How to Help H UC-NRLF ^B E&S SS7 NatKl C. Fowler, J w Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/boyhowtohelphimsOOfowlrich "To-day's Boy is To-morrow's Man" The Boy How to Help Him Succeed A Symposium of Successful Experiences By Nathaniel C. Fowler, Jr. Assisted by Three Hundred and Nineteen American Men of Marked Accomplishment MofFat, Yard and Company New York i 9 i 2 Copyright, 1902, By Nathaniel C. Fowler, Jr. *?%:;■;■:]: J Just a Word ** By way of preface " WORD pictures of experience — some of the little things I have learned to know — many of the great things others know they know — helps from helpers — conveniently served for profitable taking. 304016 Be yourself — your whole self — you can't be more — you shouldn't be less. Maximum your goods — mini- mum your bads. Find your best self — feed it, train it, work it, rest it, grow it into the full bloom of your char- acter-flower. Table of Contents "What's in it" CHAPTER I Page The Elements of Success ..... 11 A study of what it is, and the winning of it. Success analyzed by experience. CHAPTER n The Starting of the Boy 15 The all-importance of right-starting; its economy and its advantages. CHAPTER HI The Boy at School . , . . . .25 The beginning of his real youthhood ; the basic training for life. CHAPTER IV Good and Poor Scholars ..... 80 What the school is intrinsically doing for the boy, not the rank it gives him. CHAPTER V Higher Education ...... 35 Shall it be college or business ? Shall the boy develop his intellect, before putting it at money-earning ? The advan- tages and disadvantages of higher education, viewed side by side. CHAPTER VI Social Associates ...... 40 The makers and breakers of youth. The incalculable value of proper associations. CHAPTER VII Starting at Work ...... 45 The opening of the boy's real life. The beginning of financial responsibility. CHAPTER VIII Business or Profession ?..... 49 The two great branches of livelihood's tree. What is the will of Nature ? 6 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed CHAPTER IX Page Working for Himself ..... 54 The employee works for himself when he faithfully works for others. CHAPTER X In Business for Himself ..... 56 Shall it be for wage or salary, or for himself by himself ? CHAPTER XI Employer and Employee ..... 59 The two great factors of trade; their relation to each other. CHAPTER XII Parents ........ 61 Their places, their duties, their opportunities, and their responsibilities. CHAPTER XIII At Home or Away ...... 66 The home-town, or away from it. How shall the boy choose ? CHAPTER XIV Money ........ 71 Its almighty power; its danger, and its use. CHAPTER XV Little Things 75 There is no such thing as a little thing, for all things are great. CHAPTER XVI Vacillation . . . . . . .77 Be steady; be steadfast; beware of moves and changes. CHAPTER XVII Odd Times 79 In them lurks many an opportunity. CHAPTER XVIII Honesty . . . . . . . .81 Its all-important place in success-making. CHAPTER XIX Self-Respect and Self-Conceit .... 85 Two of the muscles of success. Their relative position and value. Table of Contents 7 CHAPTER XX Page Continuity . . . . . . .88 The strength of continuous action ; the danger of the change and the stop. CHAPTER XXI Profitable Oneness ...... 90 One good thing is worth a dozen poor ones. CHAPTER XXII Economy and Saving 92 Necessary to all accomplishment. Two of the ** vitals of success-making." CHAPTER XXIII The Good-for-Nothing 96 Make him good for something. CHAPTER XXIV Keep on the Line ...••• 98 The safety of caution. CHAPTER XXV Luck 99 The use and the abuse of it. CHAPTER XXVI Appearances ....... 101 As we seem, so may we be taken to be. The importance of proper presentation. CHAPTER XXVII Health 103 Many facts and suggestions. There can be no real success without it. CHAPTER XXVIII Giving and Taking Advice . . • . Ill Two of the essentials of progress. CHAPTER XXIX Promptness 114 Its great consequences in successful endeavor. CHAPTER XXX Undesirable Habits ...... 115 The economical getting rid of them. 8 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed CHAPTER XXXI Page Courage 117 Real and false bravery. CHAPTER XXXn Harmony ........ 119 •' Now all together for a successful pull." CHAPTER XXXin Politeness ....... 121 A commodity of business; an element of success-making. CHAPTER XXXIV The Farm 122 Its exalted posit jn; its rightful place in business; its true importance. CHAPTER XXXV Exercise . . . . . . . . 125 Its essentiality and its sensible and rational use. CHAPTER XXXVI Great Boys and Smart Boys .... 127 The difference between greatness and smartness. CHAPTER XXXVII Something for Nothing .... . 128 The compensativeness of work and business. The mutuality of successful endeavor. CHAPTER XXXVIII A Symposium of Success . . . . . 130 A recapitulation of the facts and opinions presented by the three hundred and nineteen Men of Mark. This chapter pre- sents, in easy tabulated form, a summary of "The Voice of Distinguished Experience." CHAPTER XXXIX The Voice of Distinguished Experience . .164 The specially written experience and opinion of three hun- dred and nineteen of America's greatest men of successful accomplishment. The answers to twenty-five vital ques- tions, a grand total of several thousand direct and definite expressions of opinion and experience, on the preparation for, and the making of, success by men of superlative suc- cess and distinguished earners of successful result. Upon the following pages is an alphabetically arranged index: — Table of Contents 9 Alphabetical Index To Chapter, entitled, " The Voice of Distinguished Experience " Abbott, Alex. C. . 264 Adams, Chas. E. . 314 Adams, Sam'l S. . 204 Aiken, Wm. M. . . 221 Aishton, R. H. . . 283 Akeley, Healy C. . 304 Alderson, V. C. . . 226 Aldrich, O. W. . . 313 Allerton, S. W. . . 254 Alvord, William . 238 Andrews, B. W. . 230 Angell, James B. . 208 Ashmun, Geo. C. . 287 Atkinson, W. B. . 315 Atwood, Chas. E. . 257 Austin, Oscar P. . 276 Aylesworth, A. B. . 319 Baker, W. E. . . 296 Baker, Wm. T. . . 271 Baldwin, Dan'l P. . 296 Baldwin, Jas. F. . 294 Baldwin, Jr., W. H. 292 Bancroft, E. A. . . 255 Bancroft, Wm. A. . 219 Barber, Ohio C. . 177 Barbour, Geo. H. . 301 Bard, Thomas R. . 183 Bardeen, Chas. V. . 188 Barnes, Oliver W. . 297 Bartlett, Henry . 284 Barton, James L. . 297 Bayliss, Alfred . . 220 Beardslee, L. A. . 238 Bell, Clark ... 197 Berg, Walter G. . 295 Berliner, Emil . . 279 Bernays, Aug. C. . 205 Bigelow, Edw. F. . 279 Bingham, Theo. A. 308 Bitting, W. C. . . 224 Blackford, E. G. . 286 Blair, Henry W. . 272 Blake, Francis . . 307 Blakely, A. R. . . 243 Boggs, Carroll C. . 202 Bolton, Chas. K. . 226 Bookstaver, H. W. 190 Booth, Ballington . 225 Booth-Tucker, F. . 298 Borden, Thos.J. . 248 Bostwick, A. E. . 319 Boyle, John J. . . 284 Bradbury, W. F. .294 Bradford, A. H. .265 Bradley, Milton . 291 Brantly, Theo. . . 300 Breckinridge, J. C. 172 Brewster, C. B. . . 276 Brinkerhoflf, R. . . 286 Brown, A. B. . . . 317 Brown, Elisha R. . 308 Brown, George F. . 234 Bryan, Thos. B. . 178 Buck, Dudley . . 288 Buckingham, M. S. 239 Bulkeley, M. G. . . 220 Burbank, Luther . 290 Burdick, Joel W. . 223 Burford, John H. . 245 Burgess, F. E. . . 264 Burke, Milo D. . . 275 Burpee, E R. . . 262 Burt, Horace G. . 181 Bush-Brown, H. K. 216 Butler, Edw. B. . 249 Byford, H. T. . . 199 Cable, George W. . 171 Cadman, Sam'l P. . 274 Caldwell, Alex. . 219 Callaway, Sam'l R. 220 Cameron, Frank K. 221 Campbell, John . . 289 Campbell, John L. . 272 Campbell, Wm. W. 207 Canfield, Jas. H. . 186 Capen, Elmer H. . 257 Capen, Samuel B. . 192 Cassoday, J. B. . . 217 Chamberlam, P. M. 281 Chapman, John H. . 292 Cherrie, George K. 238 Clark, Francis E. . 209 Clark, Joseph B. . 303 Clark, William B. . 227 Clark, William T. . 259 Clews, Henry . . 170 Cody, William F. . 281 Coffin, C. A. . . .306 Cole, Chester C. . 231 Conover, Frank B. 313 Converse, John H. . 207 Conwell, R. H. . . 283 Corbin, C. C. . . . 242 Couden, Henry N. . 285 Cox, William R. . 279 Craig, Hugh . . .191 Craig, William . . 247 Crapo, William W. 182 Crozier, William . 261 Crunden, Fred. M. 174 Curry, S. S. . . . 231 Dabney, Chas. W. . 288 Dalton, Samuel . . 212 Dana, John C. . . 302 D ^a, Paul ... 182 Da Kington, Jos. G. 238 Davis, Jefiferson . 241 Dawson, Edw. S. . 258 DeBoer, Jos. A. . 267 Dickey, Chas. A. . 254 Dickie, Geo. W. . . 277 Dillon, John F. . . 290 Ditchett, S. H. . . 232 Doremus, E. O. . . 246 Douglas, Wm. L. . 320 Dryden, John F. . 175 Dudley, Chas. R. . 300 Duggar, John F. . 193 Dunn, Gano S. . . 274 Dunne, M. D. . . 278 Dunnels, A. Fred. . 293 Eastman, Sam'l C. 260 Edmunds, H. R. . 229 Eliot, Charles W. . 170 Ely, Theodore N. . 229 Farquhar, N. H. Farwell, Chas. B. Fletcher, John G. Flint, Charles R. Francis, Geo. B. Fuertes, E. A. . Fuller, Howard G. Fuller, Ransom S. Furnas, Elwood 219 296 266 169 248 189 276 314 210 Gage, William B. . 234 Gary, Eugene B. . 289 Gates, John W. . . 283 Gay, George W. . 245 George, Wm. R. . 228 Gibson, Rob't W. . 205 Gifford, O. P. . . 234 Gifford, Wm. L. R. 281 Gillispie, Geo. L. . 312 lo The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed Glenn, G. R . . . 212 Goodnow, C. A, . 285 Greene, Jacob L. . 265 Greenleaf, C. H. . 222 Guild, Jr., Curtis . 270 Gunnell, F. M. . . 204 Gunnison, H. F. . 250 Hadley, Arthur T. 208 Hamilton, John T. 244 Harper, Wm. R. . 188 Harrison, Chas. C. 203 Hendrix, Joseph C. 200 Herreid, Chas. N. . 307 Higgins, J. W. . . 209 Hill, Frank P. . . 288 Hill, John F. . . . 180 Hill, Walker ... 244 Hinman, Geo. W. . 208 Houghton, fjohn C. 211 Howard, Oliver O. . 311 Howland, Oliver A. 214 Howland, Wm. B. . 229 Hunn, John . . . 206 Hyde, Wm. DeW. . 299 Jefferson, Chas. E. 253 Jefferson, Joseph . 185 Jeflfery, Edw. T. . 282 Johnstone, E. R. . 226 Jones, Charles H. . 271 [ones, Gardner M. . 315 fordan, David S. . 177 Tordan, L. B. . . 242 ^uhring, John C. . 246 Keith, B. F. . . . 237 Keith, Elbridge G. . 267 Kellogg, J. H. . . 235 Kimball, Geo. A. . 276 Knowlton, H. M. . 269 Landon, Thos. H. . 284 Lansing, Isaac J. . 251 Lamed, Jos. N. . . 263 Lauterbach, Edw. . 184 Lemly, Sam'l C. . 186 Lincoln, Wm. H. . 206 Lomax, Edw. L. . 250 Longenecker, J. M. 252 MacArthur, R. S. - 194 Macbeth, Geo. A. . 272 Macfarland,H.B.F. 320 Manley, Jos. H. . . 240 Martin, T. C. . . . 253 Maxwell, Wm. H. . 216 McCall, John A. . 168 McFarlin, W. K. . 319 McKelway,St.Clair 195 McLane, J. W. . . 249 McLeish, Andrew . 247 Mehaffey, G. W. . 278 Melville, Geo. W. . 180 Mersman, J. H. . . 241 Mickleborough, J. . 212 Miller, Roswell . .211 Mitchell, John . . 311 Mitchell, John A. . 193 Money, H. D. . . 262 Montague, A. J. . 200 Moody, Wm. H. . 184 Moody, Wm. R. . . 316 Moore, Francis C. . 318 Moore, James E. . 259 Moore, John B. . . 291 Moore, Joseph B. . 227 Morley, Frank . . 241 Morse, Dan'l P. . . 290 Morris, E. B. . . . 186 Mowry, Wm. A. . 252 Munford, Thos. T. 239 Murphy, John B. . 217 Murray, Robert . 250 Nelson, C. Kinloch 249 Nichols, Jason E. . 264 Nott, Charles C. . 228 Ogden, Robert C. . 173 Parkhurst, C. H. Patterson, T. M. Paxson, L. B. . Peirce, H. H. D. Pettigrew, R. F. Phillips, G. A. . Phinney, Jos. W. Piatt, Charles . Pope, Albert A. Pope, Edward W. Potter, W. F. . Pratt, Frederic B. Pratt,. Ralph E. 173 191 313 233 310 261 230 269 204 215 262 261 282 Quackenbos, J. D. . 170 Quarles, Joseph V. 303 Quarles, Ralph P. . 305 Radcliffe, Wallace 289 Randolph, J. C. F. . 271 Ransom, Rastus S. 222 Raven, A. A. . . 213 Revell, Alex. H. . 310 Reynolds, A. R. . 209 Rice, Joseph M. . 226 Rice, William B. . 207 Richards,DeForest 270 Ricketts, P. C. . . 305 Riddell, Wm. R. . 314 Riis, Jacob A. . . 184 Robinson, D. A. . 259 Robson, Stuart . . 214 Savage, Ezra P. . 201 Saxton, Chas. T. . 187 Schaeffer, N. C. . 270 Schroers, John . . 309 Scott, Nathan B. . 233 Sears, Francis B. . 260 Seaver, Edwin P. . 183 Seward, Geo. F. . 181 Shaw, Joseph A. . 252 Shepard, John . . 293 Simmons, J. Edw. . 200 Simonton, C. H. . 185 Slack, Charles H. . 275 Sloane, John . . . 213 Smith, Bryan H. . 240 Smith, Charles E. . 168 Smith, C. W. . . .280 Sousa, John P. . . 199 Spencer, Jr., A. . 266 Staples, Orsen G. . 316 Stevens, Geo. W. . 210 Stevens, Harold W. 243 Stevenson, W. M. . 244 Straus, Isidor . . 316 Sullivan, LA. . . 216 Tarbell, H. S. . Taylor, Chas. H. Thompson, J. W. Thomson, John . Tobey, Frank B. Toltz, Max . . Tomlinson, A. H. Trumbull, H. C. Tucker, Wm. J. . Turner, Chas. Y. . 262 . 208 . 225 . 201 . 303 . 266 . 302 • 255 . 291 . 241 Underwood, F. D. . 189 Utley, Henry M. . 300 Vincent, M. R. 268 Waitt, Arthur M. . 309 Wallace, Wm. J. . 254 Warner, Lucien C. 318 Weston, John F. . 258 Wheeler, Benj. I. . 266 Wheeler, Edw. J. . 179 White, Albert B. . 273 Whitelaw, O. L. . 304 Wight, John G. . .263 Wilgus, W. J. . . 195 Willcox, E. S. . . 301 Williams, Chas. R. 253 Williams, Geo. G. . 182 Woodbridge, S. H. 211 Wright, A. W. . .285 The Elements of Success ** Let's knock at Mystery's gate, and beg a hearing " SUCCESS seems to be a psychological state or con- dition, as invisible as electricity, no less an ac- tuality, and as positive as gravity, a permanent or transient inhabitant of every plane of Endeavor's everywhere. The dictionarian may refuse to consider success other than the favorable and profitable termination of the thing attempted, the satisfactory issue of effort, the ending corresponding with the aim and desire enter- tained. Luck is not analogous with success. Luck is the result of chance. Success is the product of intention. The psychological composition of success may be an unknown quantity in the laboratory of business, profes- sion, or labor, but the action of success, or successful action, is a part of the daylight of accomplishment. The result of successful endeavor, and the action accomplishing it, are definite enough for experiment. *« As others have done, so may I do," is Possibility's motto of encouragement. He who would build buildings, if he would build them well, must learn of building builders, and study their models, their work, their personal characteristics, and their results. The likes, the dislikes, the methods, the ways, and the principles of men of success may furnish Experi- ence's general practical guide to success-making. In the arithmetic of life, ability plus opportunity equals success. A study into the composition of success and failure indicates that the sign of success is engraved upon the intellect, and not upon the palm or the face, and that 12 * 'The Bdy-^'How to Help Him Succeed the' accbmplislimetit'Cif'^. success is due as much to effort and environment as to original or inherited ability. There are laws in everything, — laws of Nature, laws of nations, laws of health, laws of success. The law of average is safer to follow than the rule of exception. The hard proof of fact unqualifiedly says that, while birth counts, inheritance is but a factor in the finished result. All the energy in the world, concentrated into an individual engine, will not carry the train unless there be a road-bed and a track. The start must be made, the pace must be kept up, and surrounding conditions have much to do with its progress. A percentage of our boys do but little better than exist, partly because few of them have started right, and because few of them have kept themselves, or have been kept, within the path leading to success. The world is full of pairs of success and failure. One is successful, because he has energy and oppor- tunity ; the other is a failure, because his opportunity does not meet his energy, or his energy does not find his opportunity ; and yet both are born and reared in the ^same home atmosphere, feed upon the same meat, and live within grasping distance of the same oppor- tunity. What does one possess which is not possessed by the other? Apparently, both are equal, and both would seem to have equal chance in the fight for success. It is the business of the father and the mother, the teacher, and the friend, to start the boy in the line of his apparent ability and inclination, if these be reason- able and sensible. The boy should be studied from the day of his birth, and every action and every inclination should be re- corded in the minds of love, that the framing of that boy's house of success may be begun at once, and that the boy may know enough to manage it when he comes to the care-taking age. The Elements of Success 13 Starting right is worth nothing without keeping right ; but if the start is not right, years of labor may be neces- sary to break down the handicap of a misdirected beginning. There never was a boy worth the feeding who did not present to a close observer some indication of a fitness for something. This fitness, or inclination, soon crystallizes into an action, and this action soon creates a definite desire, which in its turn builds up a proficiency for some one thing for which the boy is naturally adapted. This is an age of specialists. The Jack of all trades is the jackass of all trades. No one can do two things equally well. The best shoemaker is a far better man than the poor preacher, and the proficient housekeeper is a much more valuable contributor to civilization than is the lifeless writer of wordy literature. Study the boy ; watch the boy ; analyze each action and inclinatiou. Do not force him ; do not hurry him ; do not fit him to a calling ; find a calling that fits him. There are a thousand means of livelihood. The boy has but one prominent ability. Discover that ability, and feed it with the kind of food it needs, that it may develop into a good thing for the boy and a good thing for the community. Do not start the boy in business at haphazard speed. Better wait a year too long than to crowd him into the first opening, when he does not fit that opening. The first start sets the direction, and to change means time lost, energy lost, money lost. Better do the ex- perimenting (and one may experiment by study before the boy takes the first step) than to start him in the wrong direction and have him unlearn as well as to have to be taught over again. The winning of success lies in accomplishing some- thing by the realization of the full result of capacity. It matters not what that result is, so long as it be honor- able and the best result possible. 14 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed Success may mean money, or statesmanship, or power, or philanthropy, or leadership, or position in anything honorable. There are more of the harmonious elements of success in the best man in town than in the richest man in town. Anything is successful, which has reached the height of its capacity, which is the best the doer can do, and is the flush result of his consummate ability and effort. Striving to do more than one can, may not invite failure. Unwillingness to use one's full possessions does not encourage success. In correctly diagnosing one's self, energetically exer- cising every faculty, adjusting all to the equipoise of harmonious nicety, is the highest realization of pure and unadulterated success, a point as yet seldom at- tained, but one to be within easy reach in the days of a rapidly approaching civilization of real Christ-like Christianity. The best possible at its time is the best success of its day. The Starting of the Boy " The right start leads to successful finish '* WITHOUT the start there can be no finish. The finish is not independent of the start. The germ of the beginning is present at the ending. As we start, so are we likely to go. The wrong start may cast an eternal shadow. The wrong start is expensive ; it leads to continuous cost. The economy of success-making is impatient of wrong-starting. New times are different from old times. What was best for the father may not be best for the son. New theories are wrestling with old ideas, striving to fix standard principles. The vital question of the day, yes, of the hour, of the minute, is, *'What shall we do with the boy?" and like unto it is its sequel, ** How shall we start the boy?" The right start fortifies against failure. The right start leads on to success. The right start is the shortest road to result. Failure begins with the wrong begin- ning and accompanies inharmonious environment. Persistency almost always wins ; ability usually counts ; but ability and persistency, stored in faithfulness and ambition, lean upon conditions, and conditions, at the start, are of far more consequence than at any other point of the road of progress. Environment is of as much importance as is inherit- ance. All are much more equal, prenatally, than we are apt to consider. The future depends more upon the regulation of early- life than upon the adjustment of any other period of existence. IS i6 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed Success and failure are largely within the grasp of the boy and of his parents. As the boy is started and trained, so the man probably will be. The better the parents understand the boy, and the better the boy understands himself and his parents, the easier can be mapped out the boy*s probable road to every grade of prosperity. The parents everywhere, be they rich or poor, read or unread, in the city or in the town, in the village or in the woods, with anxious arms are reaching out for something to co-operate with them in the guidance of their boys, who to-day may be bent, but to-morrow will be rigid men, set in the stiffness of adulthood. Theories are glutting the market. Hard, practical, common sense is at a premium. Self-conceit, another name for isolated individual opinion, is dangerously prevalent. I ask no pardon for temporarily dropping sentiment, and for considering humanity as cold materiality. Half a truth may be handled with gloves. The whole truth is never injured by naked-handed hand- ling. Physically and mentally, the human offspring begins at the lower stratum of animal life. What he will be, not what he is, gives him the right of consequence. If he has characteristics, he does not show them. If he thinks, he does not know that he thinks, and therefore he presents little perceptible indication of mind-capacity. His only marked characteristic, or, rather, his one dis- play of instinct, is a continual desire for food. He can eat, if food be given him. He doesn't know enough to forage for it. Unkept and unfed, he dies. To eat is the substance of his ambition, and when he is not eating, or trying to eat, he is doing nothing, or is smiling, or cry- ing, or sleeping. He is of importance, not for what he is, but for what he may be, or is likely to be, or it is hoped he will be. He is a little, round, helpless, thin-skinned lump of expectation ; entirely helpless, com- The Starting of the Boy 17 pletely dependent, and in a present state of total worth- lessness. Yet the maiden aunt and sentimental mother may think that they see in the just-born boy every con- spicuous trait from every branch of two family trees. When the boy is a few years old, family pride and parental conceit, correctly and incorrectly, and often dangerously, discover in him everything they desire to discover. Physical inheritance may manifest itself at an early age, but mental capacity is seldom seen in well-defined lines before the boy reaches the age of half a dozen years, and even then the distinguishing marks may not be below the surface. Up to the tenth or twelfth year-point, the boy's physical condition deserves the first attention, with, of course, the absorption of the ** Three R's " of school. The boy now begins to show some permanent likes and dislikes, and though his like often changes to his dislike, and his dislike to his like, the keen observer, and all interested observers cannot help keenness, may discover the beginning of some definite characteristic, some more or less strong, or feeble, presentation of some particular ability, or of some kind of indication of some specific tendency. The learned scientist and physician, as a class, be- lieve that the good or bad of inheritance is considerably confined to inherited tendency, and their researches have demonstrated that unless the boy has had the opportunity of inheriting pronounced mental or physi- cal qualities, his character and^future will be, or is likely to be, controlled or influenced by environment. Let it never, even for the moment, be unrealized that environment, with its goodness, badness, and conven- tionality, is co-responsible with inheritance. At the age of ten years the boy is old enough, and mentally strong enough, to begin to appreciate, and to be materially influenced by his surroundings. He is then entering upon the prime of boyhood, the beginning i8 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed of his real life. He is mature enough to reason, and to realize that he cannot help becoming a man, although he may have little definite conception of manhood. He is old enough to choose his associates, and he does. At no other time is he so readily influenced, and willingly so, by his home, his parents, and his friends. He may be conceited, but probably he is not bigoted. He may be self-willed, but his will is not permanently set, and is more pliable than it ever will be afterwards. He is be- ginning to travel upon the high-road of his life. He is between the green pastures of his youth, and close by the smiling waters of pleasure, and he breathes the fra- grance of the flowers of happy irresponsibility, but he is fast approaching a rougher and sterner country, and the future, to him, although unrealized, is losing its blankness. He does not appreciate his experience, and few parents comprehend the delicacy and vital conse- quence of his condition. By them, and by the world, and even by his teacher, he is too often considered but a boy, and treated as a boy, as though in him had not fairly begun the beginning of the man. Our present civilization, progressive though it may be, too often robs the foundation, that it may artistically build the superstructure. The boy is entitled to a fundamental education. He must learn to read, and to write, and to figure, and to be familiar with the common school studies. Without the principles of education, he can never branch out, or enter anything. He must receive these fundamentals, willingly or otherwise ; the law so rules it ; and the law is right. If the boy is to enter college, it is not too early to begin to consider the classical course, although for some time there may be no change in his studies ; but that object should be kept in view, that he may be better prepared, when the time comes, to shape his way college-ward. The boy who has to be forced, so long as he needs The Starting of the Boy 19 force, will neither contemplate, nor accomplish, suc- cess. It is neither right, nor fair, nor good policy, to force the boy into a classical course, or into any other higher learning, against the boy's reasonable objection. The boy has rights, and has as much right to his rights as have the parents. Force on the part of the parents is seldom justifiable when it goes beyond protecting the boy from danger, keeping him in health and within the law of reason and of the land he lives in, and giving him educational essentials. The boy, if necessary, should be forced through the common school, but seldom a step further. After the common school is past, he has an equal vote with his parents, and if he be a boy of character and of sense, the casting vote in the matter of educational progres- sion, and to him, more than to his parents, belongs the decision of the method of his livelihood. If he is worthy of a higher education, force will never have to be exercised upon him. Parents should never drive higher education against the grain of the youthful cranium. The success of every boy is not independent from association with conditions adapted to his physical ca- pacity and to his mental ability. Which way does the boy incline ? Does he show mental activity ? Does he memorize or does he reason? Is he a copier or an originator? It is the parents' business to encourage the boy, to teach him the way he should go, to boost him up the common tree of life, and to let him climb through the branches of his own choosing, and to help him while he is climbing, and even to hold the net of safety beneath him lest he fall. Half of our blundering, ignorant, out-of-place law- yers, doctors, and ministers are but the product of wilful and conceited parents, who hadn't brains enough to let their boys walk upon their own legs, but insisted upon propping them up upon crutches for 20 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed life ; and the suffering world, with the boys, pays the penalty. Better that the boy be the best machinist in town than the poorest lawyer. Better a good carpenter than a butchering doctor. Better that he till the soil well and enjoy a profitable harvest, than that he, in his ignorance and inadaptability, misrepresent religion. The boy of any age is not entitled to indiscriminate freedom. He must be mastered. The boy without a master is as unsafe as a ship without a tiller, but the boy with an incompetent master may be in more peril than a ship without a rudder. The boy, however, when he has reached youthful maturity, is entitled to a not-over-restricted freedom of his individuality, and he should be allowed to have a voice in the shaping of his future. The boy of sense is worthy of being trusted, and his likes and dislikes are entitled to profound respect. The application of human law and of the parents' law had better be mostly confined to the negative ; and to the boy, as an individual, if he be a boy of character and of sufficient age, should be conceded the right to choose the affirmative, subject always to an intelligent parental veto. Parents have rights, but the right of their right is in the right use of it. The boy, if he be a boy worth hav- ing and of some maturity, has rights of his own ; and the boy's real rights and his parents' real rights can never meet in harmful collision. Parental love, sensible love, — and any other kind of parental love is unworthy of the name, — the love which has trained itself to proper regulation, and is competent to administer itself, has done a thousand times, yes, ten thousand times more good to the boy than the arbitrary parental dictation of might. I am aware that early characteristics are often mis- interpreted, that it is sometimes impossible, and often difficult, for parents, even if they be the wisest, to The Starting of the Boy 21 render proper assistance to the boy ; but parents must do their best, and when in doubt should consult with others, as wise as or wiser than they, that collective judg- ment, not individual opinion, may be the order of their rule. They should advise with others, anyway ; for no two parents, even the best, have in themselves the sole right of directorship. Alone they may, or may not, know what is best to do ; and the chances are, perhaps, but even. Working with others, correcting and perfect- ing their ideas from those of others, they may sometimes do wrongly, but they are far less apt to blunder. There is safety in the sharing of responsibility. The boy, at quite an early age, begins to show what he may be good for, or he is getting himself into shape to show what he may be good for. The time has ar- rived for him to study himself, and to be studied ; to find himself, and to be found ; and his characteristics and his tendencies, his advantages and his disadvan- tages, should be carefully noted, that a general line of action may be marked out for him, suggested to him, and not forced upon him — an elastic line, that it may be turned one way or another, as constantly arising con- ditions may suggest, but the line not lacking definite- ness, however. Bending the boy against his natural grain means mental or physical deformity. Every boy who is good for anything is better for one thing than for any other. Along the line of his capacity is the road to his best accomplishment. Forcing him to be what Nature never intended for him means failure. The boy's inclinations may, and may not, correspond with the boy's capacity. He may be mistaken about him- self, and so may be his parents, and his teacher may not diagnose his case correctly. Certainty is impossi- ble. Probability is probable. The boy who wants to do what he ought to do is pretty sure of success. The combination of desire and capacity leads on to profit. Most failures begin either by doing what one does not 22 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed want to do, or by doing what one ought not to do. The success of almost every boy is dependent upon his in- clination, working in harmony with his real capacity ; and the sooner this combination is discovered, the quicker the boy will reach results. Parents should be the allies of the teacher, and should help to make the regulative and hurried teachings of the school pleasantly realistic, interesting, and entertain- ing to the scholar ; but if they are incompetent, the boy is much better off without their direct assistance, be- cause there may be more ignorance in the home than in the school-room, and there is likely to be much less trained experience. Desire to benefit the boy may, and may not, be ac- companied with competency. If the boy shows a me- chanical bent, he should have something mechanical to do about the house, and be encouraged in every way along the line of his inclination. The more mechanical things set before him, the better, provided they do not interfere with his regular duties and with his health. The handling of mechanics, and the seeing of them in action, and the atmosphere of the workshop, even though he be but a visitor, and not an actor, will be of much use in fitting him for the life he is likely to follow. If the boy enjoys the farm, and outdoors is more than all the rest of the world to him, there should be impressed upon him the advantage of being a good farmer, and not a drudger ; and he should be allowed to see the difference between working the land and allowing the land to work him. If he appears to be a trader, he should, when of reasonable age, meet men of honest business, and be kept away from the jockies of trade, that he may learn the right side of business and not the wrong side of barter. If he be a student, and loves study, every opportunity should be given him to develop his inclinations, and he should be surrounded with the atmosphere of books and The Starting of the Boy 23 of learning, and be shown that memorizing is the lowest order of intellectual accomplishment, and that the book-worm always crawls. Study should never interfere with the proper amount of outdoor exercise. Too much study may be as bad as too little study. Study, at the sacrifice of health and of a proper amount of youthful pleasure, never pays a satisfactory dividend. If the boy has a decided preference for some pro- fession, let him see that profession as it is ; both sides of it; its advantages and disadvantages. Don't keep him away from the bad side. If his ambition and desire are built upon the solid rock of adaptability, he cannot be discouraged. Whatever the boy seems best adapted to, or wants to do, if that want appears to be a reasonable one, he should, so far as practicable, and so far as it does not interfere with his regular duties and with his reasonable pleasures, live somewhat in the environment of his choice, that even while a school-boy he may not be unfamiliar with the responsibilities of his future. It is unmistakably a great advantage to him if he can, in early life, determine upon his future course, with some degree of probability, and be given the right atmos- phere to work and play in, that it may be easier, and not harder, for him to find himself, and to hold himself, and more easily and more gradually and more natur- ally to prepare himself for his life's work. The boy should be a boy so long as he is a boy. The premature assumption of man's estate is unnatural and dangerous. But the boy does not assume the responsibilities of manhood, when, in the maturity of his youth, or even before it, he formally, or informally, selects the probable course of his life, and begins to accustom himself to the conditions surrounding that direction. The earlier he makes a decision, in part or in fact, with the assistance of his parents and friends, the more gradually, and the more easily, he will accomplish results. He will naturally grow into what 24 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed he is after, unconsciously and without weariness, and without negligence of study or of the sacrifice of the pleasure he, as a boy, deserves and requires. Many a boy does not know what he wants to do, and many a boy cannot well be told what he had better do, much before the time of doing it. This boy is simply at a disadvantage. Success is not denied him, but he isn't so well off as he would have been if he could have discovered, or partially discovered, in advance, the best probable road to travel. The tourist, who starts at a moment's notice through Nature's wonderland, appreciates each picture as it unrolls before him, but he does not enjoy them to the fulness of his capacity, nor receive from them what he would have realized, had he started mentally and physically equipped to absorb each experience as he met it. Give Nature full sway. Nature is never wrong and never goes astray. The real Nature of a boy is the real boy in the entirety of his completeness. Find that Nature, the best part, and the whole part, of all there is good in the boy, and then let Nature take its course, by helping it along, encouraging it, and feeding it with the natural food the Great Provider planted for man to harvest. The Boy at School ** Where the twig is bent and set " SUBSTANTIALLY all American boys, whether or not they finish at college or at other high institutions of learning, attend the so-called pub- lic or common school, and probably eighty-five per cent, of them complete their scholastic education by graduating from the several grades, or classes, of the free school system. It is obvious that the boy cannot hope to progress without the fundamental education commonly taught in the public schools. Without this knowledge, he can- not expect to succeed in life, nor can he become a member of any respectable community ; and this basic or foundational scholarship is necessary, whether he goes higher educationally or not, and whether he be- comes a laborer or a lawyer. This common or rudi- mentary knowledge he must acquire, and it must be driven into him, if necessary, unless he possesses con- siderably less than ordinary mental capacity. It is essential, first, to give the boy the tools to work with ; and second, to discipline, train, and fit his mind for labor in any department of livelihood-earning. It is true that the boy may forget one-half of his early geography ; that the solution of many of his school problems may pass from his mind ; and that, perhaps, at the close of his college course he could not, at the moment, pass the entrance examinations ; yet, however much he may have forgotten, he has received informa- tion, and he has learned how to take it, and his early education, forgotten or remembered, has disciplined and fitted him to better grasp opportunity. The average boy is a member of a class of average boys, of average ability, and of a social standing like 25 26 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed his own. There are probably not less than twenty-five in the class, and perhaps twice that number, or more. He is, then, but a part of a composite whole, and a general, not a specific, factor in his class. Little is usually done, and little can be done, under the present school system, for him individually. He must, in com- mon with his mates, feed upon the general loaf of edu- cation, and not upon bread specially baked for him. No matter how faithful the teacher, no matter how great his ability, it is obvious that he cannot give more than very limited personal attention to any one boy. Many of our educational authorities consider it for- tunate for the boy that he is a part of a scholastic machine, and not a petted individual, and that the boy needs this rounding-out, this opportunity to absorb generally. Other educational experts deplore the lack of opportunity for individual interest and instruction, and look upon our present school system as falling very far short of the ideal. Undoubtedly, somewhere between these extremes of opinion lies the best method of edu- cation, — a method sure of speedy discovery and adoption. Until its arrival, however, the school must be considered as it now is, not as it may be, or ought to be. There can, nevertheless, be no question that the boy, with this general knowledge and discipline, needs per- sonal care and assistance in connection with the school system, provided the school system does not and can- not give them, and these the parents, or guardian, or relatives, or friends must give, or the boy, for the present, will have to get along without them. It is the important duty of some one outside of the school to follow the boy's career at school, to be posted upon everything he does and does not do, and to act as an accessory to the teacher. Unfortunately, too much of the tendency of school teaching is towards the development of the memory, and not of the reason. The common school teacher The Boy at School 27 does not always have the time, and may not always have the ability, to develop individual thought. The boy may become a repeater rather than areasoner. He may be mechanically correct, and his record may be at the hundred-mark, and yet he, at the head of his class, may be less equipped for the future than is the boy half-way down, or more than half-way down, in class-standing. Besides imparting fundamental facts, and training and disciplining the boy, education is of little value to him unless his mind is capable of handling it. The talk of the parrot begins and ends at the parrot's mouth ; there is no mind, no reasoning back of it. Many a schoolboy, high up in his class, recites with little more understanding. Dutiful parents, parents who are really interested in their boy's progress, will, so far as possible, keep them- selves familiar with the boy's work at school. They will read the boy's text-books, talk over the lessons with him at home, and supply the attention which the teacher has not time to give. If the parents are edu- cated, well and good. If the parents are not educated, here is their opportunity to study with the boy, for the mutual benefit of all concerned. Parents should not make the home-study hard work for the boy. Let the study at home be mixed with recreation, — a pleasure, not a hardship. Study worth much of anything is not grinding labor. Studying, with understanding and with the proper help, is pleasur- able Work and not drudgery. The teacher may of necessity be unable to always make the task easy or pleasant for the pupil, and perhaps the teacher has not the time nor the opportunity to soften hard educational fact. Furthermore, many a teacher has not a faculty of imparting knowledge easily, smoothly, and pleas- ingly. Here is an opportunity for parents to do what the teacher cannot do, or may not be able to do easily, — to help the boy to love study, to appreciate the value of education. 