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EDITORIAL PAGE THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN Published Every Afternoon Except Sunday B> THE GEORGIAN COMPANY At 20 East Alabama St., Atlanta, Ga. Entered aa second-class matter at postoffice at Atlanta, under act of March 3. 1*73. Subscription Price—Delivered by carrier, 10 cents a week. By mall, $5 00 a year. Payable in advance. A Man Without Ambition— Is a Watch Without a Mainspring at ». » But Don’t Be Like the Toad That Swelled Up Until He Burst. A reader sends in this letter, which we answer: Editor The Georgian: Dear Sir—You praise work and ambition in a man. Yet. Is a man not happier and more contented if he remains in the humble place and station of his birth? We are told a man should make the most of himself and be successful and ambitious. Wouldn’t our prominent men be far happier if they chose to be poor and unknown'.' Anyhow, after they are dead, what differ ence does It make whether they were prominent or rustics? KlmJJ.v give your views as to a man’s attitude toward ambition and contentment and happi ness. Is It a man’s duty to advance in the world Instead of remaining in the humblest station ? Yours sincerely, INTERESTED. That interesting two-legged animal in charge of this earth, called man, is wound up in a complicated fashion. Twelve pas sions, or instincts, or attractions- name them as you please— animate and control htm. Os these twelve passions, NINE are actual moving forces, THREE direct and control the other nine. Among the nine MOVING forces in man there are three that dominate—we will ignore the others for the present. First, and most necessary, is THE INSTINCT OF SELF PRESERVATION. That instinct kept men alive, forced them to continue living on this earth under horrible conditions of cold and hunger and brutality. Nature’s wisdom made the instinct of self-preservation very powerful in primitive man to keep him on this earth to do his work here. In the savage man of thirty thou sand years ago, and of today, the instinct of self-preservation is all-powerful. You see that in a burning theater, a sinking ship or elsewhere, when the real nature of man comes out. The second great moving force in mankind is the PATER NAL INSTINCT, the instinct, of reproduction. This guarantees that there shall be no other human beings on earth to follow each generation as it passes away. In the savage, brutal man the in stinct of reproduction is the strongest, next to the instinct of self -preserv ati on. The third great passion of the human mind is AMBITION, our desire for change, for improvement. As we have told you before and shall often repeat, the in stinct of SELF-PRESERVATION keeps ns on this earth, the PATERNAL INSTINCT provides others to carry, on our work after death. AMBITION PREVENTS STAGNATION. BRINGS ABOUT PROGRESS. The friend whose letter we quote is one of many that ask whether ambition is really worth while, what sort of ambition a man ought to have, etc. The first question may be disregarded. If von have ambition, YOU’VE GOT IT. It’s like the measles, and it doesn't, make any difference whether it is worth while or not it. must run its course. Every human being has ambition in youth. The young man or woman without ambition is a. creature almost unthinkable. As we advance in years, however, our forces diminish in in tensity—for we have not yet reached the real stage of develop ment which will bring about constant increase of intellectual force and interest, at least for the first hundred years of life. Ambition is the human emotion that dies most quickly. It is attached and devoured by just such questions as our friend puts in his letter. The stomach says: “Why not feed me well arid enjoy my digestive delights, instead of wasting your energies trying to do something wni never can do?” Vanity says: “Why don’t yon give up your foolish ideas of duty’? Pile one dollar on another, dress well, cultivate the good opinion of your neighbors, he liked and approved by little minds, die fat and happy.” The mind gets tired of repeated failures, it wants rest and begs for it Every little opportunity in life, every little comfort, tights against man’s ambition, if his ambition be really high. The average man at thirty begins already to put aside his dreams of eighteen and twenty. At fnrtv he has settled down into a little rut that means no more growth At fifty he has reached a stage where he looks pityinglv down upon the men who possess the ambitions force that he lias lost, and that he now calls “foolish dreamings.” Out friend asks: “Anyhow, after they are dead what differ ence does it make whether they were prominent or rustics"" In nur opinion, it makes a great deal of difference. It can not be possible that the self conscious soul doing the work of cosmic wisdom in the care of this globe should be perishable. It is not believable that, in a universe where we know MATTER and FORGE to be indestructible, the one thing to he de stroyed should he that higher compound force which we call the human soul, which has within itself the power to apply and to distribute the force and the matter attache.! to this globe. The soul MUST be immortal, for all through the govern ment of the universe we see justice and kindness It is not be lievable that men should he allowed Io suffer as they have suf fered without recompense hereafter. It is not believable, espee ially, that the passionate desire