Conservative.
pend more upon chance than upon op
portunity.
But a word of warning is necessary to
the young lawyer who , allured by the
promise of pecuniary profits , may be
come insensible to their cost. He must
pursue his ambition in one of our lar
gest cities , and he must ally himself
with a class. Let him weigh whether
the prize is worth the sacrifices required.
The social and business requirements of
city life attack the seat of all. happiness
good health while association with a
limited portion only of any community
narrows the man. It is not only be
cause the wealthy lawyer is rich that
his fellow-men seldom thrust public
honors upon him , but because in the
pursuit of money , he generally becomes
the exponent of the wealthy members
of the community only , and as a result ,
too often loses all sympathy with those
who oppose his contentions. The man
who distrusts a jury or fears the
people , is out of touch with
our institutions. The man whose
daily duty it is to defend a cor
poration finds it difficult to look upon
the jury system as the palladium of our
liberties , and to believe the public sin
cere in its declarations for equal rights.
But this is because he is ever guarding
a single interest. If the city lawyer
represented now , as formerly he did , the
poor man today and the rich man tomorrow
*
morrow , if he as often sought to up
hold the will of the people , as to attack
it on constitutional grounds ; if his tal
ents were at the command of oppressed
poverty as often as they are to protect
property from the unjust attacks of
demagogues , he would view our insti
tutions differently , and the public would
take a kindlier view of him. But our
nature is so weak that I fear the
temptation to make money will con
tinue to allure lawyers from the nobler
walks of the profession to those that
are more in harmony with the desires of
the age. Yet as such walks will be
closed to some , let the others console
themselves with these truths : The
lawyer who remains in the country will
live longer , his life will be broader , and
his opportunities are the best for obtain
ing the greatest success that is within
the ambition of any man.
Chicago , 111. , July 15 , 1901.
M. E. INGALLS.
P.esident , Cleveland , Cincinnati , Chicago
& St. Louis Railway Company.
Answering your inquiry of June 20 , as
to "What are the Young Man's
Chances , " I should say that there was
not very much difference now in the
opportunities for advancement from
what they have been for the last century
or more. As Daniel Webster once said ,
"There is always plenty of room at the
top , " and there always will be.
If it is the ambition of a young man
to become enormously rich , the chances
are probably bettor today than ever , be
cause with the increase of wealth and
facilities of transportation and commun
ication there are more speculative con
ditions where success and good fortune
may lead to wealth , although very few
get the right path in this direction.
If a young man desires to succeed po
litically , there never was , in my judg
ment , in the history of the Republic a
better time than today. The great mass
of the people are too busy with their
own affairs to devote even the attention
they ought to give to political conditions ,
and therefore a young man who will de
vote himself to the study of political
economy , and give his time to it , has a
very good chance to succeed.
I should think that the proper ambi
tion for a young man would be to sue-
M. E. INGALLS.
ceed in securing a fair competence for
his support , obtaining the respect of his
fellowmen and performing his duties as
a citizen of one of the greatest and best
governments on earth , properly and
well. In that line , certainly .he has his
fair chance. There is a very great de
mand for workers in all grades and all
classes. Attention and diligence and in
tegrity are the requisites for success.
Every young man should make up
his mind , first , what line of business he
wants to follow ; then.he should endeav
or to secure employment in that line ,
whether at the bottom or half-way up ,
the best he can. Then he should learn
everything about the business and make
himself so useful to his employer that
he cannot dispense with his services. A ,
young man who does this hn.8. made his
fortune and attained what ought to be
considered a success ; not meteoric , but
steady , comfortable success , which
brings happiness and health and con
tentment.
Cincinnati , June 25 , 1001.
ROBERT C. CLOWRY :
Vice-President of the Western Union Tele
graph Company.
I have received your letter asking for
my views in reference to the young
man's chances of success in commercial
life and do not hesitate to say , that , in
my opinion , the chances of success in
commercial business , for the right sort
of young men , have never been so good
as at the present time ; provided that
the young men are well educated , hon
est , industrious and faithful , and not
handicapped by mental or physical defects -
fects , or by * a full university course of
education , and enter business early in
life so that they may be molded to their
work , and in line for promotion when
opportunities present themselves.
To be successful , the young man
should be not only industrious and
faithful but always willing and anxious
to perform more service than is allotted
to him ; to guard and watch his em
ployer's interests at all times , regard
less of stipulated hours whether the
employer is the United States Govern
ment , a large corporation , a firm , or an
individual , and the service should be
performed not only intelligently , but
modestly and unostentatiously , so 'as
not to excite the ill-will of other em
ployees. He should , if possible , acquire
the habit of performing extra work for
his employer , visiting his place of occu
pation at night or on Sunday if con
sistent with his religious convictions.
He should take a large view of the
whole business of his employer , and be
come familiar with the details of the
different departments. He should be
a constant student and reader , when
not at work , giving special attention to
biography , travels , history and geog
raphy. He should know what great
and successful men have already accom
plished , rather than what some imagin
ative novelist would have them do. He
should read such works as the journals
of Lewis and Clark on their expedition
across the continent to the Pacific coast
of the United States , in 1808 , and when
discouraged or disheartened , remember
the sufferings and vicissitudes encoun
tered by them. He should read "John
Halifax , Gentleman , " and not only
never forget to be a gentleman , without
being prudish , but endeavor to asso
ciate with gentlemen and ladies in so
cial life , and cultivate the acquaintance
of persons of more experience and cul
ture than himself.
It is a great mistake for a young man
to think that his efforts to be efficient
and to nerform more work than is set
tapartffor him will not be noticed by his
'employers or superior officers. The ap
preciation of , such service may seem
* I think that a full university course has A
tendency to unfit young men for the rough
struggles , incident to the small beginnings of
a commercial business career.