28 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed There should be in every home, yes, in every board- ing-house, a general social discussion of educational matters, for the benefit of the young people, and for the welfare of every inmate. Parents should not throw upon the teacher a responsibility greater than it is the teacher's duty to bear. They should work with the teacher for the boy's good, and for the good of the community. This co- operation — and, mind you, co-operation should not be dictation — simplifies, strengthens, and makes more effective the whole educational system, and does more than anything else to brace and strengthen the boy entering the ranks of active life, and supplies him not only with sufficient educational ammunition, but with skill to use it. The private or so-called select school generally follows the methods of the common or public school, intensifying and broadening those methods by giving more attention to each pupil. Some of the private schools are in every way superior to the public schools, and some of them are very much inferior. The private school has a better opportunity than has the common school, and more often than otherwise it improves that opportunity. What is known as ** the society school " is likely to teach more of what it ought not to teach than of what it should teach. Fortunately, the majority of private schools are true educational institutions, managed by men and women of great integrity, ability, and adapta- bility, and fortunate, indeed, is the boy given an opportunity to study under such favorable auspices. While it is the parents' duty to watch the boy at school, to aid him, encourage him, and to co-operate with his teacher, they should seldom assume the right of educational dictation. Many of our educational systems are far from perfection, many of our committee- men are neither physically nor mentally adapted to offer advice, and many a teacher lacks ability and The Boy at School 29 method ; yet the average system, the average com- mittee-man, and the average teacher are more com- petent to frame methods and to instruct than is the average parent, and parents should recognize this. Faultfinding is easy ; any one can object to the method and to the teacher; but co-operation, assist- ance, and interest are far better than faultfinding and backbiting. Parents should render to the teacher what is the teacher's due, and assist rather than find fault w^ith him. They should be the teacher's assistants and friends, for often the incompetent teacher, with home assistance, may accomplish more than can the good teacher unaided and alone. Teachers have their places ; let not parents trespass upon school-house domains. Parents have their rights ; let not teachers invade the home preserves. The boy at school is entitled to exercise some of his individuality ; let both teacher and parent respect the manliness of youth-hood. Stand together ; you are not competitors ; work to- gether, all of you — parents, scholars, teachers. In interested, companionable, enthusiastic correlation is the mutual flood of prosperity. Good and Poor Scholars " What's the good of unused good " THE good scholar at school, more than the poor scholar, is likely to develop into successful man- hood. Yet many heads of classes, and many more not far down the scholastic ranking-line, have made failures of life, v^hile many a boy at the foot of his class, or near the foot of it, has been the first to cross the tape in life's track of accomplishment. Proficiency in early scholarship may not be the fore- runner of successful result. Dullness in school, or apparent incapacity, or wilful unwillingness to excel is certainly not conducive to success ; but because many poor scholars become successful men, and because many good scholars are failures, scholarship in school or class-rank cannot be considered as an infallible criterion of the future. While it is a fact that most of the men of success were neither at the head nor at the foot of their classes, partly because there are more scholars between the head and the foot than are at the head or at the foot ; yet it is probable that the majority of successful men were graduated from school or college in the upper half of their classes ; and that life's failures, for the most part, were in the lower half of their classes. The boy who cannot keep up with the majority of his schoolfellows is not likely to harvest profitably on any of life's fields of labor. The boy who will not keep up with the majority of his schoolfellows simply because he is too lazy, or too unambitious, or too much interested in something else, may become a pronounced success, provided that he realizes before it is too late that one of the parts oi accomplishment is strenuous application. The boy who is at the head of his class 30 Good and Poor Scholars 31 simply because he wants to be at the head, and has no better reason, is not likely to succeed more than moder- ately in life. The boy most liable to be a success is the boy who gets out of the school all that the school can give, whether he be at the head of his class or not. He goes to school for a purpose. His purpose is to learn what there is to learn, and to learn with understanding and not by rote. He is not a parrot-like repeater at recita- tion, nor a mechanical memorizer at examination. He learns what he learns, that he may know what he knows ; and he fills himself with this information, not for the sake of the information, but for what the infor- mation shall be worth to him when occasion requires its use. He loads that he may unload ; he absorbs that he may distribute ; he stores himself full of the right kind of material, of use to himself and to his world. What he learns he understands, and what he cannot under- stand he refuses to learn. Consequently, he is nearer the middle of his class than to the head of it, and often he is unable to win class-ranking-honors from the boy of mechanical memory. Many a boy at the head of his class is merely an automatic absorber. The knowledge he receives solidi- fies under his skull, and there remains intact, without life or vibration. It is worth nothing to the boy be- cause he cannot distribute it. He does not understand it. He wins ranking-honors at school because his recita- tions are technically perfect and his answers to exami- nation questions are equally correct. This boy seldom makes a success of anything ; he is a dead boy, with an absorbent mind that can receive what it cannot give. With equal facility his head will hold a string of abstract figures, a line of dates, and a book of words. As a storage plant he may be a success, if some one is found to unload him and market his goods ; but alone, he is a failure, a miser of knowledge, an educated automaton. Yet he may graduate at the head of his 32 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed class, for under many of our accepted systems of mark- ing, ignorant correctness stands as high as intelligent understanding, and automatic negatives rank with intellectual affirmatives. Some systems of education seem to offer a premium for active absorption and in- active understanding. They appear to be satisfied if the boy can answer in the words of the book. They encourage him to look upon the head of the class as the top-goal of result ; and many a boy in striving for class leadership becomes mechanically strong and intellectually weak. The institution of learning, where knowledge is taught as it should be taught, does not over-praise the head, nor over-condemn the foot of the class. It de- velops the memory, not for memory's sake, but just so far as the memory may the better store the material of understanding. It asks the student to do his best, and would rather encourage him to be at the foot of the class, understanding a part of his lesson, than to be a book-roter at the head of his class. The boy at school who gets something out of his lessons beyond the mere book questions and answers is going to be a success, whether he be at the head of the class, in the middle of the class, or at the foot of the class, — but he is not likely to be at the foot of the class. The boy who thinks more about what he learns than about his relative position in the class is likely to be a winner. He learns with an object in view ; he at- tempts to understand as he passes on. Consequently, he may not be able to pass an examination so well as does the boy who is ignorantly literal and dry-book- perfect. Not how the boy stands in school, but how the boy is using the school, or rather, how the boy's school stands in him, counts in the end. The strife for scholastic rank in school is pure and simple competition ; and all competition, whether neces- Good and Poor Scholars 33 sary or not, is unnatural. Business, as business is done, demands competition ; but business, as now con- ducted, is not the ideal of a higher civilization. There would appear to be little or no excuse for competition in school ; and competition should be seldom encour- aged by the teacher or permitted by the government. Successful scholars are seldom competitors in a com- petitive sense. Competition, broadly defined, means getting something at the expense of another ; that is, taking unto one's self that which another unwillingly gives up, or, on account of competition, fails to receive. The struggle for class leadership is seldom unadulter- ated with this kind of competition, and, just so far as it is thus competitive, it is unprofitable and wrong. The position at the head of the class is too often obtained by the exercise of memorizing, or by what is known as exhaustive cramming. The victor frequently gets there by an abnormal development of his memory. Memory alone is an unprofitable possession. What it receives is valuable only in so far as it is usable. The memory which can use and distribute its receipts is a priceless blessing, a commodity of success. Let the memory be broadly developed, that it may be generous, not miserly, equally receiving and giving for the mutual benefit of itself and others. Many a boy, in striving for class-ranking-honors, has strained himself physically and mentally, has further sacrificed a part of his understanding, and has dwarfed his intellectual development, that he might crowd his memory with the facts and figures too often essential to class prominence. The boy who has the germ of success in him gen- erally has too much good sense to strive for an empty honor, or for an unprofitable position, or to pay for anything more than the thing is worth. School, to him, is a means to an end. He absorbs the wheat, and passes by the chaff. He stores knowledge, not in a solid lump of memory, but in convenient layers of 34 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed understanding. In other words, he stores intellectual food, not for the sake of keeping, but for the sake of using. He is in the highest sense a good scholar, no matter what his class-rank may be. On the field of the future it matters little what his relative position has been in the training classes of his boyhood. What he knows counts, and what he knows is what he has with him, fitted for use, not what he has unnaturally stored up within the outletless volume of his mind. The boy, whose highest ambition is to stand at the head of his class, wholly for the sake of being there, and for the selfish motive of outranking his fellow- students, seldom puts his knowledge to any service. He is likely to remain an educated dummy, well-nigh useless to the community. For the growth of his memory, that he may obtain a class-ranking honor, he has dwarfed his intellectuality. The head of the class may be a failure. The foot of the class generally is. The good scholar is more often at neither end of his class, and cares infinitely more for what he learns to understand than for an arbitrary class-rating, which may seem to stand for much, but which really stands for little. He is not, however, in- different to class-rank. If others pass him, it spurs him to greater endeavor, not that he outmatch them, but that he may receive the top-fulness of his school privileges. He obtains the knowledge of action, not the learning of stagnation. He uses what he receives, and succeeds. Higher Education " There isn't likely to be too much of a good thing" HIGHER education may be considered to consist of every grade of academic learning beyond the graduating or finishing class of the com- mon or public school, and to include the teaching at colleges, classical academies, institutes of technology, and substantially every kind of instruction, except that pertaining to commercial technicality. The fundamental part, or the foundation, of educa- tion is found in the common or public school, known as the kindergarten and primary school, the graded grammar school, and the more or less elective high school. Every boy, whether or not he proposes to enter busi- ness or profession, and whether or not he proposes to advance educationally, absolutely needs this founda- tional preparation ; for without it he cannot enter life properly equipped, nor will he be prepared to broaden into classical or scientific attainment. When the boy has finished his common school course, many parents, with or without the boy's consent, and with or without exercising common sense, and often without common fairness, unequivocally decide that the boy shall begin to earn a livelihood, or that he shall con- tinue his education in the higher courses of learning. If the boy has stood high in his common school classes, and has appeared to be an apt pupil, the parents, if they can afford it, quite frequently attempt to unduly influence, or force, the boy college-ward. Very often the parents mistake the power of mem- orizing for educational capacity, and judge the boy by the totals of his examination papers instead of closely analyzing the boy's intellectuality and ability, his' 35 36 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed capacity for using, as well as for grasping, more than an ordinary education. The memorist can pass any common school or col- lege examination. The mere winning in an examina- tion and class standing, in themselves, may be the falsest guides. By no means is the dull boy in school likely to be the bright boy in life ; nor is the book- perfect boy at school necessarily liable to be a success- ful man, if his future be prophesied by his mechanical percentages and his technical correctness in recitation. The methodically perfect school-boy may grow into the automatic man. A part of education must be the training of the memory, but the educated man of success is the one who possesses, with a developed memory, a capacity and experience necessary for the use of what he has received. The truly memorizing boy, and there are many of them, may be as useless as a locked storehouse of good things. Not altogether what the boy has done, nor entirely what he appears to be, but what he seems likely to be fit to be made into, must be considered in deciding whether or not it is better to start him in business or to give him the benefits of a higher education. Education never made a fool of anybody. Higher education never spoiled a boy. The ass is an ass, whether he be educated or uneducated. The spoiled boy at college was spoiled before he went there. Edu- cation does nothing for the fool, and everything for the wise. True, many college men may be more active on the field of sports than in the halls of learning, and a small proportion of undergraduates may give no indica- tion that they were ever respectable ; but this condition does not reflect upon the college, nor does it furnish proof that college life is injurious. The college stands for the right. It represents the best. It is the right arm of civilization. The whole world is its debtor. Some college boys may be all wrong ; some boys may make Higher Education 37 fools of themselves anywhere ; yet probably they make less fools of themselves in college than they would out of it. The college boy who is a failure in business would have been a failure without his education. The boy, puffed up with his college learning, who considers every kind of toil beneath him, is an unmitigated ass, and is not the product of college life, but an offshoot of low-grade ancestry, or a pervert of good inheritance. A college education will not hurt any boy acquiring it, but it may be a waste of time for some boys, especially for those boys who do not care enough about study to go beyond the common school. The boy should be made to go to the common school, — whipped into it, if necessary, — and forced to re- ceive elementary knowledge ; but undue persuasion and pressure should never be used as a means to drive him into a higher institution of learning. If the boy has a decided and positive objection to going to college, and is able to give reasonable reasons for his decision, the parents are almost criminally wrong if they attempt to sentence the boy into what, to him, is little more than an educational jail. Every honorable influence and advice are justifiable, and should be used, but beyond a proper presentation of the advantages of college, and an expres- sion of desire, the parents have no right to go. Every boy, after he has finished his common school course, has vested in him the right to decide upon higher edu- cational policy. The boy who seems to care only for business be- cause he loves business, who cannot be made to take an interest in anything else, and does not seem inclined toward a liberal education, had better enter business from the high school, for after the four years, without college, he will be better off, as he is constituted, than he would be had he spent four years in college. Per- haps a broader education would have done him good, but it probably would not have been worth four years of 38 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed his time. The boy who does not know much of any- thing will not know much more by going to college. A college course does not always assist a boy in acquiring riches. It is, in fact, more likely to broaden his life, to deepen his thinking, to widen his reasoning, and to lift him into a higher and better atmosphere. The boy who ought to go to college is almost always the boy who wants to go to college. The boy who wants to go to college will suffer almost any hardship, and make almost any sacrifice, to obtain his desire. The question of a higher education may be safely left to the boy. If it will benefit him, he either voluntarily wants it, or he can be made to want it. A proper pres- entation of higher educational values will almost in- variably send the boy to college, or to other high in- stitution of learning, if the boy will be benefited by it, and certainly the boy who wants to go should go, if it is possible, and he should be willing to make every reason- able sacrifice, and so should his parents, for that which will be of incomparable value, no matter what his future walk in life. Institutes of technology, and other technical schools, are higher institutions of learning, and rank side by side with our universities. They are thoroughly adapted to the requirements of those who intend to enter mechani- cal or scientific pursuits, and they either take the place of, or supplement, the regular college. The liberally educated man sometimes graduates from college and also from the technical school, but comparatively few enjoy this broad privilege, or have the time to receive a double graduation, and probably it is not necessary, or more than infrequently advisable, on account of the time required. The technical school may be considered indis- pensable to the boy who intends to enter some mechani- cal or scientific calling. He may be a little behind the boy who started four years before him, but in the end he will pass him. This scientific education is im^r Higher Education 3p parted by our best institutes of technology, and gives a boy, in three or four years, what he is not likely to obtain in double that number of years at work. The better trade, mechanical, and scientific positions are almost always presented to graduates of the higher class scientific schools. The classical college may, and may not, be a good thing for the boy entering business. I firmly believe that it is, and I would advise every boy intending to enter a business, or a profession, to receive a college educa- tion ; and the boy who intends to take up any trade, or a mechanical or scientific calling, should graduate from, or, at the least, for a while attend, the technical school. Every boy with a love for, and a proficiency in, mechanics will have an unquenchable thirst for a tech- nical education, and he will make any reasonable sacri- fice to acquire it. The boy who is unwilling to strive for a scientific school diploma does not possess sufficient mechanical genius to be a success, or if he does, he has not the ambition to use his ability. The boy who wants a liberal education, and ought to have it, will generally show, before he has finished the common school course, a marked preference and a definite desire for extended learning. Parents have the right to make the boy want to go to higher institutions of learning, but they have not the right to force him to go against his will. To sum up, a higher education is a grand thing for the boy who wants it, or who can be made to want it ; but it is not likely to be a good thing for the boy who does not want it, or who cannot be made to see that he ought to have it, Social Associates " There are two worlds below — the home and outside of it " INHERITANCE counts. The child of healthy, intelligent parents is predisposed to be physically and mentally superior to the offspring of diseased and ignorant parentage. While the law of blood has by no means been repudiated by the scientist, and never will be, experience and modern discovery have exploded some of the theories of direct inheritance, and it is now generally considered that, outside of marked prenatal physical and mental characteristics, the child is more likely to inherit a tendency than to receive the good or bad unchanged from his forebears. The ances- tral strain remains, but his future may not be more than influenced by it. Great researchers have discovered that environment, as well as blood, shapes the prosperity of posterity. The child born of the highest grade of parentage, with all the benefits and emoluments of healthy intelligence, if thrown at its birth into the worst surroundings, is more likely to become a criminal than is the child born of questionable family and given the best of bringing- up environment. Much as really depends upon the life which goes before us, we are as dependent upon the life which lives with us. The '' now " is often of more vital consequence than the *'was." The school-boy cannot constantly remain under the watchful eye of his parents, or of his teachers, and it is a good thing for him that he cannot. Sooner or later he must leave his home and school, and it is well for him to begin early to feel the responsibility of his individuality. Without this opportunity he is not prop- erly equipped to depend upon himself. 40 Social Associates 41 Temptation came into the world for the good of the world. Without temptation, there would be no virtue in virtue. The boy is sure to see the world as the world is, and he is no match for the world, and is not armored against its evil, unless he knows evil from good. He will burn his fingers, if he does not know that the fire is hot. The boy need not be of evil to see evil. He will have to see it, and the more he is fortified against it, the more he can overcome it, or keep away from it. Between the school and the home the boy must ex- perience the outside world, and this outside world has much to do with the shaping of his future, and may have more to do with it than have the home and the school. Many parents, while over-caring for the boy at home and over-watching him at school, forget that between times the boy is unavoidably meeting and associating with conditions which indelibly impress themselves upon his mind. It is obvious that the school-boy cannot be kept from coming in contact with questionable charac- ters. Evil is on both sides of the street, and the boy must see it; but there is a great difference between seeing evil and living with it. To see evil is, to the boy who recognizes it as evil, a strengthening of the good that is in him. Association with evil, whether the boy recognizes it or not, weakens every mental and physical fiber. There are times when it is necessary for the parents to restrain the boy forcibly, and to designate whom he shall, and whom he shall not, associate with ; but this dicta- tion should be avoided if possible, for dictation produces antagonism, and the opposed child receives from oppo- sition the incentive to do the opposite. Kindly advice and suggestion, far more than com- pulsion, will keep the boy within the right circle of environment. Parents should assist the boy in choosing his com- panions, but should not, if they can help it, arbitrarily 42 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed select the boy's associates for him. The machinery of watchful regulation should not stare the boy in the face. If the parents are the boy's companions, the boy's most valuable friends, they, with the boy, can easily, with- out friction, and without even the appearance of dicta- tion, elect the boy's social associates. If the parents are the boy's companions, they will be companionable to the boy's other companions, and this mutual, social association will keep the parents in direct touch with the boy's outside surroundings ; and they will seldom, if ever, be obliged to use any form of compulsion. Parents cannot hope to successfully choose compan- ions for their boys, or to manage their social life, if they are not companionable to other boys, and enthusi- astically interested in everything their children do, but the parents should not force this companionship upon their boys. The desire for companionship, to be good for anything, must be mutual. If the parents do not know how to be companionable, and cannot learn, the boy is better off without such com- panionship. But there are no parents, under the light of a civilized sun, who cannot be decent parents, and companionable ones, if they want to be, and try to be ; and this companionship no decent boy will resent, and every decent boy will want it, and welcome it. To bad companions and unhealthy surroundings are due most of the failures in life. The boy's school, if it goes no further than the school-house, and the boy's home, if it does not reach beyond its fence, can do little for the boy of evil associates. The school should go beyond the class-room more than it does ; and parents should not consider the home limited to the home-house. Both should extend their care and their attention into the outside life of the boy, that the influence for good may surround him wherever he goes. The school, and the home, too, should encourage the formation of clubs, — not loafing clubs, but clubs with some definite and acceptable purpose, like debating Social Associates 43 societies and associations for the popular, recreative study of any kind of knowledge, and the more outdoor clubs the better. The right kind of club life instils into the youthful mind the independence of self-respect. The boy is far better in a rowing club, or in a social club, than he is loafing on the corner, or lounging at home, or without something to occupy his mind. Of course, the club, or association, must be guarded, for sometimes these clubs lead to evil ; but it is far easier to watch and regulate evil in an organization than it is to control promiscuous degradation. The social life of the boy is no less important than is his school or his home life, and its influence is likely to be greater and farther reaching than that of home and school combined. No live boy can live without associates. The boy, even more than the man, demands social intercourse. It may be said that there are three factors in the development of youth : the home, the school, and the social associate. It matters not which is the most im- portant, for the boy demands, and must have, all three. Any one of them can ruin him, and the boy needs the strength and perfection of all three for his full upbuild- ing and development. He may succeed with any two of them, but he cannot well succeed with one of them, and he is not likely to reach flush result unless he has what he needs of all three of them. Even if he does succeed with the odds against him, he probably would have succeeded better with less to contend against. A certain amount of hardship may be necessary for the best rounding-out of the boy, but undue hardships are opposed to healthiest growth. The boy with a good opportunity stands a better show than the boy with a poor opportunity. The boy, strong enough and great enough in character to win against obstacles, will win the easier, and hi§ 44 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed success will be greater, if he has to run against not more than ordinary hindrances. The boy with nothing in him will not succeed anyway. Help is worth more than obstacle. Some obstruction may help. Complete obstruction is insurmountable. Too much help stultifies ambition. Help and obstacle in right proportion, help predominating, are aids to progress. The boy's social associates may be considered as one, if not the most, important factor in the building of the boy's success. The world, to the boy, is as his associates see it, and they arouse, or dull, his ambition and shape his course. If his parents are of his associates, the boy is far better off ; but his parents alone cannot fill his require- ments. The boy must have outside acquaintances and friends. He must have an outside life, distinct from his school and his immediate home. This life he cannot avoid, and he is not likely to succeed without it. The more the school and the parents go out into this life, help to regulate it, to encourage the best of it and discourage the worst of it, the better it will be for the boy and for the community. Steer the boy with the tiller of good- willed sense into his harbor of success ; don't haul him with the hawser of wilful might into the breakers of disaster. If he can swim, let him swim. Starting at Work *' They're off ! Let's follow them " THE boy from the common school, whether a graduate or not, usually begins his working or business career at the lowest round of liveli- hood's ladder. The graduate or undergraduate of the higher institutions of learning may begin his business or professional life as a boy, or he may be able to start at the second or third round of the ladder ; but if he starts at the bottom, he is not likely to remain long in that position. The graduate of a recognized institute of technology has back of him systematic, practical training, and seldom begins at the lowest point. Comparatively few boys or young men entering trade, business, or profession are self-supporting at the start, and not many of them are able to maintain them- selves in moderate comfort until a few, or several, years have elapsed. The early years at work should be considered, by the boy and by his parents, an extension of school. For two or three years the boy may be worth little to his employer, but everything to himself. No matter how well the school may have prepared him, there is a difference between pedagogic knowledge and the practical practice of business. The prospects of the boy are of far more consequence than what he receives or can receive during the open- ing years at work. It is better to utart on a few dollars a week, if the boy can afford it, with prospects of profit- able advancement, than to begin on much more with little opportunity for material increase and with limited possibilities. Many well-to-do parents are sufficient-unto-the-day 45 46 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed people. They demand for their boys immediate pro- gression, at the sacrifice of future prospects. They con- sider a cent-in-present-hand better than a dollar-in-the- bush-of-futures. They will not allow their boys to place prospect ahead of present, nor permit them to occupy places of opportunity at low pay, preferring lower- grade positions at higher salaries. Again, let me caution parents against forcing the boy into any calling against his well-defined dislike. The boy old enough to work is too old to be coerced. He has self-rights, which must be respected. He has now begun to shift for himself. He is laying in place the corner stone of his career, and, although he will not erect the monument for many years, he cannot, without great loss to himself, shift or re-lay the initial stone, unless it prove to be too weak to build upon. The boy's success depends in no small measure upon the way he starts. If he wants to be a storekeeper, or a mechanic, or a professionalist, and can give sensible reason for his choice, he is probably the best fitted to enter the circle of his tendency. Love for his work may not be essential to success, but love for what he is doing stimulates ambition and lubricates the hard bear- ings. Love plus capacity conquers all things. Capacity without love may succeed. Love without capacity may not make a complete failure. But love with capacity always wins. Inclinations or desires are indications of capability. What one wants to do is very likely to be what he can best do. What one does not want to do, he may learn to want to do ; but what one does not want to do, and cannot or does not learn to want to do, is not likely to be well done. Many a boy thinks he wants to do what he really does not want to do, and many a boy thinks he does not want to do what he can easily learn to want to do. The boy with a sensible want can always present substantial reason for his selection. This reason, in Starting at Work 47 ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, is sufficient for the right of choice. Wise parents have been for several years watching the boy closely, recording his likes and dislikes, and his apparent capacity for the work of his future. The boy is beginning to become a man. He has entered the critical state of his life, where mistakes cannot be corrected without damage and expense. Parents should come closer to him than ever before, should talk with him, advise with him, and aid him to see both sides of his probable career. If the boy chooses to go one way, let that way be opened to him in realistic perspective, that he may, as far as possible in advance, appreciate what is before him. If the boy has the right stuff in him, and the ability to walk in his chosen path, he will weigh both the goods and the bads, and back his decision with the argument of stability and enthusiasm. The vacillating boy, who wants to be a lawyer on Monday, a doctor on Tuesday, a minister on Wednes- day, a merchant on Thursday, an engineer on Friday, a sailor on Saturday, and a loafer on Sunday, must get concentration, or he will be a failure. Of course, the boy is not expected to be a wall of permanency, and conditions will move him from one side to another ; but the boy, likely to be a success through life, gen- erally has, even in school, some well-defined prefer- ence, which he will not willingly give up unless it is shown him that he has chosen unwisely. What the boy is fit for, not what the parents want him to do, is of the mightiest importance. The boy ready for work, while not altogether his own master, has some of the rights of eminent domain, which rights, if he be a sensible boy, he will exercise, under parental advice, if his parents are what they should be. To tie the boy up by limitations and restrictions, without con- sideration of his desire, ambition, and ability, is not only unnatural, but positively criminal. I have no sym- 48 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed pathy with unruly sons, nor do I believe that the boy under age is, by right of law or by right of Nature, the full master of himself ; he must conform to the laws of his country and to the rules of respectability, and if he does not he must be made to do so or be punished. But a part of the right to shape his future course is his, and really more his than it is anybody else's. True parents consider what is best for the boy, not what is best for themselves. They respect the boy ; they use neither coercion nor force ; they help the boy to decide ; and when he has decided, they assist him in substantiating the wisdom of his choice. The first year of the boy's wage-earning life, whether it be in the shop, in the office, or in a profession, is the boy's most vital year of all. This year shapes the course of his future. What he does during the first year will never be forgotten, and if he does what is right and best, he has made a great advance towards permanent success. If what he does is wrong, he has to begin over again and unlearn what he has learned. What the first year will lead to, not the emoluments of the first year, counts. The boy at work, for the first few years, at least, is really at school, and his position should be considered, by himself and by his parents, that of the student, provided, of course, that his parents are able to maintain him. If they are not, the boy is at a disadvantage, and has to work for present money as well as for future profit. It matters little, if the parents are fairly well-to-do, what the boy is paid at the start, but what he receives in experience and training during the first years at work is of the greatest consequence. The same interest, which proper parents give to the boy's studies at school and to his social life, should continue indefinitely. The boy at work, even more than the boy at school, needs parental companionship and the good-will glow of the home-light. Business or Profession << *Tis work, hard work, choose what you will'* THE art of business, broadly defined, consists of the work of buying and selling and that which is accessory to them. As broadly defining a profession, it may be considered as the market- ing of the mind; the exchange of thought or knowl- edge for money or for other consideration, or without remuneration save a desire to benefit others and assist progress. If the boy is after money, and only after money, his chances in business are much greater than they are hkely to be in any professional calling. Substantially all wealthy men are business men or combine business with professionalism. The majority of exclusively professional men of ability earn a livelihood, but only a small proportion of them obtain a competenc3% The bottom of the professions is crowded to starvation ; the top is well fed. Figuring upon the law of averages, — usually a safe rule to follow, — the chance of reaching any professional top is, for the many, not much easier than crawling through the eye of a needle. Thousands of lawyers, ministers, authors, professors, and other professional men have little marked ability, and are lacking in magnetism, mental strength, energy, and force of character, and are incapacitated for properly distributing their knowledge, and, therefore, remain mediocres ; existing, and doing little more. It has been said, and not wholly without truth, that one could stand with a professional <« want" sign in the middle of any city hall park and be mobbed by educated applicants, so numerous are the out-of-work professionals. Only men of extraordinary ability and indomitable 49 50 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed perseverance get beyond the first two or three rounds of the professional ladder. The boy physically or mentally weak, and devoid of marked ability, has no business to dabble in the pro- fessions. He had better be the best something else than be the poorest lawyer. The professional field is jammed, and only the strong- est can force their way beyond the line of mediocrity. The average boy had better go into business or into some trade. In business, if he is industrious, he is apt to make a living ; but industry, energy, perseverance, and ambition are worth little in the professions, unless re- inforced by ability, learning, and adaptability. Mere education, in itself, is worth comparatively nothing. The good of knowledge is in the ability of the holder to use it. There are thousands of thoroughly sincere and noble ministers, conscientiously and persistently laboring for God, who are dismal failures — impediments in the way of religious progress. There are many others, full of ambition, who injure by their inability. They have neither the skilled hand nor the mental power of adaptiveness, and without these two no one has a right to hang out a professional sign. There are lawyers who might have been good business men, yet they are distinct failures, because, with all their persistency and storage of knowledge, they lack the essential capacity to handle what they have. Professional men of success are born to their profes- sions, and are helped into them by education, training, and opportunity. The weak may make himself stronger ; the dull may quicken his faculties ; the fool may lose a part of his folly ; but the flush of professional success — yes, even a fair degree of professional success — de- mands natural ability and adaptability, along with the training of school and experience. The boy of ambition, with a desire to be famous, naturally turns towards the professions, and often enters Business or Profession 51 them because a conceited father or a silly mother had not sense enough to keep from pushing him into disaster. True, business men may not as often succeed in politics, and some statesmen spring from the ranks of trade, but it must be remembered that not one man in many thousands, who strives for political fame, journeys be- yond the ward- room. There are several reasons why the business man does not always succeed in politics. The first is because he is not adapted to politics as politics now is, for if he were, he probably would not have been a business man. The second reason is that the business man of success does not often get outside of money- making, and is so closely devoted to his business that he forgets to exercise the full right of citizenship. The march of civilization needs more business men as leaders ; and, in the better forms of business, men will recognize the want of highest and best trained intellec- tuality. When the ethics of professionalism permeate the marts of trade, business will be on a higher plane and nearer to civilization's requirement. The college boy, loaded with education, but without the ability to aim it, assumes that, because he is loaded, he ought to discharge himself into the professions, irre- spective of his skill at marksmanship and of the fact that there are more