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HAS THE SOY Ol' TODAY H GOOD CHANCE?
WO apparently disgruntled young men
whose conversation denoted socialistic
inclinations were talking on the street
corner yesterday about the chances of a
young man in this day and time to
reach commanding positions in the
world like those occupied by some of
the leaders of industrial progress and
railway extension. The young men
T
argued that those who. have gained eminent posi
tions in the world were able to do so by exerting a
“pull” or they possessed money. One of them said it
was impossible for a young man nowadays to strug
gle upward until power was secured through sheer
force of character and a capacity for doing things.
The two argued that a college education was abso
lutely essential for proper work in the world from
this time on, and that unless a man was a specialist
in a certain line of work little coulfi be accomplished.
As a rule tnis opinion is general among young men
and quite a few older ones. Such thoughts unques
tionably lead to socialism, and not long thereafter to
waving of the red flag or
In all the railway and industrial world it is doubt
ful whether one can find the head of any great com
pany that started out with pull or money. As a
rule they have plugged along, equipped themselves
for the future and when the proper moment arrived
were ready to seize and improve upon it.
The late Edward Henry Harriman, who dominated
the most extensive empire of railway lines the world
has ever seen, was the son of a Presbyterian clergy
man, who went to work in a broker’s office at $lO
per week. He died one of the richest men in
America and the most feared Wall street operator.
He had no pull or money at the start.
Sir Thomas Shaughnessy, who heads the Canadian
Pacific railway, was a clerk in St. Paul when he was
picked out to be with the purchasing office of the
Canadian Pacific railway. His father was a police
man, of St. Paul. Sir Thomas employs more men on
his railway and steamship lines than live in the
entire city of- Birmingham. His dominating force
of character is nerve and a tenacity for holding on
until results are obtained.
Sunday School Rally at Wesley
Memorial.
The Atlanta Sunday School Ra’ly held last week
at Wesley Memorial Church, proved to be one of the
best attended and most enthusiastic occasions of the
sort ever held in Atlanta.
Friday’s session was full of interesting features,
among them Dr. Hamill’s address on “The Big Boy
and His Sister—How to Bring Them Into Sunday
School and Keep Them.”
The Tissot pictures were shown at the beginning
of the evening session.
Dr. Hamill spoke again at 8 o’clock on the sub
ject: “One to Twenty-One.” He was followed by
Rev. S. R. Belk and Major Robert J-. Guinn made a
short talk.
Saturday’s sessions were of wide interest. The
afternoon’s program included the institute leaders,
Dr. and Mrs. Hamill and Mr. E. E. French. In the
evening at 8 o’clock, Mrs. Hamill spoke on “Thy
self,” and Dr. Hamill on “The Trained Teacher.”
Mr. J. K. Orr’s subject was “Atlanta’s Business
Young Men and Women.” “The Sunday School
and the Dinner Pail,” was discussed by George W.
Andrews.
Sunday was adult class day. In the afternoon at
3:30, there was a mass meeting, at which the fol
lowing program was carried out:
“The A. B. C. Movement” —Superintendent E. E.
French (20 minutes).
Roll call of Atlanta Adult Classes with responses and
presentation of banner to class having largest morn
ing attendance in proportion to enrollment.
“My Honorable Father” —By Dr. Hamill (40 min
utes).
Report on plans for Rally Day, followed by three
minute inspirational talks.
Dr. Hamill’s address on “My Honorable Father,”
The Golden Age for September 22, 1910.
The writer of this is personally acquainted with a
great majority of the following men, whose success
is undisputed, and never a one of them was given
any promotion without first “delivering the goods.”
As a rule, they lived a simple life, put away a few
dollars, and when the moment arrived, went in, to
win.
Janies J. Hill, whose Western lines created.homes
for over 1,000,000 persons since he started on his
empire of tracks, began life as a clerk at $9 per
week. He now spends quite a little time attending
exercises where monuments are unveiled in his
honor.
Harry M. Atkinson, who with sheer force of char
acter and a steady nerve, built the Atlanta, Birm
ingham and Atlantic to Birmingham, started as a
solicitor for an insurance company. Later he grasped
the opportunity. His general manager, A’ex Bonny
man, was an engineer at Rome, Ga., about 10 years
ago.
J. T. Harahan, president of the Illinois Central,
was a section hand at Pulaski, Tenn., on the Louis
ville and Nashville.
He rose to be general manager of that line when
Stuyvesant Fish met him and made him vice-presi
dent of the Illinois Central. Later he was elected
president.
Edward Hawley, who is the present shining star
in the railway firmament, started life selling eggs
through a small town. He then learned the railroad
business from the bottom. He now controls a vast
line of railroads.
Judge Lovett, upon whose shoulders the mantle
of the late E. H. Harriman fell, was a farmer boy
in Texas. He carried water to the section hands
and later split ties himself for the line. Today he
is held to be the most suave and silent ra ; lroad czar
in the world.
