Work and Win

Work and Win By Dr. Richard R. Lyman, of the Council of the Twelve and Assistant General Superintendent Y. M. M. I. A. RALPH PARLETTE tells of a girl from the country who was employed in a business office in a great city. She had learned to work. At evening, when the time came to quit, she went on working. They had to stop her. She was the only girl they ever had to stop; the rest of them were self-stoppers. This girl from the country, Parlette says, was so green that she was the office joke. She believed everything they told her, and it is said they told her plenty. She made many errors, but never made the same error twice. At every bump she learned something; and she learned so rapidly that soon the other girls in the office began to ask her questions. The manager himself began asking her ques- tions, and in a short time she was attending to practically all of his correspondence. It is said, too, that those who had to do with his correspondence had noticed a marked improvement in it. It was not long till this country girl who knew how to work was placed in charge of the office. She was made superintendent. That is, she had made herself superintendent. Some of the girls complained, asking why Jennie, or some other girl who had been in the office so much longer, had not been made superintendent. The answer of the manager was: "We didn't make her superintendent; she made herself superintendent; all that we have done is to put a label on her in order to comply with the provisions of the pure-food law. We are not conducting an en- durance test here. Advancement is a matter of work and growth." Recently I observed two young men working side by side. One is a widow's son. To retain his position, he has to struggle, for he must give satisfaction. The other is a rich man's son. If his employers are not satisfied with him, all he will do is quit. Con- ditions do not compel him to give satisfaction. He may retain his position, but he does not do his best. In the long run, he will not win. "Pity the rich young man." Upon this text a leading lawyer based his remarks at a chapel service for college students. He drew a parallel between the life of the rich man's son at college and the life of the young man in comparative poverty. One is compelled to work, the other has an easy time. The one grows strong, gets development; the other comes up a hothouse plant. The one de- velops into the mighty oak; the other, into the frail flower.

372 IMPROVEMENT ERA Roger W. Babson made a careful study of the lives of captains of industry of the United States. He found that most of these are the sons of farmers, and of preachers who have had to struggle in poverty. The record discloses that it is effort, it is struggle, it is work that wins. Will it be an exaggeration if I say, "Fortunate the boy who is born in poverty?" For nature will compel him to get the development that will qualify him to be a power among men, a leader, perhaps, among captains of industry. The young man must, of course, have something besides poverty. He must have intellect, real mental power, and ambition. With these, his struggle for daily bread, for clothing, for educa- tion, will make him valuable and genuine. Boys without mentality and ambition seem to find a sort of satisfaction in standing about street corners or sitting on the banks of ditches, rehashing unclean stories. Boys who lead these lives cannot hope to succeed. Success, especially great success, comes only to those who have clear vision, who look into the future, who dream great dreams, have great imaginations, and see ahead for themselves. "The way to give a child a fair chance in life is not to bring it up in luxury, but to see that it has the kind of training that will give it strength of character. * * * It is a selfish and sordid theory that the whole end of life is to 'taste a few of the good things.' * * * The life worth living must be a life of work for a worthy end, and ordinarily of work more for others than for one's self." — Theodore Roosevelt. The rich man's son thinks of his fine clothes, is interested in styles and fashions, spends much of his time in attending social functions. The boy without money is not invited into society. Perhaps he could hardly provide himself with the clothing required by modern social life. He therefore devotes himself to his books and his work. In great haste, at the last moment, the rich man's son comes to the son of the widow to see how to solve the examination prob- lems. The widow's son shows him how to do the work, and the latter, as an expression of appreciation, perhaps hands the young man a greatly needed two dollars. Extreme poverty is a disadvantage. It is only comparative poverty that compels the boy to put forth the effort that makes him a king among men, just as the oak is king among forest trees. Who are the men that are finding solutions to the problems of our cities, our counties, our states, our nation, and even of the coun- tries of the world? Not those who have been brought up in luxury. They lack the power of concentration, the insight, the strength of

WORK AND WIN 373 mind, the training, that enables men to bring a strong mental effort to their problems. It is usually the poor man's son, the widow's boy, that has this strength. He has been compelled to get it by the conditions surrounding him. His struggles have made him strong; they have prepared him to solve difficulties as they arise. Most of the boys who loaf are those who have been blessed with but one talent. Having but one, they have buried it in the ground. When the Master comes, they will say to him: "I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou has not strawed: "And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth; lo, there thou hast that is thine." The slothful servant offers back to his Master the talent which he had received. It is to him that the Master will say: "Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed; "Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the ex- changers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. "Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. "For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. "And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matt. 25 :24-30 ) . Every child should be taught to help himself. Every child should be taught to work. Every child should have his hands and fingers trained to do things. Open your own eyes, look over the whole world, and see if those who succeed are not those who have been trained. Has Providence so designed the world and the members of the human family that the only thing in life worth while, the only thing that wins, is work? It is certain that a life of ease never pro- duces strength. To produce the deep-rooted oak takes adverse winds, stormy weather, tornado and lightning. Said a student to the old professor in the Engineering School, "I am not interested in mathematics or English; I want to learn only the practical things — to build and operate streetcars and to understand electricity." In other words, the student was seeking an easy road to knowledge. The professor replied, "Nature can make a cabbage head in a year, but only in centuries can she make an oak." Struggle, effort, battle with conditions, — these are what make men. It is the toiler, the man who puts forth his best effort, that