professional guns than there are positions to fire at. Education is no excuse for professionalism. It does not fit the incompetent for anything. Because the boy wants to be a professional man is not necessarily the reason why he should be. If he is likely to succeed in that line of labor, he will, before he has finished his common school education, show some characteristics, which will give his parents, his teachers, and the people who know him reason to believe that he is peculiarly fitted for the practice of some profession. Few professional men of success have failed to show professional instincts while they were boys. The boy, with professional stuff in him, who has ability for 52 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed professional life, and who is likely to make a success in it, is filled with determination and persistence, and no small opposition or obstacle is likely to discourage him. It may be difficult to determine what kind of business, or profession, the boy is best fitted for ; but it is gener- ally easy to form a reasonable opinion, after the boy has passed his sixteenth year, whether he had better go into a profession or into business. The best rule to follow is to let Nature take its course. Nature, untroubled, is more likely to draw out the real qualities; but the boy must be closely watched, for Nature is sometimes perverted. The boy's desire may not always spring from natural sources. The boy should not be forced business-ward, or towards the professions. There should be placed before him the advantages and disadvantages of both profes- sion and business, that he may see both sides ; and every effort should be made to determine whether his desire is founded upon fact or is a passing fancy. Parents should not depend upon their own judgment and experience ; they should count upon others. Few, indeed, even those of the greatest experience, are suffi- ciently advanced to decide by themselves alone what is best for the boy. Much advice is poor stuff. There is, however, plenty of good advice, — advice founded upon sound common sense, which parents should obtain and thoroughly mix with their own opinions, before taking any positive stand. Unfortunately, the great majority of boys do not pos- sess marked ability, and therefore are not likely to more than moderately succeed. These boys, very likely, will not choose for themselves. They will drift into some- thing, and will be greatly influenced by others. If the boy's chum is going to be a lawyer, the boy may feel sure that the law is his forte. If his best friend is Business or Profession 53 going into business, the boy's choice may turn in that direction. Teachers and parents here confront a grave responsibility, for the boy's success in life depends largely upon their direction and influence. Parental ambition and gratification should not be allowed a voice. What the boy is fitted for is the one great consideration. The boy with a well-defined proficiency is generally safe if left to himself; but the boy without any pro- nounced tendency, or inclination, must be followed with the nicest care, and directed and advised, that he may not make a failure, if he cannot make a complete success. Not what the parents want the boy to do, but what the boy is likely to be able to do is what the boy should be trained to do. What he can do best for himself, and for others, is the best thing for him to do. Working for Himself " Let us be Captains of Ourselves " THE boy of success or the successful man always works for himself, whether he be a wage-earner on a large or a small salary, or the manager or proprietor of a business. The salary-receiver or the wage-earner who does not work for himself never rises from the ranks. We belong to ourselves, as well as to others, and our duty to ourselves is a part of our first duty. God made us keepers of ourselves, and He holds us responsible for what we do with our- selves, as well as for what we do with others and for others. Nobody can do his duty to others who does not do his duty to himself. He who cannot care for himself is useless to others. The selfish think only of them- selves, and the duty that they perform to themselves is the duty of selfishness. The real duty-doer is good to himself, that he may be of equal, or more, benefit to others. The boy who thinks only of his employer's interest is seldom worth much to himself or to his employer. He is simply a fanatic weakling, morbid with perverted conscientiousness. The boy who serves his own interest at the expense of his employer is dishonest to himself, as well as to the one he works for. The boy most faithful to his employer is he who joins his employer's interest to his self-interest in faithful partnership. While working for his employer the boy is working for himself ; while working for himself he is working for his employer. There is no other proper way for the propagation of intelligent faithfulness. This boy is 54 Working for Himself 55 not on time because he is told to be on time, but is on time because it is best to be on time. He is as faithful behind his employer's back as he is before his face, because his duty to his employer, and his duty to himself, demand it. The boy of success does his best, whether underpaid, well paid, or overpaid. He is faithful to himself in all things, and faithfulness to himself is impossible without faithfulness to his employer. He is working for him- self, and the harder he works for his employer the more he works for himself. This boy has self-respect. He is jealous of his rights, but he is not a faultfinder, nor is he often contesting the rules of business discipline. Because he is working for himself, he is willing to work overtime, his health permitting. Because he is work- ing for himself, he attempts to make himself of value to his employer, fully realizing that the more he is worth to his employer, the more he is worth to himself. The boy who is not working for himself is worth little to his employer, is faultfinding, dissatisfied, and irresponsible, and is trying to see how little he can do, is afraid of doing too much, and is a member of the great army of failures. Nobody can do anything for himself worth doing without doing for others, nor can any one profitably do for others without doing for himself. This holds good in business and out of it. The philanthropist ex- changes his labor or his money for righteous satisfac- tion, and as 'he gives, he receives more than equivalents in imperishable drafts, eternally unoutlawable. In Business for Himself " Mine to Command *' EVERY one who works is in business for himself, or is somebody's employee. Thousands of men in business for themselves do not receive as much as men on average salaries, and the re- verse is also true ; yet the man in business for himself has, or should have, better prospects than the man on a salary, and substantially all wealthy men are in business for themselves. The advantage of working on salary is largely in the lesser worry and lesser responsibility. The salaried man, so long as he is employed by an established house and retains his health, is reasonably sure of being a permanency, and of knowing about what to expect year by year. He is a fixture, and rests in his security. The man in business for himself seldom has a definitely settled income. He makes something or much one year, little or nothing the next year, and perhaps runs behind the third year. His income varies with trade conditions ; but his prospects are better, he has more to work for, and he enjoys greater satisfaction than can the salary-receiver or wage-earner. Comparatively few begin in business for themselves. Almost every one starts as a wage-receiver, then be- comes salaried, and either remains there, or enters business for himself. Many a man is entirely incapable of assuming re- sponsibility. He is a success as the led, but not as the leader. He lacks the courage or willingness to assume responsibility and the ability of handling others. He was born for a salaried man, and a salaried man he had better remain. If he goes into s6 In Business for Himself 57 business for himself, the chances are that he will fail, or live close to impending disaster. The boy of capacity, of energy, of aggressiveness, of concentration, of application, of ambition, should enter business v^ith the idea of going into business for himself when he has had the necessary experience and the right opportunity arrives. This sort of boy seldom remains on a salary. The highest rank of employee does not satisfy him. He will command, and he either becomes a manager or a proprietor. The successful salaried man may or may not be a good financier. The successful man in business for himself has to be a good financier. Unless one has the capacity of financiering he has no business to be in business for himself. In business for one's self generally requires consider- able capital, and it is becoming more and more difficult to properly start and maintain an independent concern. Lack of capital, as well as lack of business capacity, is a rock that many a business is wrecked upon. Sufficient capital appears to be of vital consequence. Lack of sufficient capital, even with enormous capacity and ability, may not be able to successfully meet competition. The time to start in business for himself is when one is ready, sufficiently equipped with experience and capital, or with proper backing in lieu of capital. Borrowed capital may and may not be advisable. Authorities differ. Many a successful business has failed because of borrowed money, and many a great financier owes his start to what he borrowed. There is so great a risk about borrowing, that one cannot well frame general rules for its action. Circum- stances, almost always special in each case, must govern. But when in doubt, don't borrow. The young man of experience and ability, well trained, and with a sound business head, has three avenues open to him. First, to make himself so in- 58 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed dispensable that the firm he is with will be anxious to give him either a commanding position or to assist him in obtaining an interest in the ownership ; second, the making of a connection with some man of money, who is willing to pit his cash against the young man's ex- perience ; third, the conservative borrowing of capital. How the borrowed money is obtained is of as much importance as the money itself. The lender is a factor of consequence, and virtually a partner in the enter- prise. If he is a Shylock, he is not safe to deal with. If he is incompetent to lend, he may be dangerous, for he is likely to make it too easy for the young man to borrow. Every young man, unless he is convinced that he is incapacitated for proprietorship, should look forward to being in business for himself ; but he should not make this move until he can show evidence, to himself and to others, that he is fitted to go alone, or with partners, when the opportune moment arrives. Thousands of young men, fitted to go into business for themselves, have lost their opportunities by waiting too long ; and a portion of the failures are undoubtedly due to the premature entering of business for one's self. Success is the culmination of one's ** bests." If he is best fitted to financially go alone, well and good. If he is not sure of himself, and discriminating others are not reasonably certain of his managerial capability, then he probably is not competent to go into business for himself. The top isn't crowded ; but the way to the top is one great hurdle race of difficulty — rough and rugged, strewn with the bones of failure and the wrecks of disappointed ambition and consuming avarice. Are you equipped for the journey? If so, push on. If not, pause, and better qualify yourself. Wait, but do not wait too long. Start, but do not start until you know that you are ready^ Employer and Employee "As he was commanded, so may he command ** THE leader must know more than the led. The best army, uncommanded, has the weakness of the mob. The generals of history and of the present, headlessly massed together, would stampede at sight of the enemy. The discipline of business demands commanders. The leader of success is not a driver of slaves. He rules by discipline ; yet his dictates are neither hard nor cruel. Business would be unprofitable, unruly, discon- nected, unmaintainable, and could not be successfully maneuvred, if the employee did not recognize, within working hours, his employer as his superior; and, as business is now conducted, it appears to be necessary for the employer to consider the employee, for the time being, as a member of the ranks. Commercially, the employer is better than the em- ployee, until the employee becomes an employer. The employer and the employee of necessity occupy differ- ent positions, — the one the disciplinarian, the other the subject of discipline. No decent man or boy objects to discipline, nor will he ever receive in an improper spirit any legitimate order. The management of successful business, robbed of the pomp and showiness of military life, requires the same general practice of discipline, — one in command and another under command, — one, in a sense, superior to the other. The employer may occupy a lower social position than does the employee, and in the grand wind-up of human affairs may sit behind his help in the arena of justice ; but in business the employer is at the head 59 6o The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed of his house, and the employee, during business hours, must consider his employer his superior officer, and give him the commercial respect his commercial posi- tion commands. No man or boy ever successfully directed anything w^ho had not been as successfully directed. The com- mander always springs from the ranks of the com- manded. The boy who cannot be ordered will never rise to order others. The boy who is restless under disci- pline is never likely to get out of the ranks. The boy who is constantly finding fault with the office rules and other regulations essential to the conduct of busi- ness will probably never attain more than subordinate position. The boy who objects to the reasonable rules of school is likely to rebel against the more strenuous laws of business and will not succeed until he learns that obedience is one of the essentials of progress. During the hours of business the employee must obey the employer, or leave his employ ; and so long as the employer remains the employer, he is entitled to willing and faithful service from the employee. Commercially speaking, he knows more than the employee, and the employee must consider him, for the time being at least, his superior, or resign. Unwilling and frictionable service is never the best service, and the out-of-place employee can have no respect for himself if he allows himself to remain, unless continuance be unavoidable. Success never presented itself to an undisciplined man. Discipline and obedience are essential to the management of everything, — the first and necessary lessons to be taught the boy, — at home, at school, and in the great institution of business. Parents " The oldest and wisest were born young " BECAUSE parents are older than their children, and because they have the knowledge and ex- perience which only years can give, they are by Nature and by law delegated to support and develop their offspring. Presumably for the good of the child, human law has vested in the parents eminent domain rights, which the parents, subject only to governmental and social regu- lation, may exercise at will. It is, unfortunately, a fact that a proportion of parents — perhaps larger than some think and perhaps smaller than others estimate — are neither fitted to master them- selves nor to master their children, and are totally in- capacitated to have the charge of anything, be it beast or boy. Our present grade of civilization has not yet been able to regulate and control these irresponsible people, nor to prevent them from executing the rights of parentage. Parents who cannot govern themselves certainly should not be allowed to control their offspring. Parents who cannot command the respect of the com- munity are not likely to receive the respect of their children, and they have no right to it, either. The child may obey this sort of parents, but he will never honor them. Parents have as much duty to their children as their children have to them, — yes, more duty, because age increases responsibility. Bad boys spring from good homes, and good boys come from bad homes ; but the majority of bad boys were raised in bad homes, and the majority of good boys were bred in good homes. 6i 62 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed The child is under the influence of his home. If the influence is good, he is more likely to be good ; and if the influence is bad, he is very apt to be bad. Parents are much more responsible to the child than the child is responsible to them. The law of the present and that of the hereafter has so ruled it, and will hold them accountable. Wise parents seldom arbitrarily exercise the right of might. They do not want to, and they do not have to. They rule by suggestion, advice, interest, and love. Their children are their companions, — co-workers with them, and the interest is mutual. Each child is a junior partner in the house-of-home, and his rights are re- spected. Discipline is practised, and it must be ; but it is accompanied by fairness and good-will. In the management of boys, the hand of sensible love and practical co-operation is worth a thousand rods. The wiser the parents, the broader and greater in every virtue, the more anxious are they to add to their attainments the knowledge of others. They do not allow their own judgment, unassisted by that of others, the right of arbitrary execution. To what they know they add what others know, advising and training their boy, not along the lines of personal conceit, but along the great, broad avenues of composite intelligence and collective experience. Parents who suit themselves in training their boys, disregarding the experience and knowledge of others, who rule by might and not by right, are fools, brutes, and criminals, and civilization will sometime deny this kind of being the right of propagating the species. No one mind, no one isolated judgment, whether it be parental or not, has, in itself alone, the right to com- mand or even to advise. The composite parent is safe to follow. Parents who appreciate their responsibility govern neither by con- ceit nor self-willedness. They rule by the exercise of the broadest knowledge and experience obtainable. Parents 63 What they think is right, is never right to them, unless it is supported by intelligent backing. What they think is wrong, is not wrong to them, unless it is considered wrong by intelligent others. Their boy is not their slave. He is their associate. They go out into the broad world of experience, and from that world they gather all the knowledge they can receive and hold. This knowledge they bring home, that they may in- telligently adapt it to the wants of their boy. They are parents in the best sense, — parents of knowledge, of judgment, of discrimination, and of experience, the kind of parents to raise boys worth having, the kind of parents who help the rising generation to push progress. It would be a grand, good thing for the boys, if their parents would take a course at home in the same subjects their boys are studying, becoming fellow-students with their boys, that they may help their boys with the encouragement of familiarity. The school, no matter how good it is, is only a part of the boy's education. The home, no matter how perfect it may be, is but another part. Parents, be they the best or the worst, are but one of the agencies in the building of boyhood into manhood ; but their influence is of vital consequence. This responsibility they must realize so well and so thoroughly that they can afford to forget — except when necessity demands — the legal rights of parentage, and guide their boys by the profitable and discriminating method of intel- ligent love and intimate interest. Is the boy going wrong ? Parents, find the fault, the whole fault, and the source of it. Look for it unceasingly. Do not look all in one place. Hunt everywhere ; in the boy's room, and beyond. Search your own closets, dig deeply into your own selves ; you, as well as the boy, may deserve the whip of correction. There ought to be as many schools teaching parents 64 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed how to be parents as there are institutions of music, or of other common attainment. How many parents learn by experience, at their children's expense ! Many a first child has been in- jured, for the benefit of those who come after him. Civilization should remedy this, and parents should have the opportunity of learning the duties of parentage before they assume parental responsibility. Clubs for mothers should be supplemented by clubs for fathers. Before the child arrives, as well as afterwards, the parents should be proficient in the art of child-training. No one ought to be married, or to contemplate mar- riage, who is unproficient in the raising and management of children, or cannot learn, or will not learn, how to properly bring up a child. Until the last child has reached his majority the parents should continue to study child-management. New educational avenues are constantly opening. Schools or institutions of many kinds are being estab- lished with almost mushroom rapidity. There is a school or academy for every essential, and for every branch of them, save the proper means of teaching parents how to be parents. One can easily learn almost anything else, whether it be necessary or otherwise, and it is high time, and past high time, that a thorough training for parenthood should become universal. How to make the home, and keep the home, are of vastly more consequence than how to paint, to sing, or to read and write the classics. In exercising our ** populars," our ** fads," our polite dissipations, and our luxuriant past-times, our leaders have inexcusably forgotten the '* vitals of humandom." Systematic and experienced teaching of parentage is essential to civilization. Nature's best boy will not be born until there are parents fit for his arrival. Parents 6$ The boy's first school is in his home, and there is as much necessity for a school of home-making as there is for a school for the making of teachers or for any other kind of education. If <* the strength of the nation is in the homes of its people," civilization should teach the people how to take care of their homes ; and the government should- care- fully guard its well-spring of strength. Incompetent, foolish, lazy, indifferent parents are the boy's accessories in failure. Many parents need training as much as does the boy they presume to regulate. They who have not been developed, be they parents or not, have no right to play the role of developer. Parents, for the good of your boys, look to your- selves first, to your children afterward. Be what you ought to be, before trying to make anybody else what he should be. Learn to direct, before you take the responsibility of directorship. At Home or Away ** The safety of familiarity " CAUTION says, '' Stay where you are.'' Specu- lation orders a change. Progression attempts to reduce chance to the minimum and to handle caution with judgment. Many a boy would have been a greater success had he started his business career in an environment where conditions were different from those surrounding his boyhood ; and many a boy would have been far more successful had he remained in the place of his birth or of his childhood, instead of attempting to meet un- familiar and heavy competition away from home. Shall the boy remain at home, or strike out away from home? There is no infallible gauge of answer. Does the boy want to begin his business life away from home? If he does, and gives substantial reason for his choice, he may stand a better chance of success away from home than at home ; but ninety per cent, of the boys who desire to leave home have no definite purpose in view. They are infatuated with the highly colored pictures of city life, and imagine that where there is so much business there must be more chance for business. They judge superficially, without knowl- edge in the premises. They do not realize that where there is much business there is often more competition and frequently many more applicants than there are positions. The boy of marked ability needs a field of size for his development, and, if his home-town is small and unprogressive, he must of necessity leave home to enter the broad arena of ceaseless turmoil. If the bright boy lives in a good-sized country center, where there is considerable business, he had better 66 At Home or Away 67 hesitate long before deciding to leave home for the metropolis. A progressive country town offers better opportunity to rise, proportionately, than does the large city, and there is proportionately less work to be had in a great city than in a country center. Every large city is over- crowded with work-seekers and applicants for every conceivable position. Unless one be close to poverty, it costs from twice to a dozen times more to maintain a position in a great city than in the country. In the metropolis money is reckoned more than the man ; in the smaller places man is considered as well as his money. The greatest lawyer in a great city may be greater than the greatest country lawyer, but the leading lawyer of a country center is more famous, even in the metropolis, than is his metropolitan equal in ability. Only extraordinary capacity or vast wealth counts in the great city. The leading man in a country center is often better known in the nearest great city than ninety-nine per cent, of the city^s inhabitants. City life crushes, and only a few can stand the pressure and live to reach the top. Country promi- nence is easier to obtain and to maintain. If there be fair opportunity at home, the country boy had better remain in his home^-town and work the material at hand to the full of his and its capacity. Altogether too many boys leave good prospects at home to take the chance of securing better openings away from home. There is much more certainty and per- manency in a country town position than there is in a great city office. What is there at home for the boy? Search the home-town first, and do not forsake it unless it refuses to give fair opportunity. If the home-town has nothing fit for the boy to do, the boy must leave it ; but if the home-town is progressive, and there is room for prog- ress, he had better not consider going from it until he has weighed every home opportunity and compared its 68 The Boy — ■ How to Help Him Succeed weight, item by item, with the apparent worth of great city offers. The metropolis has more to give in the aggregate, but there are more to receive it. One should not be afraid of competition, but he should not court it. Opposition often steels one to better things, but there is no virtue in *' kicking against the pricks " when one can get along without doing so. Life is hard enough, and success-winning difficult enough, under the most favorable auspices, for any one to reach for opposition and competition. The country boy had better remain in the country, if he can find something worth doing. The city is the place for him only if he possesses marked available ability, or is of necessity obliged to go to it. The suc- cessful inhabitant of the country center, or of the coun- try town of respectable size, is far better off than ninety-nine and nine-tenths per cent, of great city suc- cesses. He is nearer Nature, has more friends, is better recognized, and is in every way more substan- tially successful than his great city brother. The metropolis offers very little which the country center does not have, and the country center, propor- tionately considered, has much more to offer the boy than any crowded, rushing metropolis can have. Shall the great city boy, who knows little of country life, save he has seen it on vacations, leave the city and begin his career in some country center? Yes; if he wants to, with reason. The chances are that his city- made experience, as soon as it becomes naturalized to country conditions, will lead him to success more quickly than if he remained in the city, and his country- life success is likely to be more permanent and satisfy- ing, though in volume, perhaps, not so large. If the city boy wants to go into the country, and his desire is not a whim, but a settled preference based upon reason, he had better go into the country. But if the city-bred boy wants to remain in the city, and would be uncom- fortable out of its crowded streets, he would certainly At Home or Away 69 have a hard time of it in the country. The city is probably his natural field of labor, and he had better remain there. The boy of strong character, and of more than ordi- nary ability, will succeed in the great city, in the coun- try, anywhere. Probably he can more easily reach the pinnacle of his capacity in a progressive country town. The boy's inclination and presumable ability should do much toward settling the question of where he shall begin his livelihood-making. The city-bred boy may take some chances in casting his lot in the country, but the country-bred boy takes greater chances in leaving his known home-town for the unknown metropolis. The country boy almost invariably underestimates the opportunities of his home-town, and overestimates the benefits of the city. The city-bred boy seldom recog- nizes the advantages presented by the country center. Perhaps the best advice to give is : Stay where you are, if you have fair opportunity; move from where you are, if there is little opportunity ; give where you are the preference ; about you there is often more than you realize. The jump from the great city to the country, or from the country to the great city, is a leap of tremendous consequence. The people of one know little of the other. One cannot help being familiar with the things about him, with conditions he has lived in, and he had better use that knowledge, if there be a fair opportunity of profitably harvesting it. The genius will succeed in any field. If his field does not suit him, he will make a field of his own. The ordinary boy is far more dependent upon environment. Radical changes are risky. If one is not reasonably sure, he better not move, but stay where he is until he is certain that there is a better yo The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed place, and a better one for HIM. Because somewhere else is a better place for somebody else is no reason why it is a better place for him. The boy must fit the place ; the place cannot be fitted to the boy. Because one boy succeeds away from home is not necessarily a reason why another boy will do as well. Let the boy make the most of what he has, of where he is, and if that falls short, or is likely to fall short, of his capacity, then he has a right to consider a change of location. When in doubt, he had better stay where he is. If he had better go away, there will not likely appear to be much of any doubt about it. Things will so clearly point to the advisability of a change, that he and his parents and sensible friends will feel reasonably sure of the better course to take. *« My town first; the world afterwards," is a motto of permanency. Seek fortune at home, if there be prospect of finding it ; don't enter strange fields until the home-land has been well tilled, planted, and harvested. Give the home- town the preference, and give it a chance. Money <* Is it yours, or are you its ? " SOMEBODY, long, long ago, paraphrased a Scrip- tural text, that it might read, ** With all thy get- tings, get money ; " and this dangerous advice has been handed down through the ages as a motto of questionable success and as an epitaph of stifled conscience. The deep-thinking and optimistic minds of the pres- ent, from out their glowing eyes, look up the pathway of life's evolution into a moneyless civilization, where there will be a better medium of exchange than lifeless gold and perishable paper. There seems to be good evidence that every crime mentioned in the Bible, with the exception of the fall of Adam and a few others, was due, directly or indi- rectly, to an undue love of money ; and the records of our courts certainly furnish unimpeachable proof that money is the prime mover or the accessory cause of substantially all modern crime. For money, man mutilates his body and sells his soul. For the sake of money, the father robs his son and the son murders his father. For the sake of money, people are ground into the unfertile earth ; and, armed with the power of money, privileged men become owners of government, controllers of business, and keepers of human lives. Every man with brains enough to solve a common problem believes, — yes, knows and feels, — that on the great evolutionary track of life right must win, and that the justice of the to-be-civilized man, with the justice of the always-completely-civilized God, will eventually establish a law of righteousness, of fairness, of equity, and of love; and that this condition can never be 7^ 72 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed reached nor maintained without the full development of the good and the complete annihilation of the bad. Then before the jointly-sitting Bar of the Justice of God and the Justice of Man will the evil of money be sen- tenced to receive its punishment. But to-day, and probably for many years to come, modern money, with its goodness and its badness, will remain a necessary element, and therefore must be considered as a part of present living and business. Until civilization advances many steps, business, as it is now conducted, will have to be tolerated and maintained, and our present form of money will remain the medium of exchange. A proportion of the people have always measured success, and for a long time will continue to measure it, by the number of dollars held by the individual. No one will deny that for the present, money, in large or small quantities, is a part of and accompanies modern success. It is a fact that comparatively few successful men are penniless. Few great men are over-rich, for the truly great man is not likely to give the major part of his time to the accumulation of money, and if riches have been forced upon him, he almost always keeps himself from being too wealthy by properly distributing his money. With the faculty of accomplishing anything, from inventing to preaching, from clerking to manufacturing, there is generally sufficient earning capacity to bring in enough money for a comfortable living. Nearly every man of fair-sized attainment receives sufficient income to maintain him. Comparatively few men of ability are unable to earn their living. While the god of money rewards shrewdness, whether it be honest or questionable, much more munifi- cently than he does intrinsic worth, he seldom refuses to deliver the bread of necessity, if not the butter of comfort, to the possessor of high attainment. The rich man who possesses nothing but money, • Money 73 whether or not he has obtained it by questionable methods, is not considered a success by any one of consequence. With all his over-wealth he has no real friends, and few friends of any kind. He may be aped and flattered, but he is never loved or respected. His alleged friends are merely hangers-on, flatterers, bor- rowers, tricksters, and beats, or financial co-operators who would as willingly rob him as they would help him to rob others. When this man of money dies the papers give him stingy mention, and the world forgets him even before the grass sprouts over his tearless grave. His henchmen are sorry he is dead because they can use him no longer. His financial associates are re- lieved because his departure has given them more room for operation. The grief of his relatives is but clothes- deep. This man represents one grade of success, — the lower grade, the grade that receives no respect on earth and has no standing in the world to come. The successful man of the higher grade is he who accomplishes something, whether it be in money- earning or in anything else, for the mutual benefit of himself and others. This man is rich, whether he be worth dollars or millions of dollars. This man is rich, whether he be a shoemaker or a railroad president. This man is rich, whether he be a clerk or a preacher. This man is rich because he is working up to the limit of his highest capacity and is doing his best. The man of only money is the slave of money. He has no individuality save as the taker,keeper, and spender of cash. He is but a financial raker, a human storehouse of perishable product, a success of the lowest grade. He has made of himself the kind of success which he would be ashamed of if he had one-half the brains necessary for semi-enlightenment. The accumulation of money, unless this accumulation be for a proper purpose and to be rightly distributed, is as foolish and wrong as the accumulation of land to be held in wasteful idleness. 74 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed The good of anything is in its distribution and in the profitable use of it. A locked-up Bible is as worthless as unmined iron. The man who gains money, and holds it, or dis- tributes it within his own circle, that it may all come back to him, is of the criminal grade of success, a menace to society and a felon before any bar of decency or any bench of justice. This man has for his pains only the gratification of his own isolated selfishness. He is neither beloved nor respected ; he is disliked and hated ; he has no friends on earth ; he must strain the mercy of the hereafter to get it. He is not a success. The successful man, with money or without it, is the man who has accomplished the most good for others, himself included ; who has done the most to make others and himself better ; who has looked upon money as a necessary means to an end ; who has acquired as much of it as seems essential to mutual advancement. This man is a success, whether he have much or little money, whether he be a lawyer or a blacksmith, a banker or a carpenter, master of a thousand men or one of a thou- sand workers. This man has friends who love him, not for his money ; who respect him, not for his bank account ; — friends who firmly grasp his hand in life and who shed over his grave the tears of genuine sor- row. Within the fences of his field he has done his best. The world will never forget him, and when he leaves it, the place he once occupied may never be filled as he filled it. He is one of the threads in the billion-wired cable of success, which does its full share in standing the strain of life ; and as it has helped others, so is it assisted. This man is not, and could not be, a failure. He is, and has to be, a success. The collateral which he has deposited in the Bank of Earth is payable without discount in the Treasury of Heaven. The seed of his earthly sowing forever harvests in the perpetual fertility of eternity. Little Things <« All things are great *' BECAUSE some of our greatest men appear to ignore little things, and seem to feel that little things are of little consequence, many unthink- ing people, and even those of a fair amount of thought-activity, have refused to acknowledge, or do not always comprehend, the importance of little things. It is true that the majority of our great inventors, scientists, discoverers, men of learning, and geniuses of every class seem to lack as much in one direction as they possess in another. The rank and file of great men are stronger in one thing than they are in others, and most learned men are as ignorant in one way as they are proficient in another. Stories, humorous and sometimes pathetic, are told of the eccentricities and mistakes of geniuses. The dis- coverer of a new planet, who is mathematically correct in his field of learning, ma}^ leave his house in a snow- storm, hatless and coatless ; and the linguist of a dozen tongues may find it difficult to verify the figures of his grocer's bill. Great men are often great fools. The foolishness of the great man does not make him great, but his very greatness may help to make him a fool in some things. The measure of commerce and the measure of brains are limited. Man can hold just so much. Crowd more than his capacity into him, and he either spills or bursts. If he knows much about one thing, he must know less about another. Still, the great man, who may be hunting for his spectacles when they are on his head, who may forget to buckle half the harness, who may shovel coal 'with the snow-shovel and snow with the coal-shovel, does not ignore the little things within 75 76 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed the scope of his work. Where his heart is, and where the whole interest of his brain is centered, nothing is small, and everything, be it little or big, is of impor- tance. If he be a mathematician, he gives the same care to the fractions on the right of the decimal point as to units on the left of it. If he mixes the most precious chemical with the cheapest, he weighs the cheap substance as carefully as he does the valuable one. He may forget to put on his coat in winter, or to take it off in summer, but he always remembers to put the right-sized cork into the right-sized bottle hold- ing the mixture of his experiment. He may carry his cane when it rains and his umbrella when it is pleasant, but his telescope never gets wet. He may get soaked and not know it, but with his body he would keep the dampness from his instrument. The master of great things is the master of little things. To him there is nothing great or small, for all things are great. He is a success in one direction, and of that he knows as much as his brain can hold ; in all else he may be any degree of fool. Put what he knows on one side of the scale and what he does not know on the other. If the proficiency side goes down, he is a success ; if the lacking side is heavier, he approaches a failure. By attention to little things, by the closest analysis of the smallest items, by the most careful scrutiny of every detail, has been built every success in the unabridged catalogue of accomplishment. The man or boy who is careless in little things is successful at nothing. Success never ignores little things. Success demands constant attention and mastery of little things. Success will allow one to be inconstant with the things not of his field, if he never forgets the little things within the province of his labor. Inattention to little things has eaten the life out of our greatest structures. Vacillation ** Beware of strange pastures *' STAY where you are, unless there be good reason for moving, is one of the laws of business and of success. The vacillating man or boy never per- manently succeeds, and meets with only transient profit. He lives from hand to mouth, without location or reputation, — a sort of irresponsible will-o'-the-wisp, full to-day and empty to-morrow. Only the fool stays where he is, if his present loca- tion be unprofitable or dangerous. Persistence in evil, or stubbornness to remain where one is, are unproduc- tive of success. Judgment always has the right of way. Most failures, however, are more traceable to unjustifi- able vacillation than to wilful stubbornness. The failure of geniuses is almost invariably due to lack of finish. The genius starts right, and for a while properly persists in his work, but he often does not finish, and the result of his work, for lack of finish, may be worthless. Permanency is a great law of Nature, of business, of accomplishment. It applies to every station and to every stratum of human life. Generally speaking — except, of course, with reason- able exceptions — it is better for the boy to finish every school he enters, to get all that the school can give him, before entering a higher or a different institution. Edu- cational changes may be as disastrous and as expensive as home or business moving. Occasionally a bright boy jumps a grade and graduates or enters another school ahead of his classmates, but this is not unfinish- ing any school. If he can do in less years what others take more years to do, well and good, — provided he does not injure his health by too rapid progress. 