for immortality should be placed in men only to be disappointed. If we are immortal—and we MUST be—there is surely a re ward for the soul that tries. The soul in which ambition per sists must be a higher soul than that which gives in. and its state must be higher when it leaves this body. Various religions reward deserving men in various ways with happy hunting grounds, with well-stocked seraglios, with the peaceful nonentity that the worn-out Hindoo craves, with the golden crown and the home of solid gold ami precious stones which seemed desirable to the primitive civilization of the Rast. Rewarded we SHALL be—pn sumably along lines of natu ral growth; along the lims of our own desert. But taking the gloomiest possible view of the question that is asked, and assuming that it does NOT make any difference to a man hereafter whether he did well or ill <>n earth, we ask in turn: How about the man that lives selfishly, tills the little stom ach. decorates the foolish body fancifully- lives only for him self ? What good will that do HIM after he is dead What good will it do hrtu. after Im is dead, tn have eaten ami drunk so much? Life passes as a second, and even the dull ummagmat i\< man who believes that this life ends it all might wll del.rmim * Continued in Last Column The Atlanta Georgian The Use of a Great Man Om/’ Has Recently Died in France, and People Are Inquiring What He Was Good For By GARRETT P. SERVISS. A GRAND funeral was given in Paris some weeks ago to Henri Poincare, of whom, probably, many readers of these lines have never heard. The pro cession to the grave was imposing. 7 here inarched, bareheaded, through the streets, between side walks crowded with spectators, most of whom also respectfully re moved their hats, a long double line of the most distinguished living Frenchmen. When the grave was reached Impressive discourses were pronounced by M. Guist’hau, who spoke for the government and the University: by M. Ctaretie, who rep resented the famous Academic Francaise; by m. Painleve, who was the mouthpiece of the Academy of Sciences, and by many others whose names are better known to the public than was that of the subject of their discourses. All the newspapers were filled with praise of the dead man. and nil the illustrated Journals printed portraits of him. Everybody was assured, and the assurance was re peated from mouth to mouth, that F rance had lost one of her great est lights whose renown would Il lustrate the pages of her history. Everybody felt proud because his country had produced so mighty a genius. But a singular fact soon became evident, viz., that among the hun dreds of thousands who repeated the praise of this immense genius hardly any one had a deflnite Idea of what lie was or of what he had done. They only knew that, some how, he had been A GREAT MAN. During his lifetime It was said that there were only two or three men In all Europe who could com prehend him. It Is almost certain that among those who pronounced eulogiums at his tomb there was none w ho could follow his work with complete un derstanding. Most of them did not know even the A-B-C of it Who He Was. For Henri Poincare was a very great mathematician, perhaps the greatest since Laplace and La grange. whom Napoleon, with his vast practical genius, could not un derstand. For most people mathe matics. in its higher forms, is a closed book. Naturally, then, after the first sensation caused by the departure of this great genius had died away, the question began to be asked: "What was Jie good for. after all’.’" Tlie question lias been asked, and father indefinitely answered, in many newspapers. It can not be answered by giving a list of his 1,500 works, for even the most pop ular of them, like the book on ‘’Sci ence and Hypothesis,” are full of things which only the expert can road understandingly, w Idle most of them are addressed to the ELITE of science, the narrow inner circle, it Courtesy in Business By KLBKRT HI BBARD Copyright, 1912, by International News Service. x < > E an ruled by our habits. \ZV Birst we form our habits, and then our habits form us. We are what we are on account of what we have thought, said or done. After having done a thing once, there is a tendency in the brain to do it again. If continued, we get the habit: that is. we do the tiling without thinking, .lust as a matter of course. Titus does habit become second nature. "What kind of people will we he In Elysium?” they asked Socrates four hundred years before Christ. And ins answer was. "You will be the same kind of people you are to day, because this life is a prepara tion for the next, just as today is a preparation for tomorrow." Any man with the grouch habit, the "piker" habit, the frown habit, ttie cigarette habit, the dope habit, the booze habit, is on the greased chute, and he himself is swabbing the slide Also, there Is a sort of general disposition on the part of everybody to give him a push down the road to Davy Jones’ locker. AH Good Things Are Catching. In the heart of all of us Is the tendency to pass back everything that is handed to us. Once there was a man who said. "If I had been around that day when the Creator was making the world I would have made a few sug gestions.” And one of the auditors said, "What would you have proposed?” "I would have made good health catching instead of bad.” That Is just where the critic lapsed. Tile fact is. good health is catching All good tilings are catch ing If a man smiles, waves his hand at you as you walk down the street in the morning, you wave your hand ba< K and smile in return uncon sciously, and often one little expe rience like this will key for you the day joyously. Courtesy, kindness. good-will, generosity, liberality are all catch ing. Nothing is so contagious as a ■mile Try it on the tir t man you Cast thy bread upon tin waters WEDNESDAY. AUGUST 28. 