, young man, Faint
heart never won fair lady"
The size of school building, the
number of students enrolled. the
wealth OF the municipality, this, that
and the other--these things do not
count in the estimate Of individual
ability. That depends on personal
initiative, on the spirit Of determine
ton that controls the life, and mo-
tives and ideals that drive on and
beckon on.
Five minutes of reflection, five min
utes spent with your census-taker,
five minutes In a casual glance at
the tomb stones in your cemetery.
will answer the third question. l
answer it bluntly: Yes, life can
be we'll lived anywhere, and a life
can be wasted anywhere. You have,
from a training in your school. an
equal chance in the race. Shame on
you If you fall to play up and play
the game because others appear to
you to be better circumstanced in life.
Don't fool yourselves: large houses
do not always mean great happiness
within.
Pass now to the final question.
If you have rightly judged your day
and know its spirit, IL you have wise
ly decided to live ambitiously and
with achievements as your aim, and
II you know that circumstances are
to be mastered and that circumstances
are not to master you, In this all that
may be necessary for your life to be OF
greatest usefulness?
1t is not all, nor is 1t even be-
ginning. The secret OF our greatest
usefulness lies in our Independence
upon an Infinite Being whom we call
God.
And the tragic thing about life Is the
vast number of men and women who
never find the secret of their great
est usefulness, and live and die like
starved creatures of misfortune.
Has 1t ever occurred to you that as
we look about us and study the times
In which we live we somehow get
hold of the idea that the greatest thing
In heavon or earth is the fellow you
call yourself. Our progress In all
Importance. We have reasoned 1t
out after this fashion:
We possess the secreat genius of
invention If the eye cannot pene-
trate the yelled secrets Of the dis
lance, we build the telescope. II the
ear cannot hear the sound OF the
human voice 5000 miles away we
construct the telephone and the ra-
do. II our arms cannot reach to
the house-roof, we construst ladder.
II we cannot walk 400 miles In work.
ing day we construct the steam engine
and the aeroplane. II our fingers
cannot separate the cotton from Its
needs fast enough, we invent the cot
ton gin, and one machine replaces
100 men. Then the boast: With this
marvellous power of invention, this
power that enlarges man by mil
lion times his ability and makes OF him
the powerful agency that Moves still
further outward the, posts OF ciyiliza-
ton, what needs man more than this?
And this feeling, this sense Of limit
less power, this sense of complete In
dependence, has so completely taken
possession of our thinking and our ac-
ton, and will take possession of your
thinking and your actions unless you
are on guard. that we lose sight OF the
goal while we stalk boldly on.
The man of science has looked up
into the great arch of heaven and
boastfully said: IL have explored all
that great field OF blue; there is moth
ing in 1t except space, and beyond
that space, and beyond that space,
just space
And the business man has said II
have lived long and experimental
much with human kind. My advice
is to get all you can out Of life. Don't
waste time on the poor wretches that
fall by the wayside. No one ever
appointed you your brothers keeper.
You are a man; he your own keeper;
take no one for a crutch, nor be
crutch for no one. Go 1t alone. Be
independent. Don't accept favors,
then there are no obligations. Ans
wer the door-bell only after you have
pceked through the curtain"
have tried for ten years to sound
the great warning I want to leave
with you tonight, tried to condense
1t into one sentence that would abide.
Here's the result Of my effort. Lis
ten.
BY just so much as you take to