77 78 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed Trying one school and then another, taking up one form of study and discarding it for another, means loss of time, loss of energy, and loss of future prospects. If the boy overcomes this vacillation he does so at an expense which would much better have been saved. The same principle applies to business. The boy who constantly changes his position will probably never become a permanent success. When a boy starts wrong, and is sure of it, a change must be made ; but a change is not justifiable unless there is good evidence that the present position is not adapted to the boy's capacity. If the boy's desire to change is a whim, or temporary irritation, or mere dislike founded upon transient dissatisfaction, it is un- worthy of consideration. Some, and perhaps fully one-half, of the boys start- ing at work, quickly become dissatisfied and imagine that they are unfitted, either for the vocation they have chosen or for the place they occupy. Being unfamiliar with business, they place the blame upon the kind of business and upon their positions, and do not realize that business is always hard and that any other position in any other business might be as unsatisfactory. On general principles, the boy stands a better chance of success by remaining in the place where he starts. Each year he should be more valuable to himself and to his employer, and he should long hesitate before taking the risk of a change. When he becomes a man, and is full of experience, he may consider selling that ability and experience to the highest bidder, all things being equal ; but even then it is well to give the pref- erence to the place one is in, for there may be greater opportunity there than elsewhere. The boy, however, should never change unless he and his parents, if they are competent, and his friends of judgment, feel reasonably certain that a piove is both necessary and advisable. Odd Times " Each moment has a profitable place " THE man of success, and the boy of prospective success, to a large extent, or to some extent at least, appreciate the vital value of odd times. Many have risen from the ranks to command responsibility by the proper use of odd hours, odd half- hours, and odd moments. No matter how busy one may be in business or in school, there are moments for which nothing seems to have been allotted. These moments must either be wasted or used. No one should work or study all the time, or play all the time. Success in school, as well as success in business, depends upon the proper balance of work, play, and rest. There is no excuse for any kind of waste, either of time or material. The boy of success is always busy — busy studying, busy working, busy playing, busy resting. All his odd moments are filled. He makes every moment count. Every moment stands for something. Every moment is either accomplishing something or is making him better able to do something. Resting is not loafing. Play is just as necessary as work. There is time enough in every day to accomplish the proper work of that day. The day is seldom too short to the man of success or to the boy of promise, for both of them use every minute in the twenty-four hours. When they work, they work ; when they play, they play ; when they rest, they rest. Every odd minute has its place in the economy of their accomplishment. 79 8o The Boy — How to Help Him bucceea Successful folks never loaf; they never waste a moment. Whatever they do, whether it be work or play, they do deliberately and with all their might. When they rest, they rest intelligently. They use every odd moment for something, and often their odd moments are as profitable as their regular working hours. The odd moment is the moment of relaxation, ruled by the free rein of inclination and not by the whip of necessity. It entirely belongs to one's self. It is prop- erty unencumbered by specific responsibility, for one to use as he will. Consequently, he is freer in it, and can work or play better in it, and in it often accom- plishes more than when under the strain of working time. The salary-receiver, the wage-earner, and the boy at school are under command, and are not their own masters during the regular hours of work ; but all are fortunately in charge of their odd moments, and what they do in them counts mightily in result. If they waste them, they lose much more than they appreciate ; if they use them conscientiously, intelligently, and con- stantly, never wasting them, they are sure to accom- plish what without their proper use is impossible. The odd moment is the moment of profit to folks of success. Honesty ** No profitable policy antagonizes honesty " HONESTY is the first law of success. Honesty is the first requisite for any kind of perma- nency. Honesty is necessary to the upbuilding and maintenance of every kind of honorable business. Dishonesty pays, if the doer does not get caught; but he almost always gets caught. There are compara- tively few men who are shrewd enough or great enough to continuously practice dishonesty with success, and most men sufficiently great and strong to succeed dis- honestly are too good or too wise not to succeed honestly. Dishonesty in everything, from business up and down, frequently brings transient profit, but it seldom wins in the long run, and never really succeeds in the end. It is true that many a great business enterprise has been built up and maintained by dishonest practices, and this apparent success gives color to the opinion that honesty is not an essential of profitable business ; but the business which is founded upon dishonesty is not a success from any standpoint of respectability. Money has been made, and can be made, dishonestly. Strict honesty and integrity are not always essential to the mere accumulation of wealth ; but obtaining money alone is not success, and the man who gets his money dishonestly neither respects himself nor is respected. He lives in luxury; and he pays, with his honor and his soul, an exorbitant price for what he possesses, but does not really enjoy. Honesty is a fundamental factor of success. Outrage it, and sooner or later it will retaliate. Go back to twenty-five years ago, and take note of the business signs of prosperity. Go through the same 8i 82 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed streets to-day, and again read the signs of business. Few, very few, indeed, mark the continued success of schemers, boomers, liars, and mercantile thieves, who made money quickly and died sorry for it. The signs of the honest houses remain intact. Watch the lives of the dishonest firms, and see them fade and fall. Dis- honesty may pay a quicker dividend than will honesty, but the aggregate of honesty's receipts is many times larger than the profits of dishonesty and dishonor. Honesty may not be the best policy for the man who cares only for worldly wealth, who never allows his conscience to influence or trouble him ; but he is not a success, save as an unsatisfied money-getter. He has sold himself altogether too cheaply. For more money than he can use, he has exchanged honor and all that is good in the construction of manhood. He is un- happy, although he may think that he is enjoying life. He is a failure — a pitiable failure. He is friendless, homeless, worthless to himself, a disgusted product of degeneration. Boys, if you would be like him, willing to sacrifice all the real good the world can give and the prospect of an eternal future, then you may cross honesty from the lexicon of your endeavor and accept lifeless money in lieu of everything worth having ; but if you do this, in this world, as well as in the next, you pay a terrible penalty. You will never be happy. Dis- sipation of every kind must be used to still your con- science. You will live artificially, never breathe the pure air of natural contentment, and you will die leav- ing no home behind you, with none before you. Mere money-making and honesty are incompatible. Success in making money may not require honesty, but success of the permanent kind — of the kind worth hav- ing — has never been made, and never will be made, dishonestly. The thief can make money, but he is not a success. The gambler can obtain money, but he is not a success, even in his own estimation. The only real success is the success of honesty. Honesty 83 The character of the man begins in boyhood and is formed in youth. The boy of honor is almost always the man of honor. The boy who cheats in school, who lies to his playmates, is very likely to grow into a man of dishonesty and to be a failure, whether he has money or not. The little vices of youth grow into the big vices of manhood. It is far easier to train the boy to be honest than it is to lift the man from dishonesty to honesty. The school and the home give but a small fraction of the time and attention they should give to the teaching of honor and integrity. Cheating at recitation or at examination often marks the beginning of a complete downfall. Dishonest practice in business is not far different from dishonest action in school life. The boy does not materially change when he jumps from the schoolroom into the office. Honesty and integrity should be taught without any attempt at misrepresentation. Expediency is often but a form of misrepresentation. Many a parent and teacher, who know from experience that dishonesty often leads to quicker financial success, teach that dishonesty never pays, even in a transient way. The boy, with this belief instilled into him, goes out into the world and finds that dishonesty apparently pays, that men of dis- honest method seem to succeed, and at one blow he severs the teachings of his boyhood, believes that what was taught him — the true and the untrue — is a lie, and learns the lesson of his life from the dishonest practices of the world. Tell the boy the truth. He will find it out sooner or later. It were better that he find it out sooner than later. Paint the picture of life with the brush of fact. Let him see the wages of dishonesty and the rewards of honesty. Tell him frankly what dishonesty will prob- ably do for him, and tell him as frankly what honesty will probably do for him. Surround him with the whole truth. Let him choose with his eyes open, after 84 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed he knows it all. The boy who knows what evil is, as well as what good is, is many times better fortified against evil than is the boy who has been kept from the sight of evil and allowed to see only the good side of life. The dishonest man, if he has any conscience — and if he hasn't a conscience he is not a man — is never happy with the fulness of natural happiness. He is but a slave of artificial enjoyment, feeding on artificial stimulants. He is not a success, whether he be rich or poor. Dishonor and dishonesty may seem to give him every pleasure. As a beast, and not as a man, he may enjoy the intoxication of money, but the manhood in him is never happy. Honesty and honor, with material gain or without it, always pay. Boys, you are on the threshold of manhood. It is for you to choose honesty and honor, with the happi- ness that never dies ; or dishonesty and dishonor, with the artificial pleasures which your manhood can never enjoy and which may fade before the rising of to- morrow's sun. Boys, for the sake of civilized progress, for the sake of happiness, be honest ; begin to be honest now, if you are not honest already. Let integrity be your guiding star from to-day and forevermore. As you are as boys, so will you probably be as men. To-day, not to-mor- row, you form your character. To-morrow is built upon to-day. Honesty gives every pleasure and every element of success worth having. Dishonesty may make a more material show, may seem more heavily laden with profit, but the substance of dishonesty, whether it bring to its possessor a mountain of gold or a monument of fame, is as shallow as the rain-made pool, which has neither length, nor breadth, nor depth enough to carry it through a season of drought. Dishonesty never pays. Self-Respect and Self-Conceit " Get the better; master the worse " SELF-CONCEIT and self-respect are frequently found together. The self-conceited man or boy is seldom devoid of self-respect. Pure and simple self-respect untainted with self-conceit is not often present nowadays. Self-conceit unmixed with self- respect is worthless and dangerous, but self-conceit properly mastered is one of the constituents of success. Comparatively few people properly estimate them- selves. The modest man or boy is often too modest ; and the self-respecting one frequently considers himself in one direction better than he really is, and in another not as good as he probably is. The properly balanced man does not live. If he did live, his equipoise would keep him at a standstill. Comparatively few people receive more respect than they have for themselves. The world often reckons a man as he reckons himself, and is not likely to give him credit for more than he himself assumes to possess. Fifty per cent, of expressed modesty is not true modesty. Most men will say of themselves what they would not allow any one else to say of them. The genuinely modest man is often too retiring and lacks the necessary self-respect or self-conceit and aggression. By striving never to over-estimate his capacity, he often does not give himself his proper due. Modesty is a virtue, the proper balance of it an extraordinary blessing ; and the man of self-respect, even though a part of his self-respect is self-conceit, is more likely to succeed than is the man of simple, pure modesty. Self-conceit by itself effectively wards off success. No self-conceited man or boy, with self-conceit his 85 86 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed only possession, ever won any race, except that in his own estimation, and he is a perpetual failure. Self-respect is essential to success. Adulterate it with a reasonable amount of self-conceit, and it may not lose any of its effectiveness. Self-confidence and self-conceit are often closely related. Ability, experience, and faithfulness are three of the stones of success-building. The next stone is self- confidence or self-respect, which enables a man to effectively use what he has. Self-conceit, if not too abundant, may revivify self- respect, so to speak, and exhilarate it into stronger action. The self-respecting boy, with or without self-conceit, is pretty sure to become a success. The over-modest boy, the one who is constitutionally and continuously retiring, who seldom exerts himself and infrequently pushes himself into anything, is likely to be a failure unless he be aroused. Self-conceit, except in its dangerous purity, is not necessarily objectionable. It may be the outward appearance of self-respect — the overflow of intense natural capacity. The self-conceited boy should certainly not be en- couraged in his self-conceit; but if his conceit has something back of it, the unprofitable part of it can be merged into self-respect ; while an attempt to force this conceit out of the boy may do more harm than good. Few of us, perhaps none of us, are without self- conceit. It may be that success is impossible without it. At any rate, it almost invariably accompanies success. It has been said that an unconceited man of ability never lived. Self-conceit, with the sting out of it, combined with aggressive self-respect, is certainly far more profitable than one hundred per cent, pure and retiring modesty. Self-Respect and Self-Conceit 87 If there is such a thing as self-respect uncombined with self-conceit, it outgenerals self-conceit, and is a priceless possession ; but as undefiled self-respect does not exist, or does not seem to exist, and as self-conceit appears to be part and parcel of success-making, it is far wiser to regulate self-conceit, and properly combine it with self-respect, to self-respect's benefit, than to take the chance of maiming or killing self-respect in the annihilation of self-conceit. Our ** bads" can often be worked into our ** goods," to the good of our ** goods." If we can't rid ourselves of self-conceit, let us control self-conceit and work it for profit. Self-conceit is a hard master, but may it not be a well-serving slave? If you can't make it desert you, put it at hard labor under the discipline of your self-respect. Continuity " Beware of the stop " IN continuity is strength. In disconnection is failure. The Builder of the Universe did not build worlds on Monday, do nothing on Tuesday, create some- thing on Wednesday, rest on Thursday, begin again on Friday, and sleep on Saturday. He built something every day, and every day was a full day, and He only stopped building when He was through. The strength of Nature is in the continuousness of her forces. The fundamental principle of motion is everlasting. The biggest fish are in the brook that runs on forever. The stream that dries up this month, and is a torrent next month, is unsightly and unhealthy, and but a transient drain-pipe. The strength of its current is offset by its periodical dryness. The man who feeds his horse on Monday, and gives him nothing to eat on Tuesday, will have a weak horse on Wednesday, and may have a dead horse on Thurs- day. If some imbecile should come out of the Unthawed North to preach the doctrine of continuous change of business base, or the habitual renovation of interior arrangement, the business men would take him gently by the hand, lead him into Nature's solitude, and leave him there. The boy who goes to school on Monday, skips Tues- day, and attempts to connect the end of Monday's les- sons with the beginning of Wednesday's studies, is handicapped by conditions diametrically opposed to progress. This world is for the workers, that there may be no shirkers in the continuous by and by. Continuity 89 Some men seem to succeed by violating the princi- ples of success-making. Some men jump off a high bridge without being killed. It is the weakest kind of logic to say that because some one man appears to be able to profitably antago- nize the laws of success, that his isolated example is worthy of a following. One part of continuous good is more negotiable than two parts of transient good. Scholastic and business connection may be broken, and the breaker continue to succeed ; one may keep his books with the top of a barrel for a desk ; but sensible men, users of profitable economy, don't do it. Disconnection is one of the great causes of failure. Imagine a speaker talking for half an hour, and stop- ping in the middle of a sentence, to begin where he left off, a week afterwards. Would one hire a carpet-layer to put down a breadth of carpet a day? The man of success began at something worth while, and has kept continuously at it. The boy of success, even at an early age, works and plays under the direction of some sort of continuous policy, crude though it may be. He has method, and keeps at something everlastingly. His likes and dis- likes are well founded. He does not, of course, have himself in perfect hand, but in an undeveloped way he is, as a boy, forestalling by his general action the course of his successful future. In continuity there is profit. Without continuity there must be either complete failure or lack of full success. Profitable Oneness " One thing well done is better than many done fairly *' THE strength of success is in the singleness of it. The greatness of oneness is in its omnipotence. Two gods of equal power would not be as in- dividually great as either god would be without the other. There should be one thing at a time, be- cause there are not time and room enough for two things at a time. The economy of every action, in business or out of business, focuses strength upon one point or place, that its full importance and consequence may be maintained. He who thinks he can do everything may fool him- self, but does not fool others. No one can do two things as well as he can do one thing. There never was a successful book or play with more than one leading character. On the field of honor and on the field of battle there can be but one head-hero. Bright daylight and bright lampHght make twilight. One blow on the head of the nail will drive it further into the plank than a dozen blows on the side of it, and no two hammers can hit the same nail-head at the same time. The rifle bullet reaches the mark; scattering shot brings only small game. No gun ever fired more than one bullet accurately at the same time. The man who knows many things equally well is not properly equipped for the battle of life. The most successful man is he who knows many things well and one thing very well. The successful buyer is not ignorant of selling, and the successful seller knows something of buying ; but the best buyer is more expert at buying than at selling, 90 Profitable Oneness 91 and the best seller knows better how to sell than how to buy. The boy who seems to have no single tendency, who does not appear to enjoy a paramount desire, who has no decided preference for anything, is not likely to succeed. The successful man has proficiency in some special thing, but is not ignorant of general things. For ex- ample, no eye-specialist is fit to operate unless he understands the general principles of surgery. No one ever succeeded in any branch of business who was ignorant of fundamental business principles, and no one reaches success whose capacity is all gen- eral and in no wise specific. It is true that some great financiers seem to win profit out of everything, and to possess an equable, all- round ability ; but I think that a close scrutiny into their lives and methods will conclusively show that their success is due to par-excellence in some one direction, coupled with a grasp of general business principles. The boy who means to be a specialist along some line of study cannot become proficient unless his edu- cation embraces the fundamentals of learning. The great geographer cannot perfectly describe the surface of the earth unless his expertness is aided by a broad general education. No matter what the boy is to do, his general educa- tion must not be neglected. He needs the fundamentals of education, the broadness of generalities, that he may be able to properly focus his mind and the best of his ability upon the specialty of his choice. Economy and Saving *' To-day's savings are to-morrow's capital " EXTRAVAGANCE is the most bitter enemy of business and is opposed to proper and profitable action of every kind. Extravagance and suc- cess cannot live together. The spendthrift has neither sense nor earning capacity. He never succeeds. Meanness is not economy. The miser is not eco- nomical. He is as bad as the spendthrift, and as much of a fool. True economy is the proper and equable regulation of what we have, for the benefit of ourselves and the world. The miser boy, who refuses to contribute to the needs and progress of others, who thinks of himself alone, and who is abnormally fond of the accumula- tion of cash, may make money, but except as a lifeless money-grabber he will be a failure. The liberal boy may not always win great monied wealth, but his liberality will not make him a failure. Over-liberality, too great a consideration for others, and too little account of one's self, is not to be en- couraged ; but as this occurs so very infrequently it need not be discussed here. The boy should be taught to realize the true value, significance, advantage, and danger of money, that he may appreciate what it is good for and what it is not good for. He should study money, and analyze it as he does any other every day essential. He should be taught to handle it properly and to the best legitimate advantage. Money is a commodity, and the boy at school should not be kept away from the study of it. A text-book on money and its use should, in my opinion, be a part of our educational library. 92 Economy and Saving 93 Money, like everything else we misuse, is mis- directed largely because we have not been taught to profitably and economically handle it. Ignorance of a thing tends to its improper use. Familiarity with anything cannot but facilitate its proper handling. The spendthrift man springs from the spendthrift boy. The boy who cannot be taught to properly take care of his spending-money is not likely to profitably finan- cier any business. The making of commercial success depends upon the proper preservation and care of one's income and capital. Money is valuable for what it does in the present and for what it is likely to be able to do in the future. Consequently, the making of money is of two-part value and must be considered both in its present and future capacity. To be successful at money-making, as well as to be successful at anything else, requires both the proper handling and the well-keeping of the material. So far as available records show, no one ever suc- ceeded in money-making who did not continuously practice economy. Every pile of money started with a single coin. Saving is necessary for profitable result. The wasteful scientist, who does not care for his in- struments of experiment, seldom reaches top-most success. The vocalist, who does not economically preserve his voice, loses his voice or spoils it. Saving is one of the first laws of civilization, whether it be the putting away of money or of any other re- serve force. The economical handling of money, and of every other possession, is absolutely essential to success. . He who over-runs himself runs but a little while. 94 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed He who wastes his energy will soon be a wreck. Waste is the foe to every kind of progress. Proper saving is absolutely necessary to success- making. If things were not economically housed and stored, the world would soon be out of everything. Nature, our great example of liberality, stores her energies that she may profitably distribute them. If she had been a spendthrift, man would never have been created. Economy in handling every commodity, financial or otherwise, is fundamentally necessary to the up-build- ing of the race and to the progress of civilization. Meanness and miserliness are opposed to economy and progress. The virtue of saving is in the protection it renders by holding in reserve what will eventually be needed ; but the holding in storage of these necessities when they are required is criminally wrong, and is one of the bitterest foes to civilization. The animal forages in the summer that he may store for the winter. He saves a part of the food he collects, not for the sake of hoarding it, but for the sake of having it when he wants it. He by instinct is a true economist. Unless by lucky chance the boy has wealth thrust upon him, no one ever collected commanding riches, or even a comfortable competency, who did not syste- matically and continuously save a part of his income. The sooner the boy begins to save, — save his money, save his energy, save himself, — the quicker he will reach a profitable result. The care of the money saved is second in importance to the saving of it. "Wildcat'' and highly-colored opportunities for in- vestment line the streets and blaze from every corner. The interest they promise to pay is from two to a dozen times more than any safe enterprise is likely to pay. Economy and Saving 95 The boy should start a savings bank account as soon as he is the recipient of money. The savings bank is an institution of civiHzation ; one of our bulwarks of protection. The boy's first dollar should be the nucleus of his capital, and, so far as is possible, he should add to it with systematic continuousness. A small sum saved every month is better than larger sums saved irregularly. The boy should save every cent which the present does not require. If he wants something badly, he must intelligently and carefully consider whether what he wants is worth more to him now than the money it will cost will be worth to him by and by. The saving's bank account has been the beginning of much more than half of our financial successes. The boy, with a savings bank deposit, even though it be small, is a capitalist, and has something to depend upon. Savings are like the ammunition in the magazine, safely guarded, always ready for use, an ever-present and dependable protection. Extravagance is the rock upon which half our busi- ness men are wrecked. Proper economy is a forerunner of profit. Systematic saving is an essential of success. The saver is on the rock of safety ; the spender is on the sand of danger. Save, boys, save ! Save properly, liberally, intelli- gently. Don't be misers ; don't be close ; be discrimi- nating ; spend what you had better spend than save ; save what you need not spend ; but save ; save something, be it little or much ; save whether your parents be rich or poor; learn to spend discriminately ; learn to save systematically ; save ! The Good-for-Nothing " Pity him ; help him ; make him a good-for-something " THERE are boys — let us hope their number is small — who are apparently good for nothing, who seem to totally lack ambition, whose minds are close to blankness, who possess no special talent, who are lazy, indifferent, and careless, and who may or may not have bad habits. These boys are marked with failure. They are predisposed to worth- lessness. Possibility may run them into success ; prob- ability is against their advancement. The boy who will not arouse himself, or who cannot be aroused while he is a boy, is not likely to be anything more than a very ordinary man. He begins as a good-for- nothing and is likely to be a good-for-nothing all his life, seldom rising beyond a hand-to-mouth proficiency. If the good-for-nothing boy is naturally bad, he will make no effort to correct his faults, and is likely to spend a part of his time in jail. If he is naturally good, as common goodness goes — that is, if he does no crime of commission, and by omission keeps within the law, he will probably do no more than barely support him- self ; very likely he will be a drain upon his relatives, and be at best but a colorless citizen. He is like the lower-grade horse, of no use as a worker except as one of two car-horses hitched together under the rigid dis- cipline of a tracked-out route and brake. The attempt to make a good-for-something out of a good-for-nothing may be a waste of time and energy, often worse than useless, because it may inflict cruelty upon the subject. If there be no capacity, proficiency is impossible. Understand, I am using the expression *' good-for- nothing " as a designation for inferior mentality. There is probably no such thing as a human good-for-nothing. 96 The Good-for-Nothing 97 Everybody may be good for something, but the so- called good-for-nothing is good for very little, and the little which he can do must be under the direction of others. The place for the good-for-nothing is where he will be under constant and kind discipline, always treated fairly, never allowed to do less than he can do, and never forced to go beyond his capacity. If he has physical qualifications, the army or the navy is a good place for him. There somebody will think for him, and he will have to do the specific amount of work laid out for him, and even his limited mental capacity will enable him to render acceptable service. The good-for-nothing is unfit to marry, and has no right to have a home of his own. Physically speaking, he is an engine of so much ignorant power. He can push and pull, but he is not fit to manage or regulate. As a part of a disciplined, orderly machine he is a success. In the army or navy, or elsewhere as a me- chanical helper, he can better serve his country than in any other way. The parents of a good-for-nothing who attempt to push him beyond his capacity injure their boy and the community in which he lives. Is the boy a good-for-nothing ? A suspicion that he is may not be founded in fact. It takes time to diag- nose a good-for-nothing, for many an apparent good- for-nothing is a good-for-something. The parents and teachers of the alleged good-for- nothing, before deciding that he is incapacitated for anything except unskilled labor, should most carefully watch and analyze the boy, should apply every test, should make every attempt to arouse him, should re-test and re-attempt to pull him out of stagnation. If these attempts fail, and the boy remains indifferent and lazy, then develop and regulate his physical strength, give him the rudiments of education, and put him to work under discipline, in a place where others will do the thinking and directing. Keep on the Line " Be always founded in stability " IN my youth I was a school soldier and served with gun and sword. I shall never forget the training of military discipline. Well do I remember the refreshing and delightful order (perhaps they say it differently now), which like a cooling zephyr floated down the line after a hard march on a dusty road : ** Halt ! Order arms ! In place — rest ! " Then every one could do as he chose, if he kept one foot on the line. He could talk with his neighbor, he could laugh, if he kept one foot on the line. He could drink pink lemonade, he could sit or stand, he could yawn and stretch if he wished, but he must keep one foot on the line, so that when the command, ''Atten- tion ! " came, he had a part of himself in place, and had only to snap the other parts into the position of action. The discipline of the soldier should be a part of every life, and every successful man is under the rule of just discipline and strict orders of judgment. Let the man of originality throw his arms upward and look into the clouds and partly plan his career by the visions of the sky. It will do him good. No one with both feet constantly on the earth can ever rise above the ground; but let the man of vision always have one foot on the line, one foot always planted on the earth of conservative certainty. He may branch out with his arms, if he will, and even with his other leg, but never should every part of him be off the line of safety. Then will he always be in position to return to duty at the command of ''Attention!" Luck " If you have it, use it ; but don't wait for it " THE proof of the pudding is not all in the eat- ing. The element of luck, as well as that of ability and opportunity, contributes to the build- ing of profit. The man who is unsuccessful says **luck is against him," and may charge against luck that which belongs either to inability or to lack of persistency. The man of success seldom recognizes luck, but places the cause of his uprising upon his alleged capac- ity and his untiring energy. He credits himself with all that he owns and with all he can borrow. Both are wrong. That which is called luck, for want of a better name, works against the unfortunate and assists the fortunate. What luck really is, no one knows, nor is it under any recognized control. It comes from apparent nowhere, circles like the irresponsible comet, and returns to seem- ing nothing. Luck, whatever it may be, must not be depended upon. He who waits for his luck seldom meets it. The ship never comes in to the loafer on the dock. Luck has never made a man, for luck is not con- tinuous and lacks p^ermanency and stability. Boys, let luck alone. You cannot bring it to your- selves, nor can you send it away. Whatever it is, it is not subject to your orders. Do not think about it, and certainly you should not depend upon it. What is called luck may not seem to distribute itself with common fairness or good judgment; but if one will follow it long enough to table it into comparative statistics he will find that luck is not entirely devoid of 99 lOO The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed intelligence, and that it frequently visits those who can best entertain it. Many a boy or man never had luck because he was asleep when luck knocked at his door. Luck seldom forces itself upon one. It calls, and if invited, comes in ; but it doesn't care to stay where it is not properly taken care of. If luck will not help, strive all the harder and get along without it. If luck wants to assist, be prepared to use it to the best advantage. Do your best ; you cannot do more. If you do your best, you will be able to get along without luck. If you do your best you will be all the better off if luck comes your way. Bewailing one's bad luck will not bring good luck. Cursing luck will not make luck your friend. Enviousness of other people's luck will not bring luck to you. Be prepared to get along without luck, and be ready to use luck when it comes. Waiting for luck waits on failure, unmans a man, dwarfs a boy. You can get along without luck ; you may do better with it; but waiting for it, depending upon it, never brought it; so don't think about it; think about your duty ; mind your business, and work. Appearances "As we seem, so may we be taken to be " OUR mothers used to say that beauty was only skin deep, and our mothers were right from their puritanic view-point. Our mothers lived in the atmosphere of their own good, old- fashioned homes, where the real was reckoned as worthy because it was real. In mothers' days, the conventional wolf in sheep's clothing was not so often taken for the well-behaved lamb. The truth stood for the truth, and the lie stood for the lie, and competition was more manly, honest, and clean. The science of artificiality and the modern art of sham were then too poorly compounded to pass for genuineness. I am speaking from the platform of present condi- tions. It may be that the planks are rickety, and perhaps the beams are weak, but what is, is, until it is not, and modern business success must win the battle of the present, equipped with the arms of the present, recognizing present forces. The outside is outside, and the inside is inside, and because the outside is outside, folks see the outside before they see the inside ; and many people, rightly or wrongly, judge the inside by the looks of the outside. In the making of success appearances count. Ne- gotiable intrinsic value must have the appearance of intrinsic worth. Food is food, but the digestion of food is not independent of the appetizing appearance of it, for the food which looks appetizing, and is well served, will digest better, all things being equal, than the same nutriment of poorer appearance and carelessly presented. What's the good of unknown good? Good that is lOI 102 The Bay: — How to Help Him Succeed not in circulation, that is not seen, that is not known about, does not have the opportunity of doing the good that known good can do. The appearance of good enhances the value of good itself. The doing of good is fundamental. The appearance of good-doing, provided that good-doing is back of it, not only increases the value of the good, but is an example of the most considerable moment. Proper self-respect isn't loaded with self-conceit. The proper presentation of one's ability, like the proper pres- entation of the intrinsic value of goods, is necessary to the rounding out of success. Appearances in themselves are worth nothing. Appearances, backed with worth, are an aid to the worth of worth. The boy or man. has no more right to misrepresent himself than he has to misrepresent others. One is seldom reckoned at less than he reckons himself. Honest appearances are essential to success. Dis- honest appearances react sooner or later. Look as well as you can. Don't be a dude or a dandy. Look clean because you are clean. Dust your clothes ; black your shoes ; keep your hair brushed ; take care of your face and hands and your nails ; always look tidy ; never look slovenly. Be manly, and look it. Appear the gentleman, and be the gentleman. Show yourself and what you have to the best advantage. Don't over-represent; don't under-represent. Be your best, do your best, and appear at your best, if you would win the fulness of success. Health " Health is Nature's Intention " HEALTH is both a natural and an acquired pos- session. Nature made no provision for disease and unhealthiness. She elected man to be born healthy, and ordained that he should enjoy perpetual health, live to ripest maturity, and die only from old age or accident. Health is one of the vital elements of success. With- out it, complete success is impossible. True, many a weak man has achieved fame ; but the famous sick would have been more celebrated, and would have ac- complished more, had they been well. Sickness and weakness are outrages against Nature, and principal impediments to civilized progress. The health of the man begins with the boy — yes, the health of the man of to-day began with the boy of centuries ago ; and the health and strength of the boy of to-morrow are dependent upon the conditions of the past and the conditions of the present. The weaknesses of boyhood generally remain through manhood. The best of inherited health will run into weakness and disease unless it be properly preserved. While inheritance is a potent factor, most boys, un- healthily born and inheriting ancestral weakness, can, by care and development, be rounded out into men of fair health and strength. The best of inheritance with- out good environment seldom raises vigorous bodies and strong mentality. It is the parents' bounden duty to give the boy the best physical chance possible ; to care as carefully for his health as for any other part of his training ; and it is the boy's duty, when he is old enough, to look out for his physical side as well as for any of his other sides, J03 104 ^^^ ^^y — How to Help Him Succeed Most boys abuse Nature ; and if Nature