L. G. Larre, president of the Delaware and Hudson,
is another Harriman man. He started as an
engineer on the Pennsylvania railroad. A boss
could not ho'.d the men. Larre was placed in a tight
place, commanded the expedition and stopped a seri
ous flood in a small city. He was made general
superintendent after this.
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■was something that no Sunday school worker should
ever miss.
The report on Rally Day plans was important to
all workers.
A children’s hour was planned for 5:30, at which
there was shown the Tissot pictures, the slides spe
cially selected for the little folks.
In the evening at 7:30 “Christ’s Last Days,” a
beautiful series of the Tissot pictures, was shown,
followed by an address to the general public by Dr.
Hamill, whose subject was “Old-Time Religion.”
A FAMOUS PRESCRIPTION.
Some years ago, a lady, who tells the story herself,
went to consult a famous New York physician about
her health. She was a woman of nervous tempera
ment, whose troubles—and she had had many had
worried and excited her to such a pitch that the
strain threatened her physical strength, and even
her reason. She gave the doctor a list of her symp
toms, and answered his questions only to be aston
ished at his brief prescription at the end: “Madam,
what you need is to read your Bible more!”
“But, doctor,” began the bewildered patient.
“Go home, and read your Bible an hour a day,' the
great man reiterated, with kindly authority, “then
come back to me in a month from today,”
And he bowed her out without a possibility of fur
ther protest.
At first his patient was inclined to be angry. Then
she reflected at least the prescription was not an ex
pensive one. Besides it certainly had been a long
time since she had read the Bible regularly—she re
flected with a pang of conscience. Worldly cares had
crowded out prayers and Bible study for years, and,
though she would have resented being called an irre
ligious woman, she had become a most careless
Christian. She went home, and set herself conscien
tiously to try the physician’s remedy.
William C. Brown is president of the New York
Central lines. He calls himself an employee. That
is the most dignified title to his mind within the
company. His start was working on the section.
A strike occurred one day when he was superin
tendent. Brown was sitting in his office and a report
was made that the entire line was blocked with train
after train load of thirsty, hungry sheep and cattle
enroute to Chicago. He went out into the yards.
Having been a farmer’s boy, he was touched by- the
bleating of the starving sheep and the moaning of
the cattle. He went to the men and asked them
to stop the strike a few hours and get the cattle to
a place where they could be watered and fed. The
strikers were touched. In a few hours the stock was
in Chicago. Brown went to headquarters, told what
had occurred, secured a raise for the men and him
self was made general manager.
Fred Underwood, president of the Erie railroad, is
called the optimist of all the railroad world. He
never forgets to laugh, and when in Birmingham a
few years ago he dined with an old brakeman he
knew out West. He started as a flagman. He rose
through every rank until he heads the Erie railroad.
He built the greatest tunnel ever constructed in
the world and is said to be one of the most capable
engineers the world has ever seen.
Carl Gray, senior vice-president of the Frisco
lines, was a station sweeper along about 20 years
ago.
One day the station master fired him for being
worthless. Today he is held to be one of the most
notable operating men in the country. He frequent
ly visits the small station in Missouri where he was
fired. The old station master lives there now and
is still agent. The worthless boy proved to be a
surprise.
George Gordon Crawford, president of the Ten
nessee Coal, Iron and Railroad company, who will
be president of the steel corporation in time, was
a chemist at the Sloss City furnace in Birmingham
not so very long ago. He went to Pittsburg for a
wider field without friends. Birmingham Age
Herald.
In one month she went back to his office. “Well,”
he said, smiling, as he looked at her face, “I see you
are an obedient patient and have taken my prescrip
tion faithfully. Do you feel as if you needed any
other medicine now'?”
“No, doctor, I don’t,” she said honestly, “I feel like
another person. I hope lam a different person. But
how did you know that was just what I needed?”
For answer the famous physician turned to his
desk. There, worn and marked, lay an open Bible.
“Madam,” said he, with deep earnestness, “if I were
to omit my daily reading of this book, I should lose
my greatest source of strength and skill. I never go
to an operation without reading my Bible. I never
attend a distressing case without finding help in its
pages. Your case called not for medicine, but for
sources of peace and strength outside your own mind,
and I showed you my own prescription, and I knew
it would cure.”
“Yet I confess, doctor,” said his patient, “that I
came very near not taking it.”
“Very few are willing to try it, I find,” said the
physician, smiling again. “But there are many, many
cases in my practice where it wou’d w’ork wonders
if they v’ould only take it.”
This is a true story. The doctor died only a little
while ago, but his prescription is still good.—Se
lected.
*
CHRISTMAS IS COMING.
Be wise and make your shopping list early. And
don’t forget to include a beautiful Christmas edition
of “Esther Ferrall’s Experiment”, by Mrs. Odessa
Strickland Payne. One critic says of the book: “It
is a paradox winsomely human, but distractingly
imaginative.” You are refreshed and exalted by its
pure style and chaste character. Price, sl.lO, post
paid. Order direct from The Golden Age, 814 Austell
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