374 IMPROVEMENT ERA develops the muscle. It is the one who struggles that acquires mental power. There is no easy road either to greatness or to unusual success. The most brilliant have reached their stations by tre- mendous struggle. Before an assemblage of mothers at Washington in 1905, Theodore Roosevelt made these significant remarks: "Inasmuch as I am speaking to an assemblage of mothers, I shall have nothing whatever to say in praise of an easy life. Yours is the work which is never ended. No mother has an easy time, most mothers have very hard times; and yet what true mother would barter her experience of joy and sorrow in exchange for a life of cold selfishness? * * * "In bringing up your children, you mothers must remember that, while it is essential to be loving and tender, it is no less essential to be wise and firm. Foolishness and affection must not be treated as interchangeable terms; and besides training your sons and daugh- ters in the softer and milder virtues, you must seek to give them those stern and hardy qualities which in afterlife they will surely need. * * * "If you mothers, through weakness, bring up your sons to be selfish and to think only of themselves, you will be responsible for much sadness among the women who are to be their wives in the future. * * * Teach boys and girls alike that they are not to look forward to lives spent in avoiding difficulties, but to lives spent in overcoming difficulties. Teach them that work, for them- selves and also for others, is not a curse but a blessing; seek to make' them happy, to make them enjoy life; but seek also to make them face life with the steadfast resolution to wrest success from labor and adversity. * * * She who can thus train her sons and her daughters is thrice fortunate among women. **.' When their children are looking for employment and the ques- tion is asked, "What are you trained to do?" and the answer is, "Nothing," is this not a reflection upon parents? In these days only trained hands, trained minds, trained workers are succeeding. I recommend that parents ask their children frequently: "In how many ways are you trained to make a living?" Parents who bring up their children without training are making a serious error. The American standard is either a high-school education or its ?quivalent in industrial training. Parents who bring up their chil- dren without giving them this much are unfair to them. No young man should be permitted to expend on his own living more than he is able to earn. Neither should any young woman. Perhaps I ought to say that they should not be permitted to expend more than two-thirds of what they actually earn; the other one-third should be saved and invested. Unfortunate the

WORK AND WIN 375 young man who spends all or more than he earns. I am speaking now of the time in his life when he has his greatest earning power. During their school days, for example, boys are not earning money and therefore they must have somebody pay their expenses. But it has been well said that there should be two periods in the life- time of every human being when he will be free from the necessity of earning a living — one in childhood and the other in old age. During his earning period he ought not to be permitted to spend all he makes. And no individual ought, during his lifetime, to lay out for his living more than was produced by his earning power when he was in the strength of his physical manhood. Let it be the ambition of every boy and girl to have two. three, or four ways in which they are able to earn their bread. Always there appear to be places for those who are broadly trained. At a recent meeting held to consider the construction of a high-school building, a farmer arose and said: "I am not in favor of making it too easy for young people to go to school. Years ago I had a classmate who walked from Bountiful to the University of Utah. I don't know whether this man has a son or not; but if he has, I'll guess that the son, who is probably getting his educa- tion in an easy way, is not the equal of his father." The thing worth while in life is work. A boy can find nothing more valuable than work. Shall I be making it too strong if I say, Blessed is poverty, and fortunate is the boy who is brought up in it? For few of us will work if we are not compelled to do so. In fact, a wise man has said that fifteen per cent of the human family is made up of individuals who will work whether they are watched or not. Thirty-five per cent is made up of those who will work if they are well watched. Fifty per cent of the human family is made up of individuals who will not work whether they are watched or not. Let us ask ourselves whether we belong to the fifteen per cent, the thirty-five per cent, or the fifty per cent. He who will work whether he is watched or not will get the development which work brings, and, having this de- velopment, he will win. Steady Thou My Hands They say God holds the hands of those who grieve. And binds the hearts of those who are bereft — I wonder, nay I reason, and believe He fills my hands with work when I am left, And stirs my heart to fling its windows wide. , Where bitterness and desolation lurk. Loss and defeat, whatever shall betide, God steady thou my hands to find their work! Mesa. Arizona. BERTHA A. KLEINMAN