were not tolerant and kind, one-half of our boys would die in their teens. Few of us, old or young, know how to live hygieni- cally, healthily, and properly ; and those who do under- stand themselves, seldom use their knowledge to full advantage. Civilization will never materially progress until the Temples-of-Our-Souls are as intelligently erected, and as carefully tended, as are our material edifices of trade and business. If our stores and offices and other places of work were as indifferently cared for as are our bodies and our minds, business and all activity would die in its own grave of carelessness. We are ever watchful of our mechanical engines — oil them, renovate them, and keep them in repair — and yet we refuse to treat the casements of our eternal souls with one-half the care we give to the inanimate. Nine-tenths of our boys eat too rapidly, and this lack of proper mastication leads to chronic indigestion. Most boys do not take the proper amount or the right kind of exercise. They either over- train or under- train. Comparatively few boys are fed upon the right kind of food. They eat too much of one thing and too little of another. They consume too much meat, too much pastry, too much indigestible and innutritions stuff. White bread, falsely called " The Staff of Life," and so generally given to the young, contains few of the elements of building and sustaining nutrition. More than half of wheat's nutritive and life-giving qualities are bolted out of white flour. Whole-wheat flour con- tains much of Nature's nutriments, and is the only proper wheat flour for bread-making. The boy needs the whole of food, not perverted parts of it. The total of his food should contain all the necessary nutriments as Nature arranged them. These Health 105 he will find if his diet consists of wheat and other grains, vegetables, fruit, milk, eggs, fish, and a reason- able amount of meat, or no meat at all. Many a boy refuses to eat the plainer foods because he has been pampered with the richer viands, and be- cause the nutritious foods given him have not been properly cooked and served. The mother is criminally negligent if she is deficient in the art of cooking and ignorant of a knowledge of food qualities. Every parent, both fathers and mothers, should study food and food requirements, and should see to it that their children not only have proper food material, but that it is properly cooked and properly served. The establishment of food schools and food clubs and courses of food lectures is to be enthusiastically recommended. No woman is fit to be wife, mother, or housekeeper who does not understand food and its preparation ; and those who are now ignorant of these essentials should immediately acquire the knowledge. Something besides a cook-book should be a part of every home library. There are several authoritative and intelligible works on food and its preparation ; one or more of these books should be in every home, and their contents should be understood by both parents, as well as by those who have charge of the buying and cooking. The introduction of the cooking school, although, perhaps, too much permeated by fadism, is a step in the right direction. There should be more cooking schools, and they should teach the truth, and the whole truth — the chemistry of food, as well as the dainty preparation of it. Food is a necessity, as vital to human action as fuel is to the mechanical engine, and it is a damning blot upon our present page of civilization that the world gives more care to the iron boiler and to the fuel io6 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed under it, than to the food-fuel required by our humaH bodies. The demand for stimulants and for rich, unpalatable, and indigestible foods is due largely to perverted appe- tite ; and perverted appetite is often caused by false foods and the improper preparation and serving of food substantial . People eat what they ought not to eat, because what they ought to eat is not properly prepared and served. Naturally, people do not eat or drink to excess, nor do they naturally crave for indigestible food. Because they cannot get what they need, or do not know what they need, they acquire an unnatural appetite, which in its turn demands unnatural stimulants and food. Tem- perance in eating is of as much consequence as tem- perance in drinking. The natural, happy, healthy, well-regulated man neither drinks, nor eats, nor does anything else, to excess; and the natural, well-in-hand man springs from the natural, healthy boy. The boy needs outdoors, and he should be outdoors as much as possible, and the good air of outdoors should fol- low him indoors. He should never sleep in a close room at night ; nor study nor play in unventilated quarters. Good night air does not hurt anybody ; bad night air is injurious ; impure air is a breeder of colds and disease. Plenty of good air braces and strengthens every fiber. A draft is dangerous, but good ventilation does not require drafts. Bathing is essential. Colds come from clogged, not from open, pores. The well-kept, healthy skin wards off disease. The unscrubbed, bundled-up boy is seldom well. The boy should not study too much, and his study should never interfere with a proper amount of exer- cise and the hygienic care of himself. But too little gtudy makes a loafer. All play is bad for any one. Health 107 Too much study under confinement seldom accom- plishes anything, and if it does, it costs more than it is worth. The boy should live naturally and as close as pos- sible to Nature. He should eat enough, and no more ; he should sleep enough, and not too much ; he should be out in the open air at all seasons of the year ; he should spend the night in a well-ventilated room; he should live according to the laws of Nature. Parents should understand not only how to feed the boy, but should also have an intelligent knowledge of hygiene and sanitary arrangement. They should not be ignorant of human physiology, and should be in- formed in regard to everything necessary for the proper care of the boy. This knowledge they can obtain from books, from experience, and from contact with the in- telligent side of the world. Ignorance of health matters is without excuse. With our libraries and other facilities for the dissemination of knowledge, there is no reason why every parent should not be informed in regard to matters of health. Home-doctoring should be discouraged. In emer- gencies it is sometimes necessary, but it should never be practiced if the services of a reputable physician can be obtained. The indiscriminate administration of medicine is posi- tively dangerous and seldom efficacious, and has ruined many a boy's constitution. When in the slightest doubt, call the physician. Outside of the use of a few harmless remedies, which may be given when it is positively known that the ail- ment is of slight consequence, parents have no moral right, and they should have no legal right, to doctor the child. Call the doctor. It is better to call the doctor too many times than too few. It is his business to know, and as a rule he doeg knowt io8 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed A-doctor-in-time is a hundred times cheaper in the end. The physician is one of the noblest products of civil- ization. There are charlatans in the ranks, and occa- sionally one finds an incompetent and careless practi- tioner ; but physicians as a class represent the highest grade of composite intelligence. The regular physician — and no other should, in my judgment, be allowed to practice — has to be an edu- cated man. Nothing but ability can earn or obtain a diploma from the regularly established medical schools. Personally, doctors represent the best of human char- acter and citizenship. They are men of brains, men of learning, and men of experience — men v/ho are willing to sacrifice ease and money for the benefit of the race. The number of incompetent physicians is too few to count against the craft as a whole ; while the poorest physician, with the knowledge he has, is safer than the unmedical parent. Doctors make mistakes ; none of us are perfectly proficient; but the errors of practice and experience are far less frequent and much less dangerous than the blunders of ignorance. It is the parents' duty to keep in touch with a good family physician, for the benefit of themselves and their children ; and everybody, no matter how strong and healthy he or she is, should occasionally be seen and overhauled by a first-class medical practitioner. It is cheaper to keep the boy in health than to make the sick boy well. The good physician is always a man of experience. He sees the world as the world is, and he is a safe and wise adviser upon general matters, as well as upon those of health and sickness. Many a boy dies or becomes critically ill under the watchful care of loving parents, when the early at- tendance of a skilful physician might have saved his life or brought him health. Health 109 No proprietary medicines of any kind should be given to any one, or taken by anybody, without the advice of a regular physician. Those which are good for any- thing and possess medicinal properties, it stands to rea- son will be recommended by some member of the great medical fraternity. Some patent medicines are made of cheap alcohol, physic, and other drugs; and often, if they are not positively injurious, they are likely to have no medic- inal value whatever. The indiscriminate taking of any medicine, good or bad, is unsafe, and is to be condemned. A certain boy is sick. Ignorant parents dose him with home-made or patent medicine. The boy gets well. Possibly the medicine helped him. Perhaps Nature did all the work. The boy next door is taken sick. Apparently he is suffering from the same com- plaint. His igncrant parents give him the same con- coction, assuming that if this medicine was good for the first boy it is good for all the boys on the street. The second boy's disease may be similar to the first boy's ailment, but he has a different constitution and requires a different medicine and a different treatment. What is medicine for one may be poison for another. No one but an educated and trained practitioner can properly diagnose. This is the doctor's business. He fails sometimes, but more often his diagnosis is correct and the treatment he prescribes beneficial. The label on the medicine bottle is inanimate. It cannot have diagnostic intelligence. Probably fifteen per cent, of our home-houses are un- fit to live in, and perhaps ninety per cent, are not fully healthy. Not more than twenty per cent, of our houses are well ventilated, and not one-half of them are kept dusted and clean. A large proportion of youthful deaths is due to parental ignorance and unintentional carelessness. I am speaking plainly, but this is a place for plain no The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed speaking, and no intelligent parent will take exception to the honest sincerity of my statements. The boy is entitled to his health. It belongs to him. God and Nature gave it to him ; and he who takes it away from him is a thief and a murderer. The boy should be taught the principles of health with his alphabet. The schools do not give sufficient attention to the diffusion of health essentials. A health-course should be a part of all school instruc- tion. It should begin in the lower classes and continue through every grade. The teacher and the parents together should teach the boy to know health, to appreciate what it is, and what it is worth, that he may help to make and keep himself healthy. In the health of the child is the strength of the nation. Giving and Taking Advice " To mutual benefit " NEITHER advice, nor suggestion, nor rules, nor experience are capable of establishing infallible law. The best intent, fortified v^ith the broadest experience and the strongest power of diagnosis, may start the boy on the wrong road and continue to lead him in the way he should not go. Certainty does not exist in an uncertain world. There must be excep- tions to every rule. The law of probability is the best and safest guide, and the nearest to impossible certainty. No boy knows just what he is good for, nor can he determine the best business or professional road to travel, and there is no parent or instructor, or any one else, who can guarantee his advice and direction. What seeme, after the most careful reasoning and in the light of the present, to be the most probable is, in the absence of brighter light, the thing to do. Probabilities are generally safe to follow. Possibili- ties often lead to danger. The compass does not always point to the magnetic north ; but often the compass, in its imperfection, is the safest guide the mariner can follow. Probability is the nearest to surety. The four principal factors in the starting and guiding of the boy are : The boy himself, the boy's parents, the boy's teachers, and the experience and unbiased judg- ment of outsiders. The mature boy's right to choose his future course, provided his preference is based upon sound reason, may be considered the chief right. Wise and proper parents have made a close and inter- ested study of their boy, and their opinions, unless they be mixed with prejudice and over-ambition, are worthy of much consideration. The opinions of teachers, if they be adapted to their 112 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed calling, are of great consequence. Sometimes the teachers, rather than the boy or his parents, can de- termine with closer accuracy what is best for the boy to do. In every trade, business, and profession there are many representatives, who are expert at diagnosis and prognosis and are capable of giving reasonable, sen- sible, and practical advice. Parents will do well to present their boys to these experts for examination and council. The advice of these men may be of inesti- mable value, and in case they cannot tell the boy what to do, they can, at least, give him and his parents defi- nite and unbiased information about the calling they represent. They are in a position to know. What they say is from the head of experience, not from the book of theory. The advice of any one need not be considered author- itative, but the majority advice of competent several may be accepted as the truth. No business or profes- sional man who is not a success is competent to give advice along the line of his failure. Good advice always comes from folks of successful experience, who may and may not have been disciplined by their mastery of failure. The failure is unfit to advise, and his un- supported advice must never be acted upon. Advice has been called ** cheap," and some of it is, but no one ever succeeded without it, and the advice of fair-minded people of profitable experience is never unworthy of intelligent consideration. No man of intellectual capacity and good sense ever refuses to accept good advice, and never allows himself to get along without it. He keeps in close and daily contact with men of sound judgment, and exchanges his ideas for those of others — in fact, he is in continu- ous advisory session. He is master of himself — master, because he has mastered his conceit. To the little he knows he adds the much he knows about what others know. He is a clearing-house of information and ex- Giving and Taking Advice 113 perience. Because he respects himself and has con- fidence in himself, he respects the opinion of others. He knows that by himself alone he cannot be a good citizen nor successful and proficient in anything. He is a perpetual scholar. He has a mind of his own and is firm in his convictions, but he is always open to reason, testing his own opinions in the crucible of intelligent public opinion, that its quality may be kept up to the proper standard. The chronic, undiscriminating advice-taker is a fool. The stubborn, sufficient-unto-himself man is worse than a fool, because he is dangerous to himself and to others. The individual man cannot take care of himself. The composite man is a success. No opinion safe to follow is entirely without intelli- gent backing. No isolated idea is worth anything anywhere, unless that idea, when expressed, receives some intelligent indorsement. Advice-giving and advice-taking are two of the strongest props of civilization, and are fundamental articles in the law of progress. Promptness ** Tardiness and failure are cousins " ii /^"^N time " is the cry of progress. ** Too late" I 1 is the groan of failure. The race of success V^^ runs on time. The boy who succeeds goes on time and arrives on time. The man of success is on time. In every sphere of life promptness is essential, and in business it is demanded. What you want when you want it is worth more to you than what you wanted after you wanted it. The artist may be behind hand, and the lawyer may be a little late, and the world excuse them ; but the world of business, which most of our boys must enter, will not tolerate the behind-hand boy or the behind-hand man in the shop or in the office. Nobody likes to wait. Nobody can afford to wait for what is due. Promptness costs no more than behind-time-ness. When it is once established it is easy to maintain. **On time "does not require capital, and everybody can have it. Occasional accidents will happen, but promptness can be almost universal, subject only to disaster or to the unexpected. The on-time boy is likely to be the on-time man, and the on-time man doesn't keep success in waiting. ««4 Undesirable Habits ** Don't pay more than the thing is worth '* A BAD habit, whitewashed or unwhitewashed, is a black blot on anybody's character, but there are some bad habits hardly bad enough to mate- rially count in a world of universal imperfection. One should separate himself from every bad habit, provided the cost of getting rid of it is not greater than is involved in the continuance of the habit. The boy who talks too much, like the man who talks too much, may be a success or a failure. His over-talk- ing propensity is only incidental in either case. Talk- incr too much is a fault, but not one of fatal conse- quence. Many a man or boy of great mental capacity talks beyond the sensible point ; many an over-talker is a failure ; many a fool can't talk, and many a fool can. Everybody has from one to many faults ; no one is without them. If they are of consuming importance, they ruin the possessor of them. If they are inciden- tal, and are overshadowed by virtues, they may not do much injury. Sometimes the crushing out of a minor fault, like over-talking, absorbs more energy than its conquering is worth. For instance, one may actually stunt much of his ability by using too much of his reserve power in attempting to overcome a little fault. The boy, as well as the man, should be reckoned by the excess of good over the bad in him. The boy who is a fine scholar in half of his studies, a fair scholar in most of the balance, and a poor scholar in one or more, may be better equipped for success than is the boy who is a fair scholar in all of his studies. The boy of abil- ity who has some weaknesses, provided they are not of a criminal or vicious character and likely to materially "5 ii6 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed injure him physically or mentally, may be a better boy and better fitted for usefulness, than is the boy who is fair in everything, but not proficient in anything. Bad habits, even the smaller ones, do not help ; they injure and hinder, and they should never be allowed to remain if they can profitably be gotten rid of. No weakness or objectionable tendency in any direction should be encouraged, and it should be destroyed when- ever the expense of its destruction will not cost more than the harm of its existence. The boy, as well as the man, should make the most of himself, doing the most good for every one, including himself. He should use himself to the best advantage. He cannot be perfect; he must have '* outs," but a few ** outs" with many '< goods" may be far more profitable than no " outs " and many *' fairs." A boy may be very deficient in penmanship. Bad penmanship is an "out." He never can become ex- pert with pen, pencil, or brush, though he may learn to be a fair penman and artist. If penmanship is not to be a part of his business, and if there is no reason why he should work with pencil or brush, it is sheer foolish- ness, and the poorest kind of economy, to attempt to make him a good penman or an artist. He had better remain a poor or a fair penman and no artist at all, than to use up his valuable time in trying to become some- thing outside of his natural capacity. The working or developing of one's ability always pays. The working or over-working of one's inability, except in case of emergency, never pays. What one is in his aggregate or his totality, not what he is in each particular thing specifically, counts. If the great <* goods " are far more numerous than the the small " bads," the boy is a success. The ** goods " should be made greater and the *' bads" made less ; but it is poor economy to exhaust one's energy overcoming immaterial *'bads," at the expense of developing one's material *' goods." Courage '* Be strenuous in peaceful courage " THE weak-hearted boy, lacking every kind and grade of courage, afraid of himself and of everything else, never can make any sort of success. The best he can do is to become a book- worm, an effeminate something, or an absorber of anything likely to be of some use, though he can never make full use of it. Real courage is one of the trunk-branches of success. Brute courage is recklessness, and has no place in true civilization. Civilized courage is a determination to do what is right at any equable cost ; and, as what costs more than it is worth is not right, the true definition of real courage is the will and effort to do right against any and all obstacle. The prize-fighter is not courageous, except in a brutal sense. Morally, he is a coward, because he is not brave enough to be decent. It takes more real courage not to fight, than to fight, when there is a chance for fighting, unless fighting is necessary for the doing or the preserving of something worth while. Struggling against certain failure or fighting against sure death is pure and simple recklessness, and is not a part of true courageousness. The boy always looking for a scrap, and ready to fight on any provocation, is a bully, and lacks both physical and moral courage. Safe in his animal prowess, he brutally enjoys beating the weak and helpless. Before his equals or superiors in strength he never knowingly raises a hand. The courage of one's convictions is essential to success. 117 Ii8 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed One who is not reasonably sure of himself, who lacks confidence in himself, who is afraid to make a reason- able move, never gets beyond a salary or an insignif- icant business. The plunger is a fool, and never deserves prosperity. The reckless speculator is simply a gambler and a coward, and lacks the courage necessary to legitimately conquer opposition. Sensible fear and unwillingness to take unfair chances are as essential as courage for the making of success. Courage and caution, rightly mixed, will win. Courage without caution is recklessness. Caution without courage is weakness. The courageous boy is an apostle of peace — not peace at any price, but peace at the right price. He prefers peace to strife, and never fights unless fighting be necessary and profitable. Real courage — profitable, successful courage — is peaceful and quiet ; but it is always there, ready to be called should occasion require, and when it is intelli- gently aroused it is one of the most effective and neces- sary weapons in the struggle for success. Be courageous, but don^t be antagonistical. The boy with a constant chip on his shoulder is likely a braggart and afraid of anything bigger than himself. Dare-to-do-right courage wins. Harmony ** Harmony is the oil of effort '* IN the harmony of method is the success of busi- ness. In the harmony of anything is the rounding- out of it. If the rudder and the sails do not work together, the ship will not sail. If there be not enough fire under the water, nor enough water over the fire, the engine will not run. Much of success is in harmonious condition. Strength without harmony absorbs itself. Strength with harmony magnifies itself. The boy of fair ability, well suited to his place, may become a greater success than the boy of more capacity in unfit surroundings. Most of the waste of business, and of life itself, is due to friction and inharmonious connection. The right boy in the right place will succeed to the fulness of his possibility. The wrong boy in the wrong place is not likely to more than approach the entrance to full success. Boys incapable of sustaining harmonious surround- ings are failures to begin with, and there are too many of them. Inharmonious boys are dissatisfied with everything, and their dissatisfaction blankets the effi- ciency of their effort. They harmonize with nothing. They, and not outside conditions, are to blame. Dissatisfaction for reason is justifiable. Dissatisfaction is one of the nerves which tell the brain the truth. But a good proportion of so-called dissatisfac- tion is born of laziness, indifference, lack of harmony, or of something worse. The lazy boy is out of harmony with everything. He is devoid of ambition, without willingness to make effort, and is not in profitable touch with anything. I20 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed Frequently harmony is waiting at our gates, ready to come in and help us at the slightest invitation. Inattention to little things, thoughtlessness, and care- lessness, breed discord. Justifiable dissatisfaction can always give reason for its existence. Unreasonable dissatisfaction and discord are respon- sible for a large proportion of failures. Harmony is a business and an every-day-life necessity. If the boy does not harmonize with his work — and there seems to be no good reason why he should not do so — no change should be made until there is reason- able certainty that the fault is not in the boy, but in conditions over which he has no control. As a rule, the boy can be more easily harmonized with his conditions than conditions can be harmonized with him. Harmony must be obtained. Without it, the flush of success is impossible, and more than ordinary accom- plishment improbable. Harmony adds pleasure to work ; smooths the sharp and rough edges of difficult labor ; and more, it gives a profitable finish to result. Politeness ** There's something in polish *' BUSINESS politeness is a business commodity. Goods with courtesy are worth more than goods without courtesy, in any market. A poor thing well served may look as well as a good thing poorly served. The way a thing is said is often as important as what is said. Flattery is dishonesty, but true politeness is not flattery. Few succeed in any calling without the use of a reason- able amount of politeness and courtesy, and the right degree of these possessions will do much towards start- ing the boy and keeping him in the road to success. Politeness is one of the constituents of the golden rule of business. It is one's rendering to others what he would have others render to him. Go with me into any commercial establishment or professional sanctum ; there the boys who have the best chance for advancement are those who are uniformly polite and courteous ; and the boys who are dissatisfied, who seem to beckon failure, are discourteous and gruff in their conduct toward others. True, a very few great savants may lack the discern- ment of politeness. They live in the hardened shell of science. As specialists they are of extraordinary suc- cess ; but these men are eccentric exceptions ; they are not in business. Politeness, beginning in the boy and everlastingly continuing, is a necessity, and one of the main branche. of the tree of business accomplishment. Politeness costs nothing; it is always worth some- thing. I3X The Farm " Where Nature works for man " FROM the earth all things spring, and unto the earth returns all materiality. The first man was a farmer. The stock-board may close its doors, and the world go on. The railroads may cease running, and folks will live. 'Most all of busi- ness may go out of business and all of profession no longer practice, and folks will continue to be born and to propagate ; but when there is no longer farming, there will no longer be people, for the world will have starved to death. The farm is the essential factor of human main- tenance ; the farmer an indispensable necessity. The barren farm does not pay, because of its barren- ness ; but the fertile farm cannot help paying, if it be properly worked. One reason why so much land does not raise a profit- able harvest is because it is not well cultivated. Alto- gether too many farmers, instead of working their farms, allow the farms to work them. The situation is their master, instead of their being master of the situation. Farm-work is hard, but all work is difficult. Perhaps farming is more laborious than many other callings. There is a certain amount of drudgery to every kind of labor, but the excess of drudgery is generally the fault of the drudge. The farmer is not, and should not be considered, a laborer in a subordinate or wage sense. He is, if he owns the farm, virtually in business for himself, pro- prietor of his land, and distributor of his harvest. He may work harder than does the business man, and his hours may be longer ; but he has less worry, less in- tense anxiety, and less acute responsibility. His work The Farm 123 is within healthy surroundings ; he is not housed, both day and night, as is the city worker. He is near to Nature, enjoying privileges which the city cannot give, or if it does give, refuses to distribute except at an exorbitant price. The farmer is, or should be, the noblest work of God. He works in God's fields, under God's skies, legitimately collecting Nature's harvest, away from unnatural crowd- ing, artificial stimulant, and unavoidable temptation. The profession or business of farming should receive the recognition it deserves. There is no nobler calling. If the same energy, education, and training were put into the management of our farms as are given to other forms of livelihood-earning, there would be much less drudgery, with many times easier and better results. There is altogether too much slovenliness and guess- work about the average farm. The proper mastery of the earth requires the same care or study as is neces- sary for success in any other business or profession. The boy who does not like farming, who has ab- solutely no love for planting and harvesting, is not likely to make a good farmer ; and forcing him to remain there indefinitely is bad judgment, cruel, and unprofitable. The boy has just as much right not to like farming as he has to have no love or desire for any other specific calling. Many boys who leave the farm do so because they look upon farming as inferior labor, and imagine that they are above that class of work. If they respected farming as it deserves to be respected, and as the com- munity and their parents should respect it, many of them would have become successful farmers. The drudging farmer, the ne'er-do-well digger of the soil, with weedy garden and shabby house, cannot ex- pect that his boy will respect the farm or love farm- work. Because the father has made a failure, is often to the boy sufficient reason for believing that farming is unadapted to high ambition and profitable energy. 124 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed The dignity of the farm should be raised to the plane it richly and naturally deserves. Farming should be taught the same as is any other science, art, or profession ; and there should be a dozen agricultural schools where to-day there is one. There should be more books on farming — the truth about farming — not barren pages of dried-up statistics, but leaves of life, fresh from the fertile fields. Let the farmer's boy read — read agricultural papers — more than one — all the good farming books ; and study them ; that he may not only see his farm as it is, but what real farming is and can be made to be. The farms of to-morrow are in the hands of the boys of to-day. The average farmer's boy stands a better chance of success by remaining on the farm, if he will apply to the farm interest and systematic study, than he does by casting his lot in the strange streets of the unfamiliar city. Farming may not give him so much ready cash, but it is likely, if he goes into it with his heart and energy, to bring him more satisfaction and comfort than he can find in the struggling metropolis. The farmer boy should give the farm the preference ; should be favorably disposed towards it; and should not leave it unless, after investigation, he can furnish substantial proof that he is reasonably certain of being better off in some other calling or in some other locality. The world needs more farmers and better farmers. There are as many, if not more, opportunities for intel- ligent farmers than there are for the inexperienced in a strange city. Better have the little, which the farm gives — the little one is sure of — than the much which the great city merely loans to its inhabitants, reserving the priv- ilege of calling any of its loans to the wrecking of the loanee. Exercise ** Keep in circulation ** LIFE is action. Stagnation is disease and death. Health without exercise is impossible. A proper amount of physical exercise is necessary to any continuation of healthfulness. The human body, like the mechanical engine, will rust out faster than it will wear out. Exercise is absolutely essential to the proper health and development of the boy, and outdoor activity is far preferable to indoor exercise. Fortunately, boys are not averse to active exercise and are willing to take all they need. It is not, then, a question of activity, but of regulated exercise. In their ignorance, boys over-exercise or under-exer- cise, and few of them enjoy the right amount or the right kind of physical exertion, and comparatively few parents have intelligent knowledge upon this essential subject. Books on physical culture should be in every house- library and in every schoolroom; should be the text- books of home as well as the text-books at school. Parents should know themselves and their boys, physi- cally. If they do not, they are criminally ignorant and responsible for much human weakness. Every parent should be familiar with human physi- ology and general hygiene, and have an intelligent knowledge of physical culture. There are many good books upon these subjects, and every physician welcomes an opportunity to impart this information. Many a strong boy has been made weak by over- exercise, and many a weak boy has become strong by proper exercise. "5 126 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed The kind of exercise is as important as is the amount of it. The element of danger should be entirely eliminated. There is no excuse for any play or game likely to injure its players. The dangerous games, exciting and interesting as they may be, are relics of barbarism, and should not be tolerated by the parents and the teachers, or be per- mitted by the government. Exertion without interest is never enjoyable, and not always profitable ; but with the present forms of enter- taining exercise and pastimes, there is no excuse for the use of any form of brutality. All outdoors is one great exercise ground. Nature is the great play-master. The formation of physical culture clubs is a step in the right direction. There cannot be too many of them. The intelligent study of exercise is as essential as knowledge in any other direction. The exercise of the body is not independent of the exercise of the mind, and interesting exercise is the only kind of diversion worthy of encouragement. Let there be sense and decency in every form of recreative exercise. Promiscuous exercise is dangerous. Good, enjoyable, proper exercise is neither dangerous nor brutal, nor does it strain the body or degenerate the mind. Great Boys and Smart Boys ** There's nothing ' great * about smartness " THERE'S a great big difference between great- ness and smartness. Greatness is permanent, but smartness is of transient quality. The great accomplish something ; the smart appear to sometimes, but seldom create more than a disturbance. The precocious boy seldom amounts to anything. He is simply smart, has the flush of intelligent persist- ency, but is unable to properly harness his ability. Smartness is nothing more than a flash-in-the-pan. It makes a big, but quickly dying blaze, is brilliant for the moment, but has no real warmth or strength. The smart boy is not only precocious, but is conceited, bold, and disagreeable. If the boy shows any precocious characteristics, get them out of him at any cost. Train his precociousness into something of better quality. Help him to turn his smartness into staple usefulness. If taken in time, the precocious boy frequently be- comes a boy of strong and permanent character ; but if his precociousness is allowed to continue, he stands little or no chance of ultimate success. Boys, don't be smart, as smartness goes. Be some- thing worth while ; work for permanency ; don't be of sufficient-unto-the-day smartness ; be great in ambition, strong in energy, fervent in faithfulness. 137 Something for Nothing S " Nature Forbids " " O OMETHING for nothing " never was, isn't, and never will be a part of business or of anything else worth having. Really, there isn't such a thing as something for nothing. Even a gift to a friend is not something for nothing, because the re- ceiver reciprocates, or should reciprocate, by rendering appreciation, or the present represents an acknowledg- ment for past favors. Everything travels in circles, and the good of it, like the power of electricity, is in the mutuality of connec- tion, and in this connection that which is given becomes absorbed or paid for This is a compensatory world, although apparently many of us do not appear to receive our just deserts, but in the grand wind-up of affairs, this world being considered but a link in the chain of existence, some- thing will be received for something and nothing will get nothing. No firm worth working for, ever intentionally and continuously pays a boy more than a boy is worth to it ; and every reputable business house intends to give its employees what they are worth in the maintenance and development of the business. Many a boy starting in life surprisingly discovers that he is receiving in money less than was paid or is paid to another for apparently similar services, and he becomes dissatisfied. The boy for many years after entering business is a learner as well as a worker, and his employer is his teacher. Although he may seemingly be doing as much as his predecessor did he cannot be rendering so valuable a service. Something for Nothing 129 Responsibility requires experience. This experience the boy has not had, no matter how bright he may be ; and until he gains it, he cannot render the service of dependableness. He may appear to do as much work, but until he has been trained, he must be watched and directed, and this watchfulness and direction on the part of his employer or of the head of the department reduces the actual value of the boy's services. Responsibility requires experience, and the ability to assume responsibility is worth more in any market than mere work in itself. The chief engineer of a great ocean greyhound does not keep watch, really has no specific duties, and may seldom visit the engine room ; yet he rightly receives much more than is given to any one of his assistants who really do all, or nearly all, of the active work. The chief engineer is not paid for what he does, but for what he can do — for his capacity to assume responsibility. The boy must add to his early salary the worth of what he is receiving in the way of knowledge and experience. A boy working for a respectable house will be paid for what he is worth, no more and no less, and when experience gives him the right to assume responsibility, his capacity will be recognized by proper promotion. Success in any calling depends on the mutuality of benefit to all concerned. The boy at the start must not consider the wages he receives as his entire remunera- tion. It may not represent a quarter of what is being given him. He is learning, and so long as he is as much of a learner as a worker, what he learns is a part of his pay. A Symposium of Success " Composite Pictures of Truth " THE following pages are devoted to a recapitula- tion of the facts and opinions given by the 319 Men of Mark, whose answers to the 25 vital questions upon success-making appear in the following chapter, entitled ** The Voice of Distin- guished Experience." This summary is presented in easy tabulated form as a material aid in the study of the many thousands of authoritative answers. It is obvious that complete accuracy in such tabula- tion is impossible, except where the answers are defi7 nitely **Yes" or "No;" but it is believed that the errors of judgment are slight and unimportant and do not materially affect the correctness or value of the conclusions. The reader is earnestly urged to read and study each answer by itself, irrespective of these tables of collec- tive result, which are given for what they may be worth as accessories to the answers themselves. Question I To what one thing, or to what two or more things, do you attribute your success ? Whole number answering this question . . 283 The following recapitulation presents in concentrated brevity the gist of the answers, except that no account is taken of a reason given by less than five of the answerers. The answers should be read in their en- tirety, for in no other way can one, even with the help of the following table, appreciate their full value and meaning. X30 A Symposium of Success 131 Perseverance, stick-to-itiveness, constancy, etc Application Hard work, capacity for, love for, etc. . Industry ...... Honesty ...... Love for chosen work, adaptability for, etc. Faithfulness ..... Good health ..... Good training ..... Concentration ..... Earnest desire to succeed, ambition, and other fixed purpose not specified here Prompt use of opportunities . Education and thoroughness of preparation Devotion to duty . Good habits Good inheritance . Dependence upon one's self Diligence Helpful environment and helpfulness of friends Making use of a recognized talent or ability Economy Favor of Providence High ideals . Determination Energy Common sense Influence of a good wife Association with superiors Favorable circumstances <' Perseverance," *' capacity for work," ''love for work," ''application," "hard work," " stick- to-i- tive-ness," "constancy," "industry," "honesty," " adaptability," " good health," " good training," " con- centration," and "faithfulness," "earnest desire to succeed," " ambition," and other fixed purpose, are altogether given 359 times, and many of the other 132 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed reasons given are analogous to these. It would appear that they are essential to success ; and that certainly all the other reasons given are either necessary or decidedly beneficial. Because only 25 specify "honesty" as a reason for their success cannot in any way be construed as against honesty in business, for honesty is understood or expressed in nearly all of the reasons presented. For instance, one cannot be faithful without being hon- est, nor can he be devoted to duty ; and honesty is an element of perseverance and stick-to-a-tive-ness. Only three mention good luck as contributing to their success. Question II In choosing a trade, business, or profession, would you advise the boy to enter the one for which he has a decided preference ? Whole number answering this question . . 