1912. 111 I£l 111il3t 111 fl iliiillr liiliiiiaiiiG ill illt llllllilflm T« I 111 mF T1 Hi ifiTiT if KJFT A 1 r™!!] 11 i Wk SBnBI i —Lu HENRI POINCARE IN HIS STUDY. to enter which requires extraor- ways perfectly clear, oven to him dlnary talent and years of applica- self, while for the majority of men t" ,n - it was but a flash in the night But it does not follow that some which showed them nothing. His answer can not be given. The best successors, guided by the glimpses answer is twofold, in the first he had, will make it all clear, and place, one great use of such a man thus the domain of knowledge will as Poincare Is the stimulation be extended. which he imparts to the average Additions to Knowledge, human being. He awakes the am- T _ • » ~ , , * n second place, the useful- bition of the race bv showing of „„„ « „ . ~ s ~ ’ .\, ness of such a man as Poincare ia nut It is capable. He is the man > nn th* inr v ti < consists in the actual additions on the top of the apparently Inac- f u Qf « • , , ... . , , . , , that he made to know-ledge. These cessible mountain, who, bv his h.llll, b .. , additions were purely mathemati- inere presence there, shows to . ~ .. j- tn incapable of popular ex fl He T R h y t . aS ' e " din « Planation, but there are men who it. He is like the late Edward can understand th and W hymper, waving his cap from the w|th THB IR successors will upon summit of the terrible Matterhorn. huQtc whL>i i ’ / . ... . . . . ihe basis which he left, erect a new Anybody with good wind and ndifh-n nf u cairn.e of science which all can en s tong muscles can ascend the ter and admire. There was a time Mattei hom now, because the way when Newton . g .. PrlncJpia .. wag as ' r?". 0 ".,". .. far be y o n d the intellectual reach of But Po ncare would never have the avcrage man as Poincare . g given an impetus to his fellow be- most abstruse work is todav but ings >f he had not, like Newton now , thanks to the advance whlch before him. and like all great men, lt , ltself> insplrerii any b in coI . disclaimed the possession of any lege , with a mathematlcal glfl and -tiPerhuman power. Newton said proper applh . ation . can read the hat an he had done seemed to him whole .. Prini . ipia -. but as the picking up of a pebble ln fact lt bae been dlsplaced b on the shore of the boundless ocean more recent work, just as Poln of knowledge and Poincare de- care - s achievements will be super dared hat the. mind of man 1. geded , n the only a flash of lightning, illuminate Ing for a moment a part of th,t Great men of this stamp are the illimitable expanse around. pioneers of the human intellect, and But these flashes succeed out happy is the country' that can pro- another, and the race, as a whois, duce one In a century. It is the letalns a little of what each re- Napoleons, whose work is easily veals and adds to fl that which has understood, that get the great already acquired. What was monuments; fl is these other gen- revealed to the genius of the great (uses, whose own times hardly French mathematician was not al- know them, that uplift the race. and it shall return after many days buttered, and sometimes with jam on it. The advantage and benefit of tel ephone courtesy is beyond compu tation. But the use of the telephone re quires a certain amount of pa tience You must have faith that the man at the other end of the line has something to tell you that is worth saying. In the big central telephone of fices operators are selected w ith es pecial cate as to their voices. A girl may have brains all right, but if she has a voice that screams, screeches or purrs, to that degree she is incompetent either as a tele- Ballade of Bugs By J ACOB J EEIBSON UT HEN. seeking joy s of solitude. I 1 stretch myself beneath a ttee. A fussy Insect, rough and rude, AAitli buzzing wings, alights on me, I drive him off. and then a bee. Upon my Adam's apple sings: A beetle bites where I can't see. I hate these bees and bugs and things. I quickly change my attitude And hide my face within the grass. A joyous jigger, seeking food, Across my nose attempts to pass. A most ingenious bug. alas! Now beats my eardrum with his w ings. I wonder where they get the brass, These most obtrusive bugs and things. Then speedily my patient mood And spi its gay depart from me. I will not be an insect’s food, A centipede's collation free. A hornet spies me from a tree And all his fond relations bring.-. I can not bide their company, They bore me so. these bugs with stings. I,' Envoi. Prince, peasant, clerk, whoe'er you lie, *1 bough nature's joys the poet sings, lust take this humble tip from me Aou'il find no joy in bugs and things phone operator or as a salesman. To speak distinctly and pleasant ly is a fine art. A good speaking voice is not so much a matter of training as it is of right thinking. A person who thinks well of himself and of other people has a voice that assures. People who are anxious, nervous, irritable, harassed, tired, reveal impatience in their tones. Any one who uses the