312 Affirmatively ** Yes," without qualification or comment . 162 ** Yes," with emphasis ..... 16 Equivalent of *' Yes," ** By all means," *' Usually," etc 37 215 *' Yes," with qualifications, conditions, or ex- planations ...... 74 289 Negatively Inclined to " No," but not positive . . 9 Non-committal, neither '' Yes " nor '< No " . 14 Deducting the <* non-committals," the opinions stand : — In favor of a decided preference for one's calling ..... 289 Actually opposed .... none Partially opposed ... 9 A Symposium of Success 133 It may, then, be recorded as a ** law of success" that a decided preference is advisable in choosing a trade, business, or profession. Question III In your opinion, is a pronounced preference for any calling necessary to full success in it ? Whole number answering this question . 814 Affirmatively <* Yes," without qualification or comment . 66 Affirmatively other than saying ** Yes," but meaning ** Yes," as '* Decidedly so," *« Absolutely so," etc 31 ** Yes," with explanations and modifications . 28 Affirmatively inclined, but not a decided " Yes " 16 131 Negatively ** No," without qualification or comment . 86 Negatively other than actually saying *^ Energy, push. (<:) Education. (a) Common sense. 2. Yes, sometimes, not always. Depends upon the sound sense of the boy. 3. Not absolutely. 4. No. 6. No rule of universal application. 7. No, not generally. 8. No, not as the world sometimes goes, but in the long run, yes. 9. Sure. 10. Yes, to be specially successful. 11. Both; don't separate them, I beg of you. 12. You must have experience, and will have it before you can get suc- cess. 13. Yes, sometimes. 15. Sometimes. 16. Yes, sure. 17. Change his will. If you cannot, let him stay out. 21. Inexperience. Joseph Alden Shaw, A.M. Worcester, Mass. Head-Master, Highland Military Academy. 1. See No. 25. 2. Yes. 3. Wellnigh indispensable. 4. No. 5. Not unless he has a well-defined purpose in making the change. 6. Same reply as before. 7. Not indefinitely. 8. Yes. 9. I do. la I do. 11. Both indispeilsable in the long run. 12. At the first, of course, the second factor cannot be counted upon. 13. In many cases I think it would be very helpful. 14. Same as before. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. Never. 21. To a lack of industry, facility, business integrity, and capacity. 22. The Bible, Robinson Crusoe, Neighbor Jackwood, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Silas Marner, dictionary. 23. Yes, by all means. 24. No. 25. Be honest, truthful, prayerful, always keep your promises and there- fore make your word as good as your bond. Joel M. Longenecker Chicago, 111. Lawyer. 1. By following the profession I have chosen, that of law, and by close application to it, and not neglecting it for anything; also to the fact that I have always been honest with my clients, never misrepresenting any- thing to them. 2. Yes. 3. Not always, but it is more likely to bring success by following prefer- ence. 4. No. 5. No. 6. No. 7. No. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. 10. Yes. 11. Experience. 12. No. 13. Depends upon the sort of busi- ness ; there are many boys in college who should be out, and many out who should be in college. 14. No, not unless it is along the line of mechanical training. 15. No. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. A trade. 19. Yes. 20. Yes. 21. Neglect. 22. The Bible; can't say as to others, as it depends upon the boy. 23. Yes. 24. If he desires to do so and does not feel that he is better fitted for some other. 25. Be honest, industrious, truthful, ambitious, kind, moral, temperate in ^11 things, patriotic, and brave. The Voice of Distinguished Experience 253 Rev. Charles E.Jefferson, D.D. New York City. Pastor, Broadway Tabernacle ChurcH. Author. 1. An impulse, born in me, pushing me forward, and rendering it impos- sible for me to be idle. A capacity for hard work. 2. Yes. 3. No. 4. No. 5. Yes, providing. 6. It depends entirely on the boy; some boys ought to go. 7. No. 8. As men count success, no. 9. As a rule, yes. 10. It makes success easier. 11. Ability. 12. Yes, in some fields. 13. Yes. 14. Yes. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. A trade. 19. Yes. 20. Not often. 21. Lack of gray matter in the brain and indolence. 22. The New Testament, Life of Washington, Life of Lincoln, a history of the United States, a history of England, any one of the great poets. 23. No. 24. No. 25. Believing in God, in men, and in yourself, do the best you can wherever you are every daj of your life, aiming always to do still better, and never worrying about past failures or future perils. 7. No, but let him do his duty to others. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. 10. Yes. 11. Experience. 12. Not often. 13. Yes. 14. Yes, if possible. 15. Yes, positively. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. Trade or business. 19. Yes. 2a No. 21. Want of sticking to it; but "failure" is often only a limited success. 23. Yes. 24. Yes, if it suits him. 25. Believe that the opportunities are greater than ever, and strike at the chosen one with all your might. T. C. Martin New York City. Editor, Electrical World. 1. Acquaintance with electricity from childhood; hard work and un- remitted study in a field I like. 2. Yes. 3. Yes, but aptitude not prefer- ence merely. 4. No. 5. Yes. 6. No. CharlesR. Williams, A. M., Ph.D. Indianapolis, Ind. Editor-in-chief, Indianapolis News. Formerly literary editor, New York World. Late pro- fessor of Greek, Lake Forest Uni- versity. 1. Hard work and persistency of purpose. 2. Of course. 3. Probably to highest success. 4. No. 7. No. 8. Most certainly, for what I call success. 9. Sure. 10. To be entirely successful, yes. 11. Ability, in great successes. 12. Ability is useless unless used 13. If he has the means. 14. Not necessary. 15. Yes. 16. Most certainly. 17. No. 19. Yes, if a good chance offers. 20. Doubtful. 21. Lack of industry and definite purpose. 22. The Bible, Shakespeare, Life of Washington, Self-Help, Robinson Cru- soe, Scott's novels. 23. Yes. 25. Tell the truth. Do nothing that you would be ashamed to tell your mother. 2S4 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed Hon. William J. Wallace Albany, N. Y. Judge of United States Circuit Court for the Second Judicial Circuit. 2. Yes. 6. No. 9. Yes. 19. Yes. 20. Yes. 17. No. 18. A trade. 19. Yes. 20. Yes. 21. Too ambitious to get rich quickly. 23. Yes. 24. Yes. 25. Build up a character and credit, and learn true manhood. Samuel W. Allerton Chicago, 111. Founder of live stock trade. Capitalist. Stock Farmer. Formerly President, Allerton Packing Co. 1. To the teachings of my father and mother; trying to be a man of character and integrity; not being afraid of any obstacle that might be in my way; to industry, economy, and perseverance. 2. Yes; life is a game, and to suc- ceed a boy must take a great interest in what he does or he will not succeed. 3. Yes. 4. No. 5. No boy should leave his home until he has made a character and credit and shown that he can do some- thing in his own surroundings. 6. In nearly all our large cities the active progressive men are mostly from the country, but he should first accomplish something in his own city or town before going to a large city. 7. Yes, until a character is formed. 8. After working eight years on a farm with an older brother, I said I thought I could do better in the live stock trade. He replied, " If you keep on as you are, you will soon own the best farm in the county, but if you wish to try it, all the advice I have to give is this, make a name and a char- acter, be honest, and you will suc- ceed." 9. Yes. 10. Yes. 11. It requires both. 12. No. 13. No. 14. Yes. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. Rev. Charles A. Dickey, D.D. Philadelphia, Pa. Pastor, Bethany Presbyterian Church. President, Presbyterian Hospital. 1. Minding my own business, and trying to regard the rights of others. Making the best possible use of any ability possessed and of my own ex- perience; but most of all I attribute any success that I have had to the good providence and grace of God. 2. Yes. 3. Yes. • 4. No. 5. Yes, if he knows what he is going for and has a good chance. 6. No, not as an experiment; yes, if he can better himself. 7. He had better stay on the farm until he has the offer of better. 8. Yes, final success. 9. Of course. 10. Yes, fully successful; may have some success in spite of not being fond of work. 11. Ability makes sure foundations; experience builds success. 12. In a measure, but experience helps greatly. 13. By all means, unless he is foolish enough to get above his business. 14. Yes, to make him a gentleman, and for self-improvement. 15. Yes. 16. Most assuredly. 17. No; if he cannot appreciate such an opportunity it will not do much good. 18. Take the first thing that offers, and wait for ambition for something. 19. Not too soon; better get good training before risking capital. 20. No. 21. Lack of common sense. 22. The Bible, Shakespeare, Long- fellow, History of the United States, Dickens, and a general history. The Voice of Distinguished Experience 255 23. Yes, if he can find a clean one. 24. Yes. 25. Keep yourself clean; believe in Jesus Christ, and follow His precepts and His example. Honor your parents. Respect good women. Keep clear of bad women. Be faithful. Be truth- ful. Do not think that you know it all. Aim to succeed by making the very best of your opportunities, and do not expect others to give you suc- cess. Edgar A. Bancroft Chicago, 111. Vice-president and solicitor, Chicago & Western Indiana R.R. and Belt R.R. Co. of Chicago. Late attorney, Topeka & Santa Fe R.R. Author. 20. Same as No. 19. 21. Weak will-power, resulting in indecision, lack of courage and per- sistence, drink habit, and other vices. 22. Gough's Autobiography ; Life of Elihu Burritt; Holland's or Herndon's or Tarbell's Life of Lincoln; Frank- lin's Autobiography; Boy's Plutarch's Lives; Life of George Washington (Irving's or Wilson's). 23. No. 24. Yes, unless it is distinctly dis- tasteful to him. 25. Believe that you can accomplish any great objects that you are willing to "toil terribly" and persistently for; but you must aim at that one thing, and be willing to surrender all lesser ambitions and inclinations. Have a worthy " ruling passion," and let it rule like a despot until it is accomplished; then seek another. 1. Parents' devotion and willing- ness to make sacrifices in order to give their children college education. Work, resulting from motives for work usually called ambition. 2. Yes, if he has any aptitude for it. Yes, anyway, if his preference is intense. 3. No. Will-to-succeed is much more important. 4. No. 5. Yes, but not until he has proved himself a good farmer. 6. As a rule, no. 7. Yes, until he has shown that he has more sense than dislike. 8. Yes. 9. It is a prime necessity. 10. No, but it is very helpful. 11. Experience, with natural capabil- ity, produce ability. But experience is acquired, and its value depends on natural endowments. Therefore, latter is more important. 12. Of course it can, if great enough, and its exercise is experience. 13. Certainljr, unless his ambition is merely to be rich. 14. That depends upon how much brains he has for a college to operate on. 15. Yes. 16. It is indispensable. 17. Yes. What does the boy know about college half the time? 18. If he can't decide, he had better *' draw cuts " for it. 19. By all means, if there is a fair opening. H. Clay Trumbull Philadelphia, Pa. Editor, Sunday- School Times. Author. 1. To the recognizing my place as the one that God has called me to be in for the time being, and then striv- ing to do my duty there, whether fame or failure, riches or poverty, be the result. Since my young manhood, I have never seen the time when I would change the place to which I had been called for the time, even to rule a nation, to secure ten million dollars a year, or to evangelize a hemi- sphere, without a special and unmis- takable new call from God. 2. As a rule, no. A trainer in athletics would be most unwise who taught a pupil to exercise only the muscles that he best liked to exercise, and that he could exercise the easier. Inclination is often to be counted a warning rather than an invitation. 3. As a rule, no. An intelligent preference for a particular calling is more likely to be a consequence of acquired knowledge of it than a pre- liminary call to it. 4. If a parent has to force a boy into his mission, the trouble and lack are with the parent, not the boy. Until the parent realizes this, he is incom- petent to properly train or lead or even counsel a child. 5. That depends on where the boy's 256 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed duty lies. Inclination, or prospect of worldly well-doing, is a small matter in comparison with, or as over against, positive duty. 6. He should be where he ought to be. Whether that is a small place or a large one is a minor question. It is better to have a hard time doing duty in a small place, than an easy time shirking duty in a large place. 7. If farming be a boy's duty, he ought to do that duty faithfully, whether he likes it or not. 8. Judging from the course of a good many "successful" business men, I might think not. But one ought to be honest whether it tends to business success or business failure. "Business success" is unworthy of one's aim, in comparison with right- doing. Q. Persistent application is essential while it is a duty. Letting go is equally a duty when it is a duty. " Prayer and provender hinder no man." Earnest- ness is essential to right-doing. 10. Love of one's work is not essen- tial to " success " in that work. Lov- ing to be in one's work, because it is one's work, is an essential element of true manhood. 11. Ability to do one's present work is, of course, essential to the gaining of experience in that work. 12. As these two qualities are inter- dependent they cannot well be sepa- rated. 13. That depends upon the boy and the particular college. The best col- lege-life exercises and develops the mental qualities of the student. Such training ought to enable a boy to do better in business than he could do without such training. 14. A boy ought to make a better blacksmith if he has a well-trained mind. Elihu Burritt illustrates that. Mental training in any sphere a boy should have, however he gets it. 15. If a technical school gives a student good mental training, it may be a good place for him. But proper mental and intellectual training a student must have if he is to do his best work in any sphere. 16. A good college training may help a man in preparation for any profes- sion, but that training is not in itself a man's full preparation for profes- sional life. This truth every boy should be helped to realize. No college can in itself make a man a clergyman, a physician, a lawyer, even if it g^ves him the degree of B.D., M.D., or LL.D. , 17. No, most emphatically, no. It 1. never is right to force a boy into either f wrong-doing or right-doing. It is proper to train a boy's will into the right way, whatever way that is. Jail or prison is the only institution into which to "force " a boy; and only the civil government can do that. 18. If I understood a boy thoroughly, and had any responsibility for him, I should counsel him as to what seemed best in his particular case. But to give the same counsel to all boys, would only indicate my utter incom- petency to aid and advise boys. 19. Such a young man ought to do something in life. But "going into business " merely to make money, or to have " success," is not an object in life worthy of any young man. 20. That depends on what the ' ' busi- ness " is, or why the young man is going into that business, and on the friend or helper, whose financial aid he seeks. 21. Many a failure is a preparation and a step toward future success. Many failures are caused by men's inability to carry out successfully their evil plans. And many failures, es- pecially in these days, are caused by the determination of men of "ability " and " experience " to have success at the cost of breaking down others. 22. Next to advising a boy to be familiar with the Bible and its teach- ings, I should want to know the boy, his needs and his surroundings, before I selected five other books for his read- ing. A good deal depends on what books he is already familiar with. 23. A busy and intelligent boy should not spend too much time on a daily paper, nor believe too much of what is in it. A boy, of course, should have a general knowledge of the events of the day, including what is in the best daily paper available. 24. That depends on the business, on the father, and on the boy. Many a boy would be very unwise not to enter the good business his father has built up and that he seems fitted to carry to heights it has never attained. Many another boy would be very unwise to enter his father's business, as it is and as he is. In many a case providential indications will make duty clear against all appearances as they now seem to father and to son. The Voice of Distinguished Experience 257 25. My message to young men would be, in brief, Know what is your duty, and then do it whatever be the con- sequences. "Do right, though the heavens fall." Doing that gives the only true success in life. Charles E. Atwood, M.D. New York Cit^. Society of the New York Hospital, Bloomingdale. Clinical assistant, nervous diseases, medical department, Columbia Uni- versity. 1. My extremely moderate success has been achieved largely by my own effort. I had to decide for myself whether I should enter college, which I did at the age of 15, graduating at 18. I had to decide on my profession (medicine), 'and all the positions I have held since graduation have been gained in competition, except present one, which was by appointment. 2. Under limitations : if honorable ; if compatible with social position; if not purely for money. 3. Yes. 4. No. 5. Yes, especially if he can secure a start with friendly and moral auspices. 6. No, unless the local social en- vironment was prejudicial in the small town. Sometimes it is well to cut loose from bad companions. 7. No. 8. Most assuredly. 9. Yes. 10. Yes. n. Ability. 12. No. 13. Yes. 14. Yes, a suitable college (practical) such as Cornell University, or to technical school. 15. Yes, or to Cornell, or similar practical college. 16. Most assuredly. 17. Yes, a trial (under local friendly eyes to guard morals, etc.). 18. Busmess. 19. A hard question; to be decided only in individual cases on merits in each case. Depends upon competi- tion of trusts, large houses in same business, demand, etc. Under favor- able external circumstances, yes. 20. No; the circumstances would have to be extremely favorable for this. 22. The Bible, Shakespeare, Gib- bon's History of Rome (abridged), history of his own country, Proctor's Other Worlds Than Ours, Dickens' Christmas Carol, Leather Stocking Tales (Cooper), Westward Ho (Kings- ley), With Clive in India (Grant), The Talisman (Scott), The Three Midshipmen (Kingston), The Chron- icles of Froissart. 23. Yes. 24. Yes. 25. Boys, if you want to succeed in life, be always honorable; live up to your conscience; do not drink or gamble; do a little more than is ex- pected of you, and do it a little better. Rev.Elmer H.Capen,D.D.,LL.D. Tufts College, Massa- President chusetts. 1. (a) "Sticking to my last." Per- sistence. (3) Doing day by day, with reasonable fidelity, the things which the day brings to be done, (c) Having a high'ideal, and keeping my eye fixed on it, but never losing consciousness of the fact that I walk on solid ground. 2. I most certainly should, unless there are serious obstacles in the way. 3. No, because men often develop an interest in whatever work they are obliged to do. 4. I consider it most unwise. 5. Yes, if he feels that he can com- mand a better opportunity in the city. 6. It depends on the boy; if he has large capacities, which cannot find their full employment where he is, he had better seek a broader field. 7. No more than he should be forced into the ministry, if he has no taste for the ministry. 8. For any success that is worth having. 9. Absolutely. 10. One must take an interest in his work whether it is agreeable or other- wise. 11. Both are important, but in some callings experience counts for more than in others. 12. In many instances it does. 13. Yes, if he has the time and means and the requisite mental qualities. Education counts everywhere. 2S8 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed 14. A college education is valuable in whatever a man may subsequently do. 15. Yes, let him go to college first, if he can, and then take the technical school. 16. Yes, unless his age would make him too old when he comes to his profession. 17. No. 18. Such a boy does not give much promise for anything; perhaps he would do best in a trade. 19. The nature of the business usu- ally determines in such a case ; if it is one involving great risks, probably it would be better for him to hold on to his salary and avoid the risks. 21. I do not believe the wisest man in the world can specify a single cause. The causes are almost as varied as the failures. 22. The Bible and Shakespeare, for English; some good books, for general history, taking particular pains to read with care English and American his- tory; Scott, Dickens, and Victor Hugo, for fiction; after that, such great master-pieces, written in prose or poetry, as he may be drawn to. 23. Yes. 24. Yes, if it is a good one. 25. Wake up, boys ! This is a great age, full of great opportunities. Get ready for them. As soon as jou are ready, seize that one for which you are best fitted, and hold on to it until you have exhausted all its possibili- ties. The time is short. "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." 7. No. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. ID. Yes. 11. Ability is likely to follow ex- perience. 12. Possible, but not probable. 13. Yes, if practicable. 14. Yes. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. Let him learn a trade under a competent employer or teacher. 19. As a rule, yes. 20. Better connect himself with an honorable man, who has capital and is willing to invest it against ex- perience. 21. Lack of experience and lack of application. 22. Bible, Blackstone, Civil Code, Criminal Code, Shakespeare, Ameri- can history (up-to-date). 23. Yes. 24. If it is in his estimation a good business, and he likes it, I see no reason for going elsewhere. 25. Be prompt in meeting engage- ments, and above all things, be strictly honorable in all transactions. General John F. Weston Washington, D. C. Commissary General, United States Navy. Edward S. Dawson Syracuse, N. Y. President, Onon- daga County Savings Bank. 1. For the position attained and held by me, I am indebted to good health, industry, application, and perseverance. 2. Yes. 3. Yes. 4. No. 5. Yes. 6. I would advise him to, at least, serve an apprenticeship in the calling or business preferred before going to the larger place. 1. Such success as I have is due to a knowledge of my business and an honest and sturdy application of it. 2. Yes. 3. No. 4. No. 5. Yes. 6. No. 7. No. 8. I do. 9. Yes. 10. No. 11. Experience. 12. Yes. 13. No. 14. No. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 19. Yes. 20. Yes. 21. Inattention. The Voice of Distinguished Experience 259 23. Yes. 24. Yes. 25. Be honest, truthful, patriotic, and be ready to pay for the reputa- tion of patriotism when the President calls for troops; manly, generous, unselfish, and considerate to those under you. D. A. Robinson, M.D. Bangor, Me. Physician. President, School Committee. Hon. Wm. T. Clark Cleveland, Ohio. Ex-president, Board of Education. Commander-in- chief of the Union Veteran Union. 1. First, the training given me by my mother. Second, to application, perseverance, and truthfulness with my fellow-men. 2. Yes, if it is the judgment of honest thought. 3. Generally, yet there have been notable exceptions. 4. Parents know the temperament of the child, and can best judge. 5. Yes. 6. No. 7. No. 8. Yes, by all means. 9. Yes. 10. Yes. 11. Ability, for that can get experi- ence. 12. Yes, if opportunity presents it- self. 13. Yes. 14. Yes. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. Yes; oftentimes g^eat results have followed. 18. A trade. 19. Yes; independence is the best inspiration for large success in the highest sense of the term. 20. No ; debt is a drag-shoe to most men. 21. Undue haste to be rich, and lack of proper balance. 22. (a) The Bible, {d) Scottish Chiefs, (c) Uncle Tom's Cabin, (d) Robinson Crusoe, (^ 18. A trade or business. 19. Yes. 20. No, not generally. 21. Want of ability and experience. Joseph A. DeBoer Montpelier, Vt. President, National Life Insurance Co. 1. First, to hard, continuous work, due in part to personal necessities, always aiming to get at the truth of a given matter; and, next, to some ac- quired capacity for giving expression to the results of that work in the affairs of men. 2. Yes, unless the circumstances of his life and his connections afford him an unusual opportunity in some other. 3. No; but having chosen one, a man is under moral obligation to be faithful to it. 4. No; the boy has rights of his 268 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed own from the moment of his birth. His preference deserves respect. 7. No, if the dislike is decided and filial duty does not require his remain- ing on the farm. 8. Yes; dishonesty does not breed a true and lasting success. 9. Yes, as a working rule for the average man. Genius and large talent stand apart by themselves. 10. Yes, for great success, as a rule, although the principle of obligation and of service rather than that of love begets much good work. 11. Ability in the higher callings and professions, but experience in the trades and handicrafts. Still ability is always increased and fostered by experience. 12. Yes; the successful text-book writer on economics is an example. 13. Yes; I would advise any boy, who can go to college, to do so for his own sake, without regard to his future work. 14. Yes, but by preference to a tech- nical institution. 15. Yes. See Nos. 13 and 14. 16. Yes, without qualification. 17. No; I do not believe in forcing any man's will nor any boy's either, unless the interests of the State re- quire it. 18. An ordinary boy, without a pref- erence and having little ambition, had better take the work nearest to his hand. His connections in life would decide the form. 19. Yes, and be his own "boss," or to express it less cogently, the ' ' captain of his own soul." 20. Yes, if a good opportunity pre- sents itself. 21. Immoral inattention. 22. The Bible (King James' version); The American Congress (Jos. W. Moore, Harper's, 1895). These two will contribute to his moral and public education. As for the other readings, they will depend upon the boy. 23. Yes, and if practicable, three, edited from the standpoints, respect- ively, of an Independent, a Republi- can, and a Democrat. 24. Yes, if a valuable business and to his preference. 25. In a few years you will be men, owing the world work. You should then be masters of some trade, busi- ness, or profession, through which to take care of yourself and your depend- ents. Make it your rule of action in all things to observe the Decalogue of Moses, and in your citizenship to see to it that no harm comes to the Re- public by your act. Remember that the end of life should be happiness, that the highest personal happiness alone comes through putting up some form of faithful service all of the time, and, as Roosevelt says of the flag, *' Keeping it put." Further, hug tight the doctrine that hard, honest work in trade, business, or profession will command respect everywhere and therefore a competency, especially in our country of individual rights, and also, for that reason, of individual re- sponsibilities. Save part of your in- come. Avoid snobbery, and cultivate manliness and truth in all your acts and work. Rev. Marvin R. Vincent, D.D. New York City. Professor of New Testament Exegesis and Criticism, Union Theological Seminary. Author. 1. To God's blessing; a temperate and regular life; hard work; always trying to do my best under all circum- stances; intercourse with the best minds and with people who knew more than I did. 2. Yes, if there is nothing to pre- vent his doing so, only a distinction should be made between a boy's pref- erences and his fancies. 3. No; there are many instances of distinguished success in the absence of a "pronounced preference." In some of these it was impossible to follow the preference. 4. No. 6. Yes, if the boy is equal to great opportunities. 7. It depends on whether he is fit for anything else. 8. I do not consider anything " suc- cess " which is not won honestly. 9. Unquestionably. 10. It is not absolutely necessary; but, other things being equal, the one who loves his work will succeed best. 11. As a rule they cannot be sepa- rated. .^ 12. Not the highest. /fl 13. Yes. ^ 14. Yes. 15. Yes, after the general training of the college. The Voice of Distinguished Experience 269 16. Unquestionably. 17. Sometimes; the tendencjr is too strong to let boys have their will; some cubs must be thrashed into dis- cipline. 18. It will not make much difference, such a boy will do as well in one as in the other. 19. Certainly. 20. It depends on the amount of his experience and ability. 21. Cannot answer; causes are vari- ous and numerous. Want of ability, bad habits, laziness, aiming for ad- miration rather than for solid mastery, want of concentration, etc. 23. Yes, a good one. . 25. Fear God and keep his command- ments; keep a clean mind; drive out dirty thoughts as you would a thief or assassin; honor your body and train it well; cultivate the society of the best people and the best books; be afraid of superficial work or learning; despise the praise of inferior minds, and be satisfied with nothing less than the approval of the best; cultivate the simplest and the best manners. No success and no intellectual superiority exempt you from the duty of being a perfect gentleman. Be genuinely kind to all, but never compromise your principles for fear of seeming unkind. No success is won without hard work. Work with all your might for any good object. Never fail to ask God's blessing on your work. Remember that the most brilliant success in a bad thing is a failure. If you are fit for a lower place, and are not fit for a higher place, don't spoil your success in the lower place by trying to climb into the higher. Hon. Hosea M. Knowlton Boston, Mass. Late Attorney-Gen- eral, State of Massachusetts. Lawyer. 1. If I have achieved any success, I owe it to work. Work involves necessary temperance and care of health, physical and mental. 2. Of course. 3. To some extent, but not so much so as is sometimes thought. 4. Never. 5. Yes, unless he is contented where he is. 6. Not necessarily. 7. No. 8. Absolutely. 9. Yes. la In the broader sense of the term, yes. 13. If he can. 14. Yes, but to select his course with reference to his future work. 15. A technical school is better. 16. It is almost necessary to high success. 17. Depends upon whether "will" means inertia, laziness, or indolence. 21. Laziness and bad habits. 22. Read all he can. 23. Part of it. 25. Work and behave. Keep your health and aim high. Charles Piatt Philadelphia, Pa. President, Insur- ance Company of North America. President, Zoological Society of Phila- delphia. President, National Board of Marine Underwriters. 1. Industry. Readiness to do any work, even if not in contract. Un- failing courtesy. Preference of duty to athletics or amusement. 2. Not always, unless boy be of decided ability. 3. No. 4. No. 5. Yes, if a good opening. 6. No. 7. No. 8. Absolutely, yes. 9. Yes. 10. Yes. 11. Ability. 12. Yes. 14. No. 15. Yes, if time allows. 16. Yes ; depends on the college. 17. No. 18. Probably trade ; ambition neces- sary. 19. No, unless by good advice. 20. No. 21. Lack of ambition and industry. Haste to grow rich. 22. Hard to say. General cultiva- tion. 24. Yes. 25. Honesty, industry, courtesy. Determination to succeed. *'Deal justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God." Recognize limitations. 1*JO The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed N.C.Schaeffer,A.M.,Ph.D.,D.D. Lancaster, Pa. State Superintend- ent of Public Instruction. President, Medical Council of Pennsylvania. Ex- principal, Keystone State Normal School. Author. 2. Yes. 3- No. 4. No. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. 10. Yes. 12. Yes; experience comes with time. 13. Yes, if he has time, brains, and means. 14. Yes. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. Never a profession. 19. Yes. 23. Yes. 24. Yes. 25. Be true. Hon. De Forest Richards Cheyenne, Wyo. Governor of Wy- oming. President, First National Bank of Douglas. 1. Industry, the adoption of correct systems of doing business, and in- domitable perseverance. 2. Yes. 3. Yes. 4. No, very unwise. 5. Depends upon his personal char- acteristics. 6. Not always. 7. No. -^ 8. Yes. 9. Very. 10. Yes. 11. Ability. 12. Yes; make experience. 13. Not take a classical, but one to fit him for business. 14. No. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. If he has no ambition he will be a plodder. 19. Yes. 20. Yes. 21. Failure to adopt proper system, and discouragement following. 23. Yes. 24. Yes. 25. Always be honest in your trans- actions, prompt in your action, and never put off 'till to-morrow what is possible to do to-day. This will give you a good name and a good credit. General Curtis Guild, Jr. Boston, Mass. Editor, Commercial Bulletin. Orator. 1. Unrelenting hard work. 2. Yes. 3. Yes. 4. No. 5. No, unless he has some definite bent towards a profession. The ped- ler's cart and the chicken coop are good starting points. 6. Emphatically not; help it pro- gress. 7. No. 8. It is a melancholy fact that it isn't. Please note that you say "business" success only. 9. Yes. 10. No. 11. Experience. 12. Rarely. 13. Yes, unless he wishes to be a mere human cogwheel. 14. Yes, or, at least, to take up other than purely technical reading. 15. By all means. 16. Of course. 17. Never; it isn't absolutely neces- sary, except for professional life. 18. Neither; let him enlist as a soldier or sailor. He can, at least, help his country, if he hasn't sufficient energy to help himself. 19. Yes, but "sufficient" means much nowadays. 20. I should not; my father did, however. 21. I know of no single great cause. 22. The New Testament, Shake- speare, Dickens, any good history of the United States, Plutarch's Lives, T. B. Aldrich's Story of a Bad Boy. 23. Yes. 24. Yes, unless he has a decided preference for other work. 25. Read clean books; wear clean clothes ; exercise heartily in the open air daily; decide slowly; do swiftly; work with a will, or not at all; half done is undone. The Voice of Distinguished Experience 271 Charles H. Jones Boston, Mass. President, Common- wealth Shoe Co. 1. Good health and hard work. 2. Yes, if there seemed a reason- able opening or chance of success. 3. No. 5. Yes, if he has no obligation to keep him at home. 7. No. 8. No. 9. Yes. 10. No. 11. Ability; experience can be ac- quired. 12. Yes. 13. Not unless he has a place in business made for him by father or otherwise. 14. No. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. Whichever would be most in keeping with his surroundings; a trade hy all means, if his family are mechanics. 21. Lack of business sense. 23. Yes. 24. Yes. 25. Work won't hurt you. Do your best every day. 12. Yes. 13. A college course is an excellent mental training for any career. 14. A scientific course in college is a great help, the course of mechanical engineering, for instance. 15. Yes, if possible. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. Such a boy would need to be guided by some one competent to judge in his particular case. 19. Yes. 20. Much would depend on the. boy; in some cases it would be advisable, but not for all. 21. Lack of energy and persistence. Mental inertia. 23. Yes, but too much newspaper reading is very bad, almost worse than none at all. 24. Not necessarily; The boy may not be at all adapted to the pursuits of the father. 25. The choice of a pursuit in life is of less consequence than the qualities you bring to it. Whatever career you choose, be honest, steadfast, and in- dustrious, and you will achieve suc- cess and happiness. William T. Baker Chicago, 111. Capitalist. Financier. John C. F. Randolph, E.M., A.M. New York City. Consulting Mining Engineer. Formerly in the service of the Japanese, Chinese, and United States Governments. Author of technical works. 2. Generally, yes, but under proper guidance. Boys' preferences are often fickle and may frequently be directed to their advantage. 3. Yes. 4. No. 5. Too many boys seek city em- ployment, and I would not advise- them to go to the city unless peculiarly adapted for it. 6. No. 7. Few boys seem to like farming, but I believe it will be the best career for the majority. 8. Certainly. 9. Yes. 10. Yes. 11. Both, but one may have ability without experience. It requires time to acquire experience. 1. A sound education. 2. By all means. 3. It is an advantage to have a preference, but not absolutely necessary. 4. No. 5. He should stay at home, at least, until he gets a good common school education. 6. He had better stay and seek opportunity in his small town until 25, at least. 7. While his character is forming, and until he gets a good common school education. 8. Absolutely, for continued busi- ness success. 9. Yes. 11. Ability is the foundation; ex- perience builds the superstructure. 12. Experience comes with atten- 272 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed tion to detail; success comes with experience. 13. Very seldom. It depends on the boy. 14. He should go to a trade school. 15. Very seldom, but it depends on the boy. 16. Decidedly. 17. Few boys take education will- ingly, and with those opposed to it, the school education should cease at 16. 18. Any trade or anjr business, early, in a minor capacity; not a profession. 19. Yes. 21. Not selecting congenial busi- ness; never learning their work in life thoroughly. The failures are about 90 per cent. 23. Yes. 24. Far the best thing any boy can do. 25. Aim to master each thing as it comes forward. Be diligent, even to doing a little more than is expected of you. Be honest and thorough. George A. Macbeth Manufacturer of 1 Pittsburg, Pa. lamp chimneys. Rev. John L. Campbell, D.D. New York City. Pastor, Lexington Avenue Baptist Church. Author. T. Observation and persistent ap- plication, coupled with natural me- chanical faculty and some knowledge of chemistry. 2. Yes. 3. Yes. 4. No. 5. If he really wants to, yes. 6. Same as above. 7. No. 8. Absolutely; money may be ac- cumulated otherwise and get through. 9. Yes. 10. Yes. 11. Ability, to benefit by experience; both go together. 12. Can't imagine it. 13. Not necessarily. 14. Not necessarily. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 19. Yes. 20. No. 21. Inability to comprehend circum- stances. 23. Yes. 25. Be honest, courageous, diligent. Do more than you are asked. but the calling must be Hon. Henry William Blair 1. Under God, application. 2. Yes, always, if it is a worthy calling. 3. Yes 4. No, worthy. 7. No. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. 10. Yes. 11. Experience. 12. There cannot be success without experience. 15. Desirable, but not absolutely needed. 17. No. 18. Throw him on his own resources. 19. Generally, yes. 20. Generally, no. 21. Lack of concentration. 22. Bible, Pilgrim's Progress. 23. If he does not waste too much time on it, yes. 25. Have a high ideal. Follow your aptitudes, if they are worthy. Keep pure. Keep cheerful, and work for all that you are worth. Manchester, N. H. Ex-United States Senator. Framer of school and tem- perance constitutional amendments and bills establishing United States Department of Labor. Lawyer. 1. I haven't succeeded very well. About all I have done has been to succeed in helping others to success. 2. Yes, but it should be a prefer- ence felt at or about the time when it is necessary to finally decide the selection. 3. Yes, for not even a strong sense of duty will wholly supply the place of enthusiasm. 4. No; parents often become the worst enemies of their own children by so doing. 5. Yes, unless confined by family or other strong obligations. The Voice of Distinguished Experience 273 6. Not as a rule. Some boys belong in a big place because they possess the elements of bigness in themselves. 7. No, but farming should and might become the most enticing and happiest of all occupations. Every farm should be an industrial school or a seat of learning. 8. No; multitudes of knaves suc- ceed in business, but they go to hell for it and sometimes to jail. 9. Certainly as a rule; much, how- ever, depends upon chance or fortune. 10. Not necessarily, but he must do it whether he likes it or not. 11. Ability; how much could an ex- perienced fool accomplish. 12. Yes; very often, and especially when aided by circumstances. 13. Well, yes, if he has the time and will improve it, but not play base-ball to excess. He must not depend too much upon his diploma, however. 14. Same answer as No. 13. It does not disgrace a collegian to dig in the dirt after an honest dollar. The more his pick and shovel know the more dollars he may find there. 15. Yes, if he can; but he must not think that it will of itself make him a mechanic. 16. Yes, if he can do it. He will then know himself before he starts in, from measurement with his future competitors, and them also; and he should get discipline, knowledge, and enlargement as early in life as possi- ble. 17. No, but I would coax him a great deal before I gave it up, and perhaps get others to, and might tenderly drub him a little if I had to and thought it would do any good. 18. No; get him a Bible and a hymn- book, a shovel and a hoe, and tell him always to vote the Republican ticket, that is, to be steady, do the best he can, and go to Heaven. 19. Yes ; tell him to be careful and honest, to select well his opportunity and location, and the trusts can't beat him. He may become one himself some time. 20. No, not often, if he means to pay it back; but there are times when It is prudent and right to borrow and wrong not to. 21. Laziness. 22. The Bible; Shakespeare, I sup- pose; Plutarch's Lives; history, espe- cially of the United States; and about sixty others. Get him a first-class magazine and a good daily newspaper. 23. Yes, but to let the trash alone. It will kill him. 24. Not if the old man has made it disagreeable to him, but he should be careful to honor his father and mother and not be prejudiced against the oc- cupation that brought him up. 25. Be sure you are right and go ahead. Stand up for your country and never lie down unless it be to die for her. Try to get big enough to realize that the world is your country. Hon. Albert B. White Parkersburg, W. Va. Governor of West Virginia. 1. Hard work and keeping at it. 2. As a rule, yes; but there are exceptions. The preference should be an intelligent one. 3. Not absolutely necessary. 4. No. 5. Not necessarily to a * ' great city." A small city or thriving town fre- quently affords great opportunities. 6. Answer above; it sometimes is a good thing to go to a new community and new environment. 7. We sometimes learn in later years to like our duty. 8. I do, if by success you mean something beside ill-gotten gains. 9. Yes. 10. If he is successful or ambitious to succeed, he will learn to love his work. 11. Ability is inherent; experience is acquired; both are necessary for conspicuous success. 12. Not in business life; it might in storming a fort or rescuing a drowning person. 13. If he can afford it. 14. Yes, or rather an institute for mechanical training. 15. (Same as above). 16. Yes. 17. Sometimes it is well to seek to overcome a dislike or foolish repug- nance to higher education. 18. Depends on the boy. Sometimes they make preachers or editors or politicians out of them. 19. "Sufficient capital," ** ability," and ' ' experience " are equal to almost anything. 274 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed 20. Yes, sometimes. That's the way I branched out for myself. 21. Lack of judgment. 22. (Not including history.) Wild Animals I Have Known, Brook's Story of Benjamin Franklin, David Copperfield, Tom Brown at Rugby and Oxford, Aldrich's Story of a Bad Boy, Dana's Two Years Before the Mast. 23. Yes; accent on the good. 24. Why not ? 25. Be honest; be energetic; be faith- ful to your trust; keep your word; be manly; don't be afraid of work. Rev. Samuel P. Cadman, D.D. Brooklyn, N. Y. Pastor, Central Congregational Church. 1. To the fact that I was born and grew up under the law of necessity ; poverty was the spur of my earliest efforts. 3. It is in the majority of cases, al- though instances are not lacking of men who did well in callings for which they had scant liking. 4. I certainly do not. 5. This seems to be the modern tendency, and on the whole advisable. 6. Chances are equal that he will do better by remaining at home. 7. No. 8. Absolutely so. 9. Certainly. 10. He can find more joy therein, but duty is often done when the heart rebels. 11. Ability; experience is often a record of failures or feeble successes and makes some men unduly conser- vative. 12. Providing ability includes good judgment, I do. 13. I would, following those studies which benefit business. 14. I would, suiting his studies to his calling. 15. I would. 16. Certainly. 17. Sometimes it is; boys do not have a monopoly of foresight. 18. A small business suits such boys best. 19. I would, providing the larger affairs do not crowd out small compet- itors. 20. That's a more risky proposition, and much depends on the personal equation. 21. Carelessness, arising from indif- ference and lassitude. 22. Robinson Crusoe by Defoe, Pil- grim's Progress by Bunyan, West- ward Ho by Charles Kingsley, Tom Brown at Rugby by T. Hughes, The Jungle Book by Kipling, and always the Holy Bible. 23. I would. 24. Only in selected cases. 25. Be true to yourself; be true to your fellows; be true to your God. Remarks. Grow on your own root ; do not be an echo, but a voice, and however strong your surroundings, do not imitate, but assimilate them. Thus your investment in life is your own and not another's. Seek to know yourself in temperament that you may fortify the feeble spots in the "make " of j'^our mind. Men carefully study their bodies who never spend an hour considering their dispositions. In this lies the secret of self-control ; the chain is no stronger than the weakest link, therein; watch the places where hasty prejudice and pas- sion enter to usurp the right and the reasonable. Daily conquer a new province, either in yourself or your environment. Wake up every morn a bigger man than you went to bed the night before. Some men reverse this process, and when they die, there are no complaints. Do not reckon success on a purely commercial basis ; character is the one token of life. Gano S. Dunn, M.S., E.E. Ampere, N. J. Chief engineer and technical director, Crocker-Wheeler Co. President, New York Electrical Society. Vice-president, American Institute of Electrical Engineers. 1. Outside of intellectual endow- ment, to earnest attention to business and worthiness of the confidence of others. 2. Yes. 3. Yes. 4. No. 5. It depends upon how much abil- ity he possessed. 6. No. 7. If apparently capable and willing The Voice of Distinguished Experience 275 to work at another calling, would not keep him at farming. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. 10. Yes. 11. Ability; because without it, ex- perience cannot be effective. 12. Yes; for it soon acquires experi- ence. 13. Yes. 14. If possible. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. I consider it wise to exercise a good deal of pressure. 18. Trade or business. 19. As a rule, no. 20. No. 21. Attempting more than ability to carry out warrants. 23. Yes. 24. After first having an experience elsewhere, yes. 25. In the long run, it is character that makes the kind of success that is most worth having. Milo D. Burke Cincinnati, Ohio. Civil Engineer. Railroad builder. Author. 1. Persistent, systematic applica- tion. 2. Generally, jres, when the boy's judgment is sufficiently matured to be of value. 3. No. 4. No. 5. Depends upon the calling chosen by the boy; generally, no. 6. No. 7. Ordinarily, yes. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. 10. Yes. 11. Business ability cannot be at- tained without experience. 12. No. 13. Yes. 14. Yes, if he can afford it. 15. Very few technical schools are worthy of patronage. 16. Yes. 17 No. 18. A trade. 19. Under favorable conditions, yes. 20. No. 21. Lack of attention to essential details. 23. Only the news items pertaining to his occupation, and general news sparingly, but not the gossip. 24. Where tastes are congenial and conditions favorable, yes. 25. Be manly, honest, and diligent, as well as courteous and firm. Chicago grocer. Charles H. Slack 111. Wholesale and retail 1. Good health, honest energy in the discharge of duty, retiring early, economy in personal expenses, and a careful reading of the best books bear- ing on my occupation. 2. Yes, if his health permitted. 3. Where the competition is sharp, I would say, yes. 4. If the boy is in good health and his selection is reputable, no. 5. If he is naturally bright, yes. 6. No. 7. No. 8. Yes, sir; everyday of the year. 9. To attain the full measure of success in any case, yes. ID. Where competition is strong, yes. 11. Experience begets ability. 12. If applied with energy where competition is not excessive, yes. 13. No; instead, a technical institu- tion. 14. If he desired to, yes. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. A trade, first. 19. Yes, if location and conditions were promising. 20. Yes, if he can select a location where conditions are favorable and competition not too sharp. 21. Lack of ready cash or want of ability to preserve a margin over ex- penses where competition is sharp. 22. The Bible, Shakespeare's Works, Homer's Iliad (a good translation), Plato's Dialogues, Webster's Select Speeches, Darwin's Descent of Man. 23. Yes. 24. If the business is reputable and in keeping with his taste, yes. 25. Be honest, and always respect your father and mother; be courteous to every one you meet, and perfect your education as to your strongest bent. 276 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed Rt. Rev. C. B. Brewster, D.D. Hartford, Conn. Bishop of Con- necticut. Author. 1. What little I have been able to accomplish has been by the simple method of keeping at it. 2. By all means. 3. Yes, except in exceptional cases of genius. 4. No. 5. Yes. 6. No. 8. Yes. 9. Yes, indeed. 10. Yes. 11. Ability. 13. Yes, if he looks beyond business to the life he wants to live. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 19. I should want to do so myself. 21. To habits of sloth and self- indulgence. 23. Yes, for not more than half an hour daily. 25. Be, each one of you, a worker, not a drone. Remember that more important than doing things is to be all that it doth become a man to be. Be strong and show yourself a man. will develop ambition; without it he is of little value. 19. Yes. 20. Yes, if he is the right kind of a man; let him do whatever will make the most of himself. 21. Poor judgment. 22. Lives of great men, particularly those in the same line of work as the boy will take up; Abbott's Histories. 23. Yes. 24. No. 25. Be honest; put your whole self into your work, and hustle. George A. Kimball Somerville, Mass. President, Bos- ton Society of Civil Engineers. Member, Metropolitan Sewerage Commission. I. 2. 3- 4. 5- 6. 7- 8. 9- 10. Ji. 12. 13- 14. IS- 16. 17- la Perseverance. Yes. Yes. No ; let the boy follow his bent. Yes. No. No. Yes. Yes. Yes. Ability. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes, and college too. Yes. Yes, for a time. I don't know; put him where he Hon. Howard G. Fuller Pierre, So. Dak. Chief Justice, Su- preme Court of South Dakota. 1. I have never been quite able to account for what little success I have had. Some of my friends say, energy and a judicial instinct. 2. Yes, as a general thing. 4. Never force a hoy into anjrthing. Love him much and give him his own way. 7. No. 10. Yes. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 19. Yes. 20. Sometimes. 23. Yes. Oscar P. Austin Washington, D. C. Chief, Bureau of Statistics, United States Treasury Department. Author. 1. Selection of a life-work which constantly interests me, and persistent attention to that work; long hours, hard work, and a thorough mastery of every subject taken up. 2. By all means. 3. Not necessarily; an occupation, once adopted, is likely to prove inter- esting, if followed intelligently and earnestly. 4. I consider such a course unwise. 5. If well-educated and with well- established good habits and a decided preference fpr business, yes; other- wise, no. The Voice of Distinguished Experience 277 6. Not unless some definite and very promising opportunity is offered, where he will have advice and guidance of real friends. 7. Until he has well developed phy- sically and determined what he does like. 8. Unquestionably. 9. Unquestionably. 10. That relation of mind to occupa- tion doubtless increases the proba- bility of success. 11. Ability. 12. Yes. 13. Yes. 14. A school of technology. 15. Yes. x6. By all means. 17. No. 18. A trade. 19. Yes. 20. Not unless the opportunity seems to be exceptionally good. 21. Credit. 23. Certainly. 24. Yes, because he gets the benefit of an accumulated fund of experience, as well as an established busmess. 25. Be honest with yourself, with your friends, with your family, with your .God. Persistent plodding brin§:s a hundred successes where mere bril- liancy brings one. If you are brilliant, hard work will increase your success ; if you are not brilliant, hard work will increase your chances of becoming so. George W. Dickie San Francisco, Cal. Manager, Union Iron Works. Past-president, Technical Society of Pacific Coast. Trustee, California Academy of Sciences. Writer on technical sub- jects. I. I do not consider that I have reached such a position in my profes- sion as engineer as would justify my name being placed among those who have reached success. What I have been able to accomplish, that my friends are pleased to consider as suc- cessful, has been the result of hard work, made possible by good health and a little trick of being able to make others forget about the blunders I have committed, but never for a moment forgetting about them my- self, 2. Yes, if the preference is decided. 3. Yes, if accompanied with a willingness to do the hard work necessary to success. 4. No. 5. If he is bent on doing something that he could only do in a great city, and I thought him of the right stuff, yes. 6. No. 7. No. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. 10. Yes. 11. Experience,which comes through ability applied. 12. Not of a lasting character. 13. Yes, if he can afford the time. 14. Yes, but think it best to learn the trade first. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. Such a boy must just enter into any thing that he can find with an open door; if he lives long enough he will likely be in all of them. 19. Yes, if the opportunity presents itself. 20. No. 21. Dislike of hard work. 22. The Bible, and when he knows that well, the other five will suggest themselves. 23. Not unless he has time to do so. 24. I have five boys. They have all gone into various branches of my business, and under me. I sometimes think it would have been better for them to have chosen something else. 25. If I had courage to say anything to such an august session, I would advise young men trying to find an honorable place amongst the great workers of to-day: Make up your mind what place you would like, and don't be afraid to make it high enough. Then go to work, no matter how dis- tant that work may be from the place you aspire to; if it points in that direction, stick to it. Don't waste time consulting with friends about your prospects and seeking introduc- tions to people who will help you up to the place you desire to reach, but make a close friend of your work; your best advice and surest advance- ment will come from it. Study the result of your work, while others are seeking influence. Let no tendency in your line of work escape you. Feed your experience by close observation, 278 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed and some day some one will want something done for which your ex- perience is absolutely indispensable. You will need no one to introduce you to that man; he will search for you, and be very glad when he finds you; and your place in the great battle of life will be the very place you selected and worked to prepare yourself for, and which will be yours by right, and not by influence, the Divine Right of the Kings of Industry. George W. Mehaffey Boston, Mass. Secretary, National Young Men's Christian Association. 1. Hard, persistent efifort, coupled with a love for my work. 2. Yes, ordinarily. 3. Yes, for the highest success. 4. No. 5. That depends on the boy. He might make a better farmer than clerk or artisan in the city. 6. No. 7. Not if he is qualified for other work. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. 10. Yes, to be largely successful. 11. Natural ability is the foundation, experience the framework of success. 12. Yes, but it may be costly. 13. Yes, if possible, but he may attain success without it, though his prospects would be better with it. 14. Yes, if he is ambitious to rise beyond the position of a machine. 15. Yes, or serve time as an appren- tice; technical school training would be better. 16. Yes. 17. In some cases. Many have re- gretted their early decision not to go to college. 18. Learn a trade first, and he can decide his future course later. 19. If circumstances favored it. In some cases it would be better for him to remain with his house with a view to securing an interest in the business. 20. No, unless it were furnished by a partner who desired the benefit of his experience. 21. Speculation. 22. The Bible, Successward, Push- ing to the Front (Marden), What a Young Boy Ought to Know, What a Young Man Ought to Know (Stall), The Strenuous Life (Roosevelt), Up From Slavery (Washington). 23. Yes; he should keep himself abreast of the times, but should be careful what he reads. Avoid the sen- sational and impure. 24. (a) No; as a rule he would get a better training in the office, store, or shop of some other person, (d) A profession, yes, if qualified. 25. "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou Shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein : for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shaft have good success," Josh, i: 8. M. D. Dunne Chicago, 111. Manager, Chicago Beach Hotel. 1. To honesty, sobriety, and strict attention to all the details of my pro- fession. 2. Most assuredly. 3. It is a great help, certainly. 4. I do not. 5. Undoubtedly. 6. I would not. 7. No. 8. I certainly do 9. Most undeniably so. 10. Certainly. A man dissatisfied with his work will scarcely give it the attention necessary to make it a success. 11. Experience without ability will not avail much. 12. The two should go hand in hand. 13. A college education is not a necessary requisite for success in business. 14. No. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No, I do not. 18. A boy with such qualifications would scarcely be successful in any line, but of the three, I'd advise a trade. 19. I think so. 20. No, not under such conditions. 21. To speculation and lack of con- servatism. 22. Tale of Two Cities, Ben Hufg The Voice of Distinguished Experience 279 Macaulay's History of England, his- tory of the United States, ancient and modern history, the Last of the Barons. 23. Yes. 24. Yes, I would. 25. Be temperate and honest in all your dealings. General William R. Cox Penelo, N. C. Cotton planter. President, North Carolina Agricul- tural Society. 1. Integrity and ambition. 2. Yes. 3. No. 4. As a general thing, no. 5. There is more in the man than in the locality. 6. No, even though it may require a longer time to rise. 7. Yes, until it is clear that he has an aversion to the pursuit. 8. Not to temporary success. 9. I coincide in the maxim: " There is no excellence without labor." 10. Not necessarily. 11. I would rather rely on experi- ence, though genius might accomplish more than mere experience. 12. Answered in No. 11. 13. Yes; not for merely what he may learn in books, but the experi- ence he may secure of the outer world free from parental authority. 14. Yes, but pursue an optional course. 15. Yes. 16. Yes, and pursue an A. B. course. 17. Not if he has a will of his own and is stubborn in its assertion. 18. Let him try a trade. 19. Yes. 20. I am very much afraid of the temptation of borrowing; it "dulls the edge of industry." 21. A too great desire to become suddenly rich. 22. The Bible, Blackstone's Com- mentaries on the Common Law, Shakespeare, Marshall's Life of Wash- ington, Hume's History of England, Milton's Paradise Lost. 23. Yes, by all means. 24. Yes, if his father is living and so advised. 25. Do justice, love mercy, and walk uprightly before Q ocl aiid man. Emil Berliner Washington, D. C. Inventor of the gramophone and microphone, and telephone and telegraph improve- ments. 1. Unlimited patience and frugal- ity. 2. Yes. 3- No. 4. No. 5. No; to a smaller growing city. 6. For a while; then return home. 7. Yes, unless he has decided talent for something else. 8. No; but better for society. 9. In 99 out of loo cases. 10. Yes. 11. Ability is first. 12. Yes. 13. Very good, if he can afford it. 14. Technical college, yes. 15. Yes. 16. Of course. 17. No. 18. A trade, first. 19. Yes. 20. Only when the business is a specialty. 21. Lack of patience and of good advice, also extravagance. 22. Any six books of nature. 23. A quarter of an hour each day ; 2 hours Sunday. 25. Never dwell on a success, reach out for the next. Edward P. Bigelow, A.M.,Ph.D. Stamford, Conn. Nature lecturer. Writer of outdoor and scientific litera- ture. Editor, "Nature and Science" Department, St. Nicholas Magazine. Late editor Popular Science Monthly. Formerly editor, The Observer. Na- ture lecturer, New York Board of Education and Martha's Vineyard Institute for Teachers. 1. Keeping the ideal high and working with loving persistence toward it. 2. Yes. 3. Yes. Highest excellence con- tains at least 90% of love. 4. No. Nature had enough of the parent; that's why she made the boy. 280 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed 5. This would depend not on the district, but boy's " adaptations." 6. Do the work that he can do best, whether in wilderness or the heart of a city. 7. No, but make sure that he really doesn't like it. Perhaps he's in love with a myth. 8. Yes. 9. Yes, within reasonable limits. Persistence should not be overwork. 10. No. Will may do certain work with success. For the boy's best suc- cess he must do work that he loves. 11. Adaptation more than either. 12. Yes. 13. Yes, if circumstances are not too adverse. 14. Certain "mechanical trades" require technical collegiate education. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. A trade. 19. Yes. 20. Yes. 21. Lack of adaptation and force of circumstances. There is such a thing as "luck." 22. The six that will give him the best inspiration, encouragement, and aid in his most commendable aspira- tions. 23. Yes, such parts as are of interest or helpfulness. 24. No, unless he is better adapted to that business than to any other. 25. Be 100% boy. The world's high- est demand is for that kind of material with which to make men. Remarks. To live a life is like climbing a steep, rugged, and icy hill- side. Advancement means zeal, alert- ness, and care. "Both head and heart and both in earnest." In spite of the greatest care there will be some slips backward, but the slips that come from the nature of the way, from treacherous objects in the path, or from obstructions by the wayside, are more easily overcome than slips from deliberate jumps backward. Un- avoidable slips backward are usually overcome in length of time not more than that in which they were made. It's astonishing what an amount of distance down the hill, bruises, torn clothes, and even broken bones, will come from a wilful jump in that direc- tion. In one respect the figure of comparison doesn't hold. You can't stand still on life's icy hillside. C. W. Smith Seattle, Wash. Librarian, Seattle Public Library. 2. Yes. 3. After being informed about it, yes. 4. No. 5. If he feels he must go. 6. Same as No. 5. 7. No. 8. Necessary to any " success." 9. Indispensable. 10. Unquestionably. 11. Experience without ability is mere mechanics. 12. It can rapidly become experi- enced and successful. 13. If he wishes very much to go, yes; if he does not care, no. 14. Same as No. 13. 15. Yes, if possible. 16. Same as No. 13. 17. No. 18. Into the first, and let him see if he desires to change to one of the others. 19. As soon as there is any reason- able opening. 20. Same as No. 19. 21. Lack of unswerving purpose. 22. English Bible, Shakespeare's Works, Pilgrim's Progress, History of the World, Self Help (Smiles), What a Boy Ought to Know (Stall). 23. For ten minutes daily. 24. If each has always loved the other well, yes, unless the boy cannot bring himself to do so. 25. Every function of your body is holy as any sacrament. Every idea harbored will shape your habits, character, and eternal destiny. There- fore, keep your body and mmd clean. Everything is subject to law, and happiness is the full employment of all your powers. Therefore, let no function of body, mind, or spirit be abused, but let all be used. Success is to have left the world better than you found it — as much better as you can. Therefore, decide as soon as you are able what you can do better than anybody else, and go to doing it with all your might, and never give it up. Selfishness is the sin of sins. Never do anything for your gratification that can hurt another. Try to "put your- self in his (or her) place " and "do as you would be done by." The Voice of Distinguished Experience 281 Paul Mellen Chamberlain Chicago, 111. Professor of Mechani- cal Engineering, Lewis Institute. Inventor. 1. Congenial work, first. Associa- tion with superiors who kept me hard at work, second. Persistence in ac- complishing the task or undertaking, third. 2. Yes. 3. No. 4. No. 6. No. 7. No. 8. Anyonemay find men whom they deem dishonest, who are wealthy. 9. For the ordinary mortal, yes. 10. No. 11. Ability. 13. Not necessarily for a full course. 14. No. 15. Yes. 16. Not necessarily for a four-year course. 17. Not ordinarily. i8. A business, as most likely to engender ambition. 19. Yes. 20. Yes. 22. Life of Benjamin Franklia. 23. No. 24. Yes. 25. Train your memory. Keep your habits and thoughts clean. Strive to do each task a little better than you or any one else have or has done. Colonel William F. Cody Cody, Big Horn Co., Wyo. Scout, soldier, ranchman. Head of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. I. To my mother's good advice when I was a boy. 3. Most certamly. 3. Yes. 4. No. 5. Keep out of cities; go to the arid West; lay in a foundation of health as Roosevelt did. 6. No. 7. No. 8. Yes, yes, yes. 9. Mix in a little rest, but stick to your business. la Yes. II. Ability. 12. If you hang on. 13. A good education will do, but be sure you get it. 14. No; common school education will do. 15. Not necessarily. 16. If he could. 17. No or yes. 18. Either one will do. 19. Yes; no future for any; one to work for a salary. Let him take chances to independence. 20. It would depend on the business and interest. 21. Neglect. 22. Bible, history. Knowledge Is Power, I Can and I Will, America, Last of the Great Scouts. 23. Yes. 24. If it is a business the old man has succeeded in, yes. 25. I can and I will. William I. R. Gilford Cambridge, Mass. Librarian, Pub- lic Library. 3. Yes. 3- No. 4. No. 5. Yes, usually. 6. No. 7. Not usually. 8. I am sorry to say, no. 9. Yes, as a good general rule. 10. To be successful in the full sense, yes. 11. Ability. 12. Yes; everybody has to gain his own experience. 13. Yes. 15. Yes. 16. By all means, yes. 17. There can be no fixed rule, but I have never seen a man who regretted going to college. 18. A trade. 20. No. 21. Nowadays the small business is driven to the wall by the great com- bination of capital. 22. The books mentioned are good; it would be hard to say what are " best." Franklin's Autobiography, Hughes' Tom Brown's School Days, Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, Scott's Ivanhoe, Irving's Sketch-book, Coop- er's Leather-Stocking Tales. 23. Yes, 282 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed 24. Yes, if the business be well ity and learn self-control; never feel established and if he has no strong inclination to something else. 25. Be honest, diligent, and punc- tual, and do always a little more than is required by your employer. discouraged, but rise with hopeful heart and firm purpose to every occa- sion. Edward T. Jeffery New York City. President, Den- ver & Rio Grande R.R. Late Commis- sioner to Paris Exposition. Late Chair- man, Grounds and Buildings Commit- tee, World's Columbian Exposition. Ralph E. Pratt Chicago, 111. Pratt & Baxter, Grain Merchants. 1. Good health; hard work; close study; persistent effort; liking for my profession; doing everything the best I can ; being honest and rea- sonably unselfish; respecting my superior officers in all right and proper things, and thus securing their confi- dence without sacrificing my self- respect. 2. Yes. 3. Yes, for full success. 4. No. 5. Yes, if dissatisfied and inclined to business career. 6. No, not if he can win reasonable success. 7. No. 8. Yes, using "success "in broad- est sense. 9. Yes. 10. Yes. 11. Ability, because it adapts to useful ends the experience. 12. Yes; it is likely to secure experi- ence. 13. Yes. 14. Yes. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. Not absolutely against his will. 18. A trade. 19. Yes. 20. Only to a quite limited extent. 21. Lack of intelligent persistence. 23. Yes. 24. Yes, if reasonably qualified so to do. 25. Love and respect your father and mother; reverence God; stand by your country and its laws and institu- tions; study and work»from the cradle to the grave; have self-respect with- out vanity and win the respect of others; be honest, truthful, just, and manly; submit cheerfully to author- 1. What little success I have at- tained has been through hard work, using what common sense I possessed, and paying strict attention to my own business. 2. I would, unless it was a business that I felt was a poor one and that he would be sure to regret the choice. 3- No. 4. No, unless the other has some decidedly objectionable features. 5. Yes, if he is made of the right stuff. 6. Not at least until he had con- siderable experience. 7. Keep him there if possible 'till he gets a good foundation. He will probably never have as good a chance to get it elsewhere. 8. Money can be gotten without being honest, but the success to be desired never comes through dis- honesty. 9. I do. 10. Yes. 11. Experience. 12. It will help a good deal, but he will have the experience before the success. 13. No. 14. No. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. No. 19. Yes. 20. Yes, if proper arrangements can be made. 21. To not using the common sense they should. 23. Yes. 24. No. 25. What is worth doing at all is worth doing well. Keep everlastingly at it ; stick-to-it-iveness will pull you through. Don't forget to use your head as well as your hands. You can't fail; there's no such word in the dictionary. The Voice of Distinguished Experience 283 Rev. Russell H. Conwell, D.D. Philadelphia. Pastor, the Baptist Temple. Founder and president of Temple College. Author. 1. Unchangeable determination. 2. Yes. 3. Yes. 4. No. 5. Yes, if he cannot do as well at farming. 6. Most great fortunes have been made in towns of 6,000 or less. 7. Boys change their minds. 8. Yes, to real success. 9. Certainly. 10. Yes. 11. Experience. 12. No. 13. Yes. 14. Yes. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. Laborer. 19. Certainly. 20. Not borrow more than he has himself. 21. "Didn't think." Untrained minds. 22. Bible, Matthew's Getting On, history, Shakespeare, one on his chosen profession, book on politeness. 23. Yes. 24. Yes. 25. Train your minds in study and play to think quickly and accurately. R. H. Aishton Chicago, 111. General Superintend- ent, Chicago & North Western R.R. 1. Health and physical endurance; sticking to one line of business. 2. Yes. 3. No ; preference generally comes through experience. 4. No. 5. Yes. 6. No. 7. No. 8. Yes. 9. Yes, decidedly. 10. Yes. 11. Ability, because experience with- out ability is useless. 12. Yes. 13. No. 14. No. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. A trade. 19. Yes. 20. No. 21. Debt, and failure to live within income. 22. A good spelling book. Thrift, Life of Abraham Lincoln, Romola, Bacon's Essays, Life of George Stephenson. 23. Yes. 24. No. 25. If you can't get what you want, take what you can get. Make your personal convenience subservient to your employer's interests ; then stick. John W. Gates Chicago, 111. Capitalist. Financier. 1. Attending strictly to my own business and working 16 hours per day when the emergency demanded it. 2. Yes. 3. No. 4. No. 7. No. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. 10. Yes. 11. Ability. 12. Yes. 13. No, not necessarily. 14. No. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. Profession. 19. Work for yourself always, when possible. 20. Yes. 21. Negligence and ignorance. 23. Yes, if there is one printed. 24. If the father's business is a growing and increasing one, yes; if not, no. 25. Attend strictly to your own busi- ness; keep well posted as to your competitors' methods and profits; agree with your competitors rather than fight them; make hay while the sun shines; always discount your bills; never try to deceive your banker; never neglect your busmess for pleasure. 284 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed John J. Boyle New York City. Sculptor. Member of Executive Council, National Sculp- ture Society. I. Perseverance. 3. I would, yes. 3. No. 4. No. 5. No. 6. No. 7. No. 8. No. 9. Yes. 10. Not necessarily. 11. Equal. 12. No. 13. Not necessarily. 14. Not necessarily. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. Decidedly no. 18. Business or trade. 20. By no means. 21. Insincerity to one's self. 22. The Bible, Shakespeare, a United States history, French Revolution, Story of the Sciences and Inventions, literature and art. 23. Yes, by all means. 85. Be true to yourself. Henry Bartlett Boston, Mass. Superintendent, Mo- tive Power Department, Boston & Maine R.R. 1. Good health, good education, average endowment of brains, and close application to work. 2. As a rule, yes. 3. Not absolutely so; as a rule, yes. 4. No. 5. Yes. 6. Not at first, any way. Possibly at a later date. 7. No. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. 10. As a rule, yes; not absolutely so. 11. Ability. 12. No. 13. Yes. 14. Yes. 15. College education first, technical education after. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. Trade. 19. No. 20. No. 21. Lack of application. 23. Yes. 24. No. 25. Select your future calling care fully, prepare diligently for it, an< make your employers' interests you own. Rev. Thompson H. Lan(ion,D.D Bordentown, N. J. President, Bor dentown Military Institute. 1. To "minding my own business' whatever it was, whether preaching studying, or teaching. 2. Of course I would. 3. A man may have "success' without such preference, but not the fullest success. 4. Certainly not. 5. Yes, if his heart is right and hii head is strong to resist evil. 6. It is good to succeed a bit a1 home, and go to the larger sphere with some experience. 7. No, though it may be his duty te stay there a while. 8. Of course I do. 9. Yes, except a few cases now and then of luck. 10. It is much to be desired. n. With average ability, experience. 12. How can a man use his ability long without gaining experience ? 13. Yes. 14. Yes. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No, no. 18. A trade or business. 19. Why not ? 20. Yes, if not too large a borrower. 21. Slack-twistedness somewhere. 22. First, the Bible, after that it de- pends entirely upon the character and tendencies of the boy. 23. Yes, if he can find one. 24. No, and yet I would not advise him not to. Circumstances alter cases. 25. ♦' Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you," The Voice of Distinguished Experience 28s Rev. Henry N. Couden, D.D. Washington, D. C. Chaplain, United States House of Representatives. 1. Perseverance and industry. 2. Yes. 3. No. 4. No. 6. No. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. 10. Not necessarily. 11. Ability. 12. Yes. 13. Yes. 15. By all means, if he can. 16. By all means, if it is possible. 17. No. 18. Trade or business. 19. Yes. 21. A lack of strict attention to business. 33. Yes. 24. No. 25. Be studious, honest, industrious. A. W. Wright Alma, Mich. Lumberman, Presi- dent, Bank of Saginaw, Alma Sugar Co., Peerless Portland Cement Co., Cincinnati, Saginaw & Mackinaw R.R., and Advance Thresher Co. Head of A. W. Wright Lumber Co. and Wright, Davis & Co. Treasurer, Alma College. 1. Economy and devotion to busi- ness. 2. Yes, if preference is reasonable and intelligent. 3. Yes, with exceptions. 4. No. 5. No, unless he has good business talent and some city friends. 6. No. 7. No. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. 10. Yes; sometimes the success which follows persistent effort brings love for the work. 11. Experience. 12. Occasionally. 13. Yes. 14. Yes; the country needs educated men in the ranks. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No, with exceptions. 18. A trade. 19. Yes. 20. No, with exceptions. Let him save capital from salary, start, and borrow if necessary. 21. Extravagance. 23. Yes. 24. No. 25. Be honest; be attentive to busi- ness ; keep your credit better than your clothes ; ' ' never put off 'till to-morrow what you can do to-day; " be prompt in keeping engagements; if you bor- row anything, use it better than your own, and return it promptly. C. A. Goodnow Chicago, 111. General Superintend- ent, Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul R.R. 1. Thorough knowledge of what I undertook and steadfastness in pur- suing a definite ambition. 2. Yes, if worthy. 3. Generally, yes; but not always. 4. I do not consider it wise. 5. Yes, if he has the right material in him, ambition, etc. 6. Absolutely dependent upon the boy. If he is ambitious and his am- bitions are clearly defined and he feels it necessary to go to the city, he should go. 7. No, if he really loves anything. If he doesn't have distinct predilec- tions he might as well farm. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. ID. Yes. 11. Generally experience; often- times, however, ability will wring out more experience in a year than the merely experienced man in several years. 12. Success cannot be accomplished in a minute, and ability will gain tremendous experience as it goes along. 13. No, but he should be graduated from a good high school. 14. No. 15. Yes. 17. No, but he ought to be made to understand what he is missing in the opportunity. 18. Should connect himself with a good wholesale house and work up. 19. Yes, and the ground is promising. 286 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed 2a Yes, if he is sure of what he is doing. 21. If this refers to business, I would say to lack of capital and ex- perience. 22. I believe in wide, general reading, particularly those books which tell of success from small beginnings and teach steadfastness and perseverance. Some novel reading, Dickens, Thack- eray, George Eliot, etc. 23. Yes. 24. Yes, if his bent is that way. 25. Persevere, and above all be better than your promise. Eugene G. Blackford Brooklyn, N. Y. President, Bedford Bank, American Writing Machine Company, New York; Biological School, Cold Spring, N. Y. Vice- president, Union Typewriter Com- pany and Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. Merchant. 1. In everything I undertook to do the best I could, either as office boy, clerk, book-keeper, or merchant. As a business man I tried always to lead rather than follow. During the first 15 years of my business life I arose every morning at from 2 to 4 o'clock. I always tried to cultivate the ac- quaintance and friendship of those who would benefit me morally, so- cially, and financially. 2. I certainly should. 3. Not in every case. 4. I do not. 6. I would not. 7. No. 8. Absolutely. 9. Sure; a most important element. 10. Yes. 11. Without ability experience would not count for much. 12. See No. n. 13. I would not. 14. No. 15. Yes. 16. By all means. 17. No. 18. A trade. 19. Yes, but a great deal depends upon what kind of business. 20. No, except under exceptional circumstances. 21. Extravagance or spending more than your income. 22. The Bible, history of the United States, Shakespeare. 23. By all means. 24. Yes, if he has the inclination, as he would to a large extent benefit by' the experience of his father. 25. Be honest; be saving; be indus- trious; be clean ; keep good company; keep good hours ; study your employ- er's interest; study to do your best always; never neglect any work be- cause you think it belongs to the other boy to do. General Roeliflf Brinkerhoff Mansfield, Ohio. Banker. Philan- thropist. Ex-president, Mansfield Sav- ings Bank, National Conference of Charities and Correction, and Ameri- can National Prison Congress. 1. There were two things, I think, more than all others, that shaped my life in its formative years, {a) A kind Providence that repeatedly and abso- lutely barred the way to that which I had deliberately selected as my life work. (3) The cheerful acceptance on my part of such Providential vetoes, with a resolution to do the best that was in me to succeed in the lines left open. Under this Providential dicta- tion, I became, in succession, in busi- ness life, a fisher of man, a farmer, an educator, a lawyer, an editor, a soldier, and a banker, and I am credited by those who know my career with more than ordinary success in each. Cer- tainly, I have been happy and con- tented in each, and would have been entirely satisfied to retain either of these occupations, but an inexorable Providence said "no," except in my life as a banker since 1873. Outside of my successes as noted, and outside of business, I am credited with suc- cesses which I value more than any I achieved in business. They were largely philanthropic, and were al- ways earnest efforts to be of service to my fellow-men. 2. Yes, if it is an honorable one, 3. Not necessarily. 4. No. 5. Not unless he has friends in a great city who offer him a start. 6. No ; life is much more desirable in a small city than in a large one. Life is more than money. The Voice of Distinguished Experience 287 7. No ; give him a fair education and let him sail his own boat under friendly suggestions. 8. Not only necessary, but indis- pensable. 9. Yes ; more so now than ever before, for competition is more stren- uous. 10. Not necessarily, but it is an up- hill job to succeed without it. 11. Both are necessary, but ability is indispensable. 12. Yes, but it would be pure luck. 13. Yes, if he can afford it, and makes his studies a preparation for his business. 14. He should go to a technical school and master his trade. 15. Certainly, and make himself an expert mechanic. 16. Yes ; shaping his studies for pro- fessional use. 17. No; no boy should go to college unless he has inclinations that wav. 18. Let him go to school until he develops a preference. 19. Yes, if prospects are favorable. 20. Yes, under exceptional condi- tions and after careful consideration. 21. Lack of ability, experience, or integrity. Generally there are several causes. 22. Without knowledge of the boy, I would not advise ; as a rule I would turn him loose in a library and let him browse for himself under occasional suggestions from the librarian or his subordinates. 23. Yes, and also several instructive weeklies and monthlies. 24. Yes, if it is an honorable one, and he has no special dislike to it. 25. Commit to memory the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount, and guide your lives by their teachings, and you will be sure of vsuccess in the life that now is, and will have the promise of the life to come. Remarks. As a rule a boy has no definite idea of what business is best for him. Let him not be in a hurry to decide, but accept the first fair open- ing that offers, and make himself as useful as possible, and make a study of it, and especially let him make the interests of his employer paramount. After accomplishing the special task assigned him, let him ask if there is anything else he can do for him. "Don't look at the clock," but work extra hours, in an emergency, to bene- fit his employer. An employer, who is not a brute, will appreciate such a boy, and will soon give him promo- tion. If he perseveres he will soon discover what he is best fitted for, and then he can adopt his life work. Having done so, let him stick to it, unless switched off, as I was, by over- whelming circumstances. The old maxims still hold, "A Jack of all trades is master of none," "A roll- ing stone gathers no moss." George Coates Ashmun, M.D. Cleveland, Ohio. Professor, Hy- giene and Preventative Medicine, and Registrar, Medical College, Western Reserve University. 1. A good ancestry. A capacity for intelligent effort. 2. Yes, if supported by mature judgment. 3. No. 4. No, if the boy's preference has a prospect of valuable results to him- self or others. 5. Yes, after he is sixteen. 6. No, unless especially good ad- vantages open in the city. 7. No, although it should not be determined until a sufficient age is reached for "liking " to be known. 8. Yes; honorable success. 9. For most people. There have been exceptions. 10. Yes, or at least his work and the results of it. 11. Ability plus experience. 12. In most lines, no; for ability tested gives experience. 13. Yes, if he can do so without in- curring debt. 14. Yes, with a selected course. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. Yes, up to a point of demonstra- tion of his acquisition. 18. A trade. 19. Yes. 20. It would depend upon the oppor- tunity. 21. Want of application. Poor health. 23. Yes. 24. Yes, if it has proved reliable. 25. Be diligent; be trustworthy; im- prove every opportunity to do good for yourself and others. 288 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed Frank P. Hill Brooklyn, N. Y. Public Library. Chief Librarian, 1. Education, attention. 2. Ordinarily, yes. 3. No. 4. No. 5. No, unless a good opening is before him. 6. No. 7. Depends upon other chances. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. la More likely to succeed if heart is in the work. 11. A delightful combination of both. 12. One must follow the other. 13. Yes. 14. Technical school best prepara- tion. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 19. Yes. 20. Not unless he has courage and confidence in himself. 21. Hard to tell, but lack of confi- dence in self is at the bottom of many failures. 22. Franklin's Autobiography, Ivan- hoe, Robinson Crusoe, Tom Brown at Oxford, Pilgrim's Progress, the Bible. 23. Good daily, yes. 24. If so inclined on both sides. 25. " Be not wise in your own con- ceits," but be guided by the experience of others. Charles W. Dabney, Ph.D. Knoxville, Tenn. President, Uni- versity of Tennessee. Ex-assistant Secretary of Agriculture. 1. I have not had much success, but what little I have had I attribute entirely to the training of *a devoted Christian mother and a scholarly and sanctified father. 2. Yes, emphatically. 3. Not always manifested at the beginning, but must be developed. 4. No, never. 5. No, but to go where he can earn an education and then select a place to settle. 6. Never, unless there are some special reasons in his home or environ- ment. 7. No. 8. Absolutely. 9. Of course. 10. Certainly. 11. Ability. 12. No. 13. By all means if he has native ability. 14. Go to a technical school if he has ability. 15. Yes. 16. By all means. We have enough quacks in the professions. 17. No. 18. A trade. 19. Yes. 20. Yes, if he has diligence, common sense, and is an economical and thrifty chap. 21. Ignorance, and laziness next. 22. Bible, Shakespeare, the other four are not in their class and may be selected from Lubback's 100 books. 23. Yes. 24. Should decide independently. 25. ' ' Love thy God and thy neigh- bor as thyself." Brooklyn poser. Dir Dudley Buck N. Y. Organist, irector, Apollo Club. Com- 1. A certain amount of "gift," backed up by years of constant study. 2. Yes. 3. Yes. 4. Idiotic act. 6. No ; development would take care of itself. 8. Of course. 9. Of course. 10. Of course. 11. Stupids have experience. 12. Often, in a half-fledged way. 13. No. 14. No. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. Never. 18. Try him with the first two, not the third. 23. Yes. 24. No. 25. Be honest. The Voice of Distinguished Experience 289 Rev. Wallace Radcliffe, D.D. Washington, D. C. Pastor, New York Avenue Presbyterian Church. 1. Good Scotch-Irish parents. Youthful training in church. Indus- try, congenial work, faith. 2. Yes. 3. Generally. 4. No. 5. Yes. 6. No. 7. No. 8. In the long run and in the large meaning of success, yes. 9. Undoubtedly. 10. Yes. 11. Ability must have experience be- fore it can attain success. 13. Yes. 14. No. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. A business. 19. Yes. 20. Yes. 21. Lack of concentration. 22. The Bible; Pilgrim's Progress; Plutarch's Lives; Smiles' Self-Help; a nature book like. Wild Animals I Have Known; Alice in Wonderland. 23. Yes. 24. Yes. 25. The Fifth Commandment. Hon. John Campbell Denver, Colo. Chief Justice, Su- preme Court of Colorado. Law lec- turer, Colorado State University. 1. Industry, integrity, justice. 2. Yes. 3. No. 4. No. 5. Yes. 7. In general, no. 8. Most certainly. 9. Yes. 10. Yes, eminently successful. 11. Ability. 12. Yes. 13. Yes. 14. Yes. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. Depends upon whether the ** will " results from obstinacy or rests on sound reasons. 18. That I can't answer, definitely ; but either a trade or business, which- ever his natural aptitude better fits him for. 19. Yes. 21. Intemperance. 22. The Bible, Shakespeare's works, Coleridge's works, Emerson's Essays, some English history like Green's, Milton. 23. Yes. 24. Yes. 25. Be honest, temperate, indus- trious, sympathetic, charitable, coura- geous. Keep out of politics 'till you are settled in your life work. Marry a sensible woman. Hon. Eugene B. Gary Abbeville, S. C. Justice, Supreme Court of South Carolina. 1. Fidelity, prompt attention to business, and scrupulous care in meet- ing financial obligations. 2. Yes. 3. In general it is. 4. No. 5. Yes, if he has special talent. 6. Generally I would not. 7. No. 8. I regret that business success is frequently the outgrowth of dis- honesty. 9. Yes. 10. Yes. 11. Ability. 12. Yes. 13. Yes. 14. Yes. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. Yes. 18. That for which his talents best qualify him. 19. Yes. 20. No. 21. Extravagance in expenditures. 22. The Bible, Shakespeare, Gil Bias, Don Quixote, Arabian Nights, Robin- son Crusoe. 23. Yes. 24. Yes. 25. Be systematically industrious, faithful to every trust, and zealously prompt in responding to financial obligations. 290 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed Hon. John P. Dillon Far Hills, N. J. Lawyer. General counsel of the Missouri Pacific R.R. and the Western Union Telegraph Co., and consulting counsel for Manhattan Elevated R.R. and Union Pacific R.R. Author. 1. Fidelity and hard work. 2. Yes. 3. Not necessarily. 4. No. 5. Not as a rule. 6. No. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. 10. Not necessarily. 11. Ability indispensable. 12. Not a full measure of success. 14. Yes, if the boy really wants to go to college. 15. Yes, if he can. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. Some kind of trade or business. 20. Sometimes advisable. 21. Want of thoroughness. 23. Yes. 24. Yes, if everything else is equal. 25. Be faithful, honest, true, dili- gent, conscientious, thorough. Daniel P. Morse New York City. President, Morse & Rogers (Corporation), wholesale dis- tributers of boots, shoes, and rubbers, and shoe findings. Treasurer, Craw- ford Shoe Makers. President, Edwin C. Burt Co. and Tuttle Shoe Co. Ex- president, Arkwright Club. Ex- treasurer, Lincoln Club, Brooklyn. Treasurer, the Morse Society. 1. Hard work, and more hard work. 2. Yes. 3. No. 4. No. 5. Yes, with a reservation. 6. I should say, think twice. 8. Yes. g. Yes. 10. Yes. 11. Ability. 12. Ability will very soon get expe- rience. 13. Yes, with a reservation; it de- pends a good deal on the boy. 14. Same answer as to No. 13. 15. Yes, emphatically. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. A trade. 19. Ordinarily, yes. 20. It depends on the man; most successful men have had to. 21. Lack of ability. 23. Yes. 24. That depends on the boy; it spoils some and makes others. 25. Think. Work. Stick to it. Luther Burbank Santa Rosa, Cal. Naturalist. Orig- inator of new fruits, flowers, nuts," and vegetables. 1. Strict temperance. Some disap- pointments in life which made me think of the welfare of others as well as myself. Honest, sincere, and strict attention to business and to the inter- ests of others as well as my own. Throwing overboard old superstitions and listening to the suggestions of nature. 2. Usually. 3. Not always, but generally for the fullest success. 4. Very rarely, if ever. 5. This depends upon the boy's business tendencies. 6. No. 7. No. 8. Yes. I consider absolute hon- esty in all business dealings the only true road to success. 9. Always, to true success. Na- ture's forces move slowly but surely. 10. For the best success he must. 11. One must have ability to make use of experience. 12. Ability, without experience, sometimes, but rarely, accomplishes solid success. 13. Never; valuable time lost for learning more important matters. 14. Never. 15. Depends upon the boy, the school, and the trade. 16. Generally. 17. No. 18. Of the three, I should choose a trade. 19. This may often improve his char- acter as well as his condition. 20. Very rarely, if ever. The Voice of Distinguished Experience 291 21. Expecting success without pay- ing the full price which the laws of nature demand from all. 22. The best works of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Robert G. IngersoU. These broaden the mind and place one in harmony with nature. 23. Much better reading, and of more importance, can be obtained from other sources. 24. No ; human life needs a radical change every generation or two. 25. Be yourself. Guard your health by strict temperance in all things. Cultivate honesty, sincerity, and un- selfishness, as these will bring you more friends, wealth, and happiness than anything else in the world. Rev. William J. Tucker, D.D. Hanover, N. H. President, Dart- mouth College. 2. Yes. 3. Necessary in the absence of a dominating will. 4. No. 5. Yes, if he can adapt himself to the opportunities of a city. 6. Not unless he gives promise of unusual power. 7. Not if he is fitted to leave it. 11. Ability. 12. Yes. 13. Yes, a first-class boy intending to enter a first-class business. 14. Not as a rule; a technical school rather. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 21. Lack of invention or will power. 23. Yes. 24. Not if he can do better else- where. Hon. John B. Moore New York City. Formerly Assist- ant Secretary of State. Secretary and counsel to Peace Commission at Paris. Professor, International Law and Diplomacy, Columbia University. Author. 2. Yes, as a general thing. 3. Not absolutely so. 4. Not unless the preference is manifestly unwise. 5. It depends upon his tastes and capacity. 6. Same as No. 5. 7. Same as No. 4. 8. Money often is made without it, if that is what is meant. g. As a rule, yes. 10. One must be interested in his work to succeed, and if he is inter- ested, he learns to like it. 11. One gains experience by the exercise of his abilities; he can't have experience first. He must have abil- ity anyhow. 12. See answer to No. 11. 13. Yes. 14. If his situation enables him to do so without too great a sacrifice of time. 15. Yes, but some of our universi- ties have excellent technical schools. 16. By all means. 17. If his opposition is due to indo- lence, yes. 18. A trade or a business. 19. Yes. 20. Yes, if the prospect is sufficiently promising. 21. Inattention. 23. Yes, 24. Yes. 25. To meet every duty, as it arises, instantly and courageously. Milton Bradley Springfield, Mass. President, The Milton Bradley Co. Originated the Bradley System of Color Instruction. Author. I. Performance of duty and per- sistent work. 1. Poverty and pluck. 2. Yes, other conditions being fairly favorable. 3. Not necessary, but a great fac- tor in the final results. 4. No, unless his preferences are de- cidedly low, and even then actual compulsion will avail little. 5. Under such conditions the boy will be most likely to go without advice. 6. Would advise him to learn some trade or business in the home-town, by which he may earn a good living if other ambitions fail him. 292 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed 7. No, unless his dutjr to the fam- ily is such as to render his aid neces- sary for a time. 8. That may depend on what one calls " success." 9. Yes, unless a stroke of luck hits him before he is aware of it. 10. Not necessarily so, but generally, yes. 11. Ability without experience bet- ter than experience without ability. 12. Yes, possibly, but not probably. 13. Yes, if his parents are able and willing, and the boy will study rather than cut his recitations. 14. Much better get all there is in a good technical school of the present time. 15. He ought to learn the mechanical trade and much more, if the school is up to the high standard which ought to prevail to-day. 16. Yes, to the college, and more. 17. No. 18. That must depend on many facts and circumstances. The ambition should be developed first, if possible. 19. Under such conditions I would not advise him. In time he will prob- ably decide to do it without advice. 20. No; I would not take the risk of his failure. 21. Ambition, without knowledge and capital. 23. Yes. 24. If the business is profitable and conditions pleasant, yes. 25. Do your best every time and never say, *'I can't." John Henry Chapman Chicago, 111. President, Baptist Young People's Society. 1. If I have had any measure of success, it is due to patience, persist- ence, industry, and the blessing of God. 2. Not always; should have quali- fications as well as preferences. 3. No, but very desirable. 4. No; a parent cannot absolutely decide. A wise son will consider parents' advice. 6. No, except in rare cases. 7. No. 8. Yes ; true success. Possession of money is not unqualified success. 9. Yes. Again, yes. 10. Not necessarily. 11. Ability, for experience is lost without ability. 12. Success IS experience. 13. Yes. 14. Yes. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. Not wise, and really impossible. 18. Does not matter where he goes (average city hall job might fit). 19. Yes, in some cases. 20. Sometimes. 21. Recklessness. 22. Bible, best guide for business and all relations in life; John Halifax, Gentleman ; John Stuart Mills' Politi- cal Economy; David Copperfield; Cap- tains Courageous. 23. Yes. 24. Yes, when there is harmony. 25. Avoid sin, as you would fire, pestilence, and the sword. Seek righteousness and believe that true happiness and success are found only by those who walk in its paths. " Righteousness exalteth a nation," also individual. "The way of the transgressor is hard." R EMARKs. Be sure you're right, then go ahead. " Keeping everlastingly at it brings success." William H. Baldwin, Jr. New York City. President, Long Island R.R. 2. Yes. 3. Assuredly not, but the chosen work must be made preferred, and success will follow if sincerely inter- ested. 4. Under no circumstances. 5. Depends entirely on the boy. Far better for him to learn scientific farm- ing and follow it, unless specially adapted to city life. 6. Only the exceptional boy. 7. No, but he should have a chance to learn what real farming is, and not draw his conclusions from his father's methods. 8. Absolutely, in my understand- ing of the word " success." 9. It is the first principle, with rare exceptions. 10. One must feel that work is essen- tial to happiness, and the chosen work The Voice of Distinguished Experience" 293 should be "loved" to bring out the best qualities. 11. Experience. 12. Sometimes, but generally suc- cess is temporary when dependent on ability. 13. Decidedly, yes. 14. To a technical school. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. Never, but he should have every chance to know really what a college is. 18. Business. 19. This cannot be answered except at great length. It depends on the business. If a competitive business, yes. 20. Yes, if the business conditions are favorable. 21. Lack of persistency. Giving up at critical times. Lack of courage. 23. Yes. 24. Yes, if successful business and the boy is a " chip off the block." 25. If you have a preference for any particular life-work, undertake it. If you haven't, choose the one you think you would like best to do every day. Begin at the bottom, no matter what your education may be, and then stick to your work, thro' thick and thin. Remember that moments of discour- agement are periods of test. Hang on, and pass those who hesitate and give up. Be honest. Above all, learn early to deal fairly with men. Boston, Mass. & Co., dry goods John Shepard Shepard, Norwell 1. What little success I have had was due to industry and economy all the earlv years of my life, honesty and truthfulness always being the ruling spirit. 2. Yes. 3. Yes. 4. No. 5. Yes. 6. No. 7. No. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. ID. Not always. 11. Both are essential. 12. Yes. 13. No. 14. No. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. Trade. 19. Yes. 20. Yes. 21. Lack of industry and economy. 23. Yes. 24. Yes, if he likes the business. 25. Always be truthful and unselfish if you want to get the most happiness out of life. Rev. A. Frederic Dunnels Fitchburg, Mass. Pastor, Calvin- istic Congregational Church. 2. Yes. 3. Generally. 4. Never. 5. Personal preferences count. If he enjoys the country and its life and can find reasonable opening, let him remain at home. 6. No. No. Yes. Yes. Yes. Ability, No. If the broadest usefulness and enjoyment of life is desired, and the boy has a taste for study. 14. If he is ambitious to fill the high- est positions in his trade. 15. Yes. Yes. No. A trade or business. 22. The Bible. Beyond this there are too many equally good to select any small number as best. Much de- pends also on the boy's previous read- ing. Among most excellent books may be mentioned Seton-Thompson's Wild Animals I Have Known, Don Quixote (boy's edition), Carpenter's Geographical Readers, Peyle's Men of Iron. 23. Yes, its leading articles. 24."If a well-established one and in line with his taste. 25. Get all the education circum- stances allow, that you may take up life's work with trained powers. Work hard, and believe that no material suc- cess can be compared with attain- ments of the ripest character. 7- 8. 9- 10. II. 12. ^.3- 16. 17- 18. 294 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed W, F. Bradbury, A. M., LL.D. Cambridge, Mass. Head-Master, Latin School. President, American Institute of Instruction. Secretary, Handel & Haydn Society. Author of 24 text-books. 1. Early poverty; no money to spend; hard work; ambition; honesty; a taste for mathematics ; persistency. I had to earn my own way through college. 2. Yes. 3. No. 4. No. 5. Yes. 6. No. 7. No. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. 10. Not necessarily. 12. The experience comes. 13. Yes, if he can afford it. 14. Yes. 15. Yes. 16. Most assuredly. 17. Yes; I had a son whom I forced into college; after a year and a half he was glad that I did, and has never ceased to be thankful. 19. Yes. 21. Stupidity and lack of push. 23. The Bible, selections; Shake- speare; Dickens (any of them); Carlyle (any of them); Macaulay's England; Victor Hugo's Les Mis6rables. 23. Yes. 24. Yes. 25. Get wisdom; get understanding; put in solid work. James F. Baldwin, M.D. Columbus, Ohio. Formerly Surgeon and Chief of Staff, Grant Hospital. Author. 1. Chiefly to persistent effort and hard work. Of considerable impor- tance, but secondary, a rather unusual degree of inherited mechanical skill. 2. Yes, as a rule, to which there are very few exceptions. 3. Yes, but there are some excep- tions. 4. Most emphatically, no, 5. Yes. 6. No. 7. No, unless there is no other opening which seems suitable. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. 10. No, but to be successful will then require more effort. 11. Ability. 12. Yes, if there has been proper preliminary training. 13. Yes, if he can possibly afford it. 14. Yes, if he can afford it, but it is not so essential. 15. Yes. 16. Unquestionably. 17. No. i8. He should enter a trade. He would certainly fail in a profession, and probably in business. 19. Yes, unless competition, in these days of "trusts," would be apt to render such a course disastrous. 20. Not unless the circumstances and prospects were unusually favor- able. 21. Lack of application. 23. Yes, but he should early acquire the habit of skipping. 24. Yes. 25. Choose your vocation cautiously, but when chosen pursue it persist- ently. Character is the true measure of success. Remarks. The greatest obstacle which presents itself to the young man of to-day is the existence of the enormous combinations of capital known as *' trusts." These combina- tions, by putting vast wealth into the hands of a few men, are directly productive of dissatisfaction and un- rest among the masses, and foster a rankling sense of inequality and in- justice which seriously threaten open revolt and anarchy. The result is such a temper of mind as that which pervaded the lower classes in France just prior to the Revolution of '93. More serious, however, than this is the fact that these trusts act as an almost impassable barrier to all indi- vidual effort, while they are utterly relentless in crushing out all opposi- tion. Each employee is simply a single, and usually very unimportant factor, in a great machine, and, unless pos- sessed of unusual talent or ability, has practically no opportunity for advancement, while he may con- stantly see those no better than him- self, or perhaps his inferiors, accorded choice positions through mere favorit- ism. The trust stands to-day like a The Voice of Distinguished Experience 295 Medusa in the way of individual progress, and the young men of the present should earnestly pray for some Perseus to bring relief. Walter G. Berg New York City. Chief Engineer, Lehigh Valley R.R. 1. Good education and hard work, as follows: Thorough college and university technical education. Early training in writing for publication, and hence facility in preparing reports on technical investigations and general railroad questions. Thorough train- ing in mathematics, as I taught my way through college, hence ability to cope with mathematical problems, and also having served in developing and training the reasoning faculties. A general, broad, liberal education, in- cluding classics and foreign languages, in addition to considerable travel abroad and in this country. Contact with bright business men, lawyers, and railroad executive officers and managers. After entering profes- sional practice, constant hard work and studying to keep up with the latest developments of professional and rail- road work. 2. Yes, provided the preference does not indicate a passing whim. 3. Most desirable, but the absence of a preliminary preference may sub- sequently be replaced by love of the work which is much better than a preliminary preference. 4. A boy should not be forced into a calling if his preference and adapta- bility for some other calling is strong and his choice reasonable, even if not strictly in accord with parents' views. 5. Yes, if a bright boy with good education and plenty of energy and determination to hang on 'till he suc- ceeds. 6. No, if his surroundings are con- genial and the outlook fairly good. A happy home and true friends are a far greater factor to a happy life than money-getting in a great city. 7. No. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. 10. Yes. 11. This is a hard question to answer categorically. Experience creates knowledge, hence also ability of a certain degree. Unusual ability will show results promptly and give a shorter probation period while acquir- ing experience. In the start the man with experience and little ability will show up best. In the end the man with ability will forge ahead as he gains experience. 12. No. 13. A business college, yes. A reg- ular college course to be followed by a business course of a high grade at some university, provided his parents can give him this class of education. 14. For a mechanical trade, no. For a mechanical profession, yes, and to be followed by a post-graduate tech- nical training. 15. For a mechanical trade, go to a mechanical trade school. For a me- chanical profession, go to a technical college. 16. Yes. 17. Yes and no; according to the sphere in life he properly belongs to. 18. This depends largely on the sphere in life he belongs to and whether his parents can give him the necessary education. Questions 13 to 18 depend in each case largely on the personal element, the sphere of life, the environment, and the ability of parents to give the necessary education. 19. Yes, after mature deliberation and weighing all points well. 20. No. 21. Lack of sticking qualities and determination to do all work, what- ever it may be, in the very best manner. 23. Yes, provided not sensational. 24. Never at first. Learn what strangers demand first and then he will appreciate the advantages of en- tering his father's business later. Go into a similar line of business with others first. 25. When starting in any career, or business, in an humble capacity, do the best you can, never mind how small or insignificant your work may seem. Thereby you will show your employer your merit, and when an opportunity occurs, you will be ad- vanced. Further, do not watch the clock, but give your time unhesitat- ingly to your work, and do not be- grudge your employer some over-time if you can thereby clean up your day's work. 296 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed Hon. Charles B. Parwell Chicago, 111. President, The John V. Farwell Co., wholesale dry goods. Ex-United States Senator. 2. Yes. 3. No. 4. No. 7. No. 8. Yes, and if a boy has it not, let him adopt it as a policy. 9. Yes. 10. No. IX. Ability. 12. Yes, because he will get experi- ence as he grows older. 13. Yes. 14. Yes. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 19. Yes. 20. Yes. 21. Want of judgment. 23. Yes. 24. Yes. 14. No. 15. Yes. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. Trade or business, not profes- sion. 19. Yes. 20. Yes. 21. Want of steady application. 22. Robinson Crusoe; Robin Hood (Ryle); Ivanhoe; Masterman Ready; John Halifax, Gentleman; Wonder Book (Hawthorne). 23. I do not know of such a thing as a good daily paper. 25. Make it a point every day to talk to some one who knows more than you do. W. E. Baker New York City. General Superin- tendent, Manhattan R.R. 1. Good health, good training, hard work. 2. Yes, if old enough to be sure of his preference and acquainted with several different trades or professions. 3- No. 4. By no means by force. If in the parent's judgment the boy is well adapted for a special calling, he should endeavor to persuade. Never wise to force. 5. Not unless he has a special reason or pronounced adaptability. 6. He will probably do as well to stay where he is unless there occurs some special opening. 7. No. He probably cannot be kept on farm if he is the kind that should leave. 8. Yes, but it must be accompanied by tact. 9. Absolutely. 10. No. 11. Experience without ability is not of itself always of much use. 12. Yes. 13. No. Daniel Pratt Baldwin, LL.D. Logansport, Ind. Lawyer. Capi- talist. Author. 1. Dogged persistence. I am nat- urally a very dull man, but never give up when I undertake a thing. 2. By all means. 3. No. 4. No. 5. Yes and no; depends on the boy, 6. No. 8. Undoubtedly " strict integrity" is necessary for success in life. But this word " strict " gives a good deal of trouble, for we are constantly deal- ing with the dishonest and the tricky, and we are not compelled to cast pearls before swine, lest they turn and rend us, which they are sure to do. On the other hand, in dealing with rogues, we must avoid rogues' methods, and yet not let them take advantage of our honesty. And in a community where the standard of morals is low, it will not do to "wear your heart upon your sleeve." Per- haps a sufficient answer to this would be: "Be honest all the time, but be on your guard with the dishonest and never allow them to further their iniquity by your integrity." 9. IJndoubtedly. 10. No. 11. About evenly divided, as ability will bring experience, but not of necessity will experience bring ability. I answer, ability. 12. Yes. 13. No. 14. No. The Voice of Distinguished Experience 297 15. Yes, if he can without too great sacrifice. 16. No; let him graduate from the High School of his town or city, and (then go into a doctor's or lawyer's shop at 18 years of age. 17. No. 18. Either a trade or a business, but not a profession. 19. Yes. 21. Too many irons in the fire. Eter- nal vigilance in one pursuit is the price of success. 22. The New Testament, Shake- speare, Emerson's Essays, Franklin's Poor Richard's Maxims, J. R. Greene's Short History of the English People, Bryce's American Commonwealth. 24. That depends on what his father's business is. 25. Courage, courtesy, contentment. Rev. James L. Barton, D.D. Boston, Mass. Foreign Secretary, American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Formerly Presi- dent, Euphrates College, Harpoot, Turkey. 1. To a determination not to under- take anything that was not worth finishing; and then, not to abandon anything once begun until it was com- pleted. 2. Certainly, if he is sure his pref- erences have good ground for their existence. 3. Not necessary, but desirable, otherwise life becomes a grind. 4. No. 7. No. 8. Absolutely, for genuine success. 9. Yes. 10. Not necessarily. 11. Ability, for it will command ex- perience. 12. Yes, for inexperienced ability soon becomes experienced, even with small opportunity. 13. Yes. 14. Not ordinarily. 15. Yes. 16. I would. 17. No. 18. Trade. 19. Possibly, yes, dependent upon conditions not named. 20. Not unless it were a rare oppor- tunity. 21. Lack of attention to business. 22. The Bible, Pilgrim's Progress, Robinson Crusoe, Life of Abraham Lincoln, History of the United States, a good book of foreign travel. 23. Yes. 24. Yes. 25. Never attempt to deceive any- body, much less yourselves. Always do your best and keep at it. Guard your character as you guard your life. Oliver W. Barnes New York City. Civil Engineer. Chief Engineer and President, New York Connecting R.R. 1. First, ambition to rise as high as possible in whatever business I might undertake. Second, the early choice of my profession after I had an insight into elementary mathematics, and realized that the business of a civil engineer was founded upon mathe- matical science. This seemed to me to be the highest kind of mental and physical labor. I therefore chose it. 2. Yes. 3. Yes. 4. I think it very unwise to force a boy into a business as a life-time em- ployment unless he has a preference for it. 5. Not unless he has some qualifica- tions for business. 6. No, it is always better for a man to achieve success in his native town. 7. No. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. 10. Yes. 11. Ability. 12. Yes. 13. No. 14. No. 15. Yes; some of our most success- ful mechanics owe their success to a few months, or years, in a technical school. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. Yes; a trade or a commercial business, because the ambition to suc- ceed or make money will probably come afterwards, but not a profession. 19. Yes. 20. No, because he can generally make himself so valuable to his em- 298 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed ployer that he will be taken into partnership without capital. 21. Want of business ability. 22. Life of Benjamin Franklin, Life of George Washington, History of England, History of America and United States, any good farmer's book or work on agriculture, Life of George Stevenson. 23. Yes. 24. Yes. 25. Look around you, and see what is going on. If you see anything you think you could do better than any- thing else, take hold and do it. Don't refuse the work because it is not at first as well paid for as you would like, but get a foothold, and compen- sation will soon come. Frederick Booth -Tucker New York City. Commander, Sal- vation Army in the United States. Author. 1. Seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Endeavor- ing to obey God the first time He tells me to do anything. Acting on principle, independently of feelings. Making it a life motto that " The joy of joys is the joy that joys in the joy of others." Praying with my watch, pen, and notebook; my watch to see that I give God sufficient time; my pen and notebook to stimulate my faith, expect an answer, and make a note of any instructions God might desire to give me. 2. No; let the boy have the guid- ance of the experience, wisdom, and consecration of the most ripened judg- ment available. 3. Preference may be based on mere fancy. Then it would be danger- ous to follow. Preference based on conscientious conviction and guided by deliberate consecration to the ser- vice of God and humanity is very desirable. 4. As a rule, the boy will lack the experience and judgment necessary for making a suitable choice. Very often even the best of parents them- selves lack the necessary information, and need to avail themselves of the ripened experience of some abler mind. 5. This depends (a) on the character and gifts of the boy, (3) on the nature of the soil; in four cases out of five I should advise his staying, but possi- bly finding a better location. In case of going to the city it should always be under suitable protection from vicious influences. 6. In my opinion every boy should sufficiently familiarize himself with farming to be able to dig a living for himself and family in nature's way, if other plans should fail. Every city boy should learn the rudiments of farming. ■7. Every effort should be made to keep him on the laud by making the life more attractive and showing him how he can get a better living from it. 8. Absolutely. Dishonesty is like a boomerang. It reacts upon a man's own character and destroys his self- respect. He despises himself, and when others find him out, they despise him, too. It undermines his credit and ruins his soul. 9. Most decidedly. The definition of genius as a capacity for hard work is not far wide of the mark. The difference between success and failure often depends on a man's use of his spare time. 10. Love the object, not necessarily the means of attaining it. A man who loves God and souls will often force himself to the most disagreeable tasks in prosecution of his object. 11. Success is a relative term. Cer- tain kinds and degrees of it can only be achieved by means of both ability and experience. Ability lends wings; experience supplies feet. No amount of experience will make up for lack of ability on some lines. 12. Very frequently. The tendency of experience in some cases is to over- caution. Again, in treading new paths past experience has often nothing to say. 13. There are colleges and colleges. The more knowledge he can get the better, provided, (a) that his spiritual and moral interests are safeguarded; (6) that he is trained to the service of God and humanity; and {c) that he learns the science of "bread and but- ter-ology." 14. The particular trade he may be learning may undergo such revolu- tions that it is always well for him to have an extra string or two to his bow. 15. Under suitable protection from evil influences; The Voice of Distinguished Experience 299 16. With previous qualifications. 17. Not as a rule, if his home is what it should be. 18. Teach him to get a living for himself and family out of the land. Make him realize that it is no sin to be stupid, or to be only "ordinary." All cannot be clever, but all may be good. 19. In farming, yes ; he can at least get a comfortable living. In business, no; keen competition and great aggre- gations of capital will make it difficult to succeed. 20. Not unless his ability is much above the average, or the circum- stances are specially favorable, as when the capital belongs to some large and friendly concern which will stand by him. 21. Selfishness, the worship of self in one form or another rather than the worship of God and service of humanity. 22. The Bible, General Booth's Dark- est England, the Life of Charles G. Finney, the Life of John Wesley, Every Day Religion of General Booth, Revival Lectures of Finney. 23. Not more than one, and that not habitually. As a rule some good weekly religious paper, like the Chris- tian Herald or Independent^ will suffi- ciently supply him with the world's news. 24. An excellent plan in many, if not most, businesses, as it enables the boy to become an expert. Amongst the Hindoos every boy belongs to the '♦ caste " or trade of his father, and is compelled to learn his business. 25. Boys: Don't go through life without a purpose. Let God's pur- pose for you be your own purpose for yourself. Don't neglect your soul. Save it. Then save as many others as you can. Don't make man your model, self your goal. Make Christ your model, God your goal. Go win each day some wayward soul. Remarks. Review life from the standpoint of your deathbed. Live so that you may die, regretted, but without regrets. With a view to this you will find, I believe, the following simple rules helpful : (a) Live each year as though it were going to be your last on earth. Let it be your best. Crowd into it all the good you can. {b) You are made up of three parts: soul, mind, body. The soul is the master, the mind the servant, the body the house in which they live. You cannot neglect one without in- juring the other, {c) The food of the soul is God, prayer is its meal-time, the Bible its medicine chest, {d) Knowledge is the food of the mind. Acquire all the useful information you can, that is, whatever will help you in the service of God and human- ity. But beware of poisoning your mind with the foolish and unpractical notions contained in fiction. Don't try and be the ditto of somebody else, dead or living. Be Yourself. {e) Learn the science of bread and butter- ology; how to get a modest compe- tence for yourself and family. Famil- iarize yourself with God's plan for man — the land — so that if all else fails you can fall back upon it. (/) Don't aim at being a millionaire. An old writer says, *' Riches are either wrongly gotten, wrongly kept, or wrongly spent." St. Bernard says, " Why aim at riches, when it would be your duty, as you valued your soul, to distribute every cent for the good of others which you did not require for your absolute needs." {g) Make up your mind that you cannot really succeed without God. Take your re- ligion into your business, your home, your library, your correspondence, your conversation. Be a man of God. Wm. DeWitt Hyde, D.D., LL.D. Brunswick, Maine. President, Bow- doin College. 2. Yes. 3. Yes. 4. No. 5. Yes, if he feels discontented. 7. No. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. 10. Yes. 11. Experience. 12. No. 13. Yes. 14. Not every boy. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. Trade. 19. Yes. 20. No. 23. Yes. 24. If the father respects the boy's individuality, yes; if not, no. 300 The Boy — How to Help Him Succeed Charles R. Dudley Denver, Colo. Librarian, Denver Public Library. Regent, Colorado State University. Secretary, State Historical Society. 1. Continuity of purpose. 2. Not always. His view may change. 3- No. 4. It depends largely on the par- ents' insight into the boy's character. 5. Why not try a small city or a big town? 6. No. 7. Yes ; until something better turns up. 8. No ; this is merely from observa- tion, of course. 9. In most cases. There are gen- iuses who simply plan for others. Then again there is luck. 10. No. 11. Ability. 12. Yes, if ability is great. 13. Yes, if he can afford the expense. 14. Not in the classical department. 15. If he can afford the expense. 16. Yes. 17. In many cases. 18. A trade. 19. Yes. 20. No. 21. Ignorance of the relations that should exist between income and outgo. 23. Yes, and also, a weekly. 24. Yes. Hon. Theodore Brantly Helena, Montana. Chief Justice, Supreme Court of the State of Mon- tana. 1. Hard work. 2. Yes. 3. Not necessarily so. 4. No. 5. No. I would advise him to stay in the country. 6. No. 7. If he can be persuaded to remain. 8. Yes. 9. Yes. 10. Not necessarily so. I have never loved any kind of work. 11. There must be some ability. Then experience is the great teacher. 12. One having ability can acquire experience and hence success. 13. Yes. 14. Yes. 15. Yes, after he has acquired a good academic education. 16. Yes. 17. No. 18. I think such a boy should serve under a master. 20. Depends upon circumstances; in many cases, yes. 21. Dishonesty and inattention to business. 23. Yes. 24. Depends upon circumstances. Boy should generally follow his bent. 25. Be honest and industrious in business. Be clean in private life. Observe the Golden Rule. Henry M. Utley, A. M. Detroit, Mich. Librarian, Detroit Public Library. Formerly president, American Library Association. 1. Earnest attention to the busi- ness in hand, and thoroughness in every detail. 2. Yes. 3. No. 4. No. 5. Yes, if he has in him the making of a man. 6. Probably not. 7. Depends upon what kind of a boy he is. If cut out for a farmer, let him stay on the farm ; otherwise not. 8. Not for temporary success, but it certainly pays in the long run. 9. Yes, to the highest success. 10. Yes, for the highest success. 11. Ability. 12. It is inconceivable that success can be achieved without experience. Ability is the main thing. 13. If he has the means and disposi- tion a little college training will be very useful. 14. Same answer as to No. 13. 15. Surely, if he can do so. 16. By all means. 17. No. 18. Depends on the boy. If he is very ordinary, the lowest grade of occupation would seem naturally best suited to him. 19. This question is intensely com- The Voice of Distinguished Experience 301 plicated, nowadays, by the strong tendency to combinations in nearly all lines of business. 20. Very doubtful. 21. Lack of ability. 23. Yes. 24. Yes, if he has taste and aptitude for it. 25. Choose your work prayerfully, if you are able to control circum- stances, and then give to it the best there is in you. 20. He might succeed one time in a thousand and break down physically. 21. Lack of experience. We shall all do better, or the most of us, if they will give us another 70 years. 23. Yes, if there is one. 24. Let father and son arrange that. 25. Be good and do good. " Whate'er that man was sot to do, he done his level best." E. S. Willcox Peoria, 111. Librarian, Peoria Public Library. 1. (a) To an honest, industrious, in- telligent ancestry on both sides, {b) To my early life as a farmer's son. {c) To an ambition to enter a wider field of activity, {d) To a good college edu- cation. (i-7,'38 ^e 22547 304016 !• I-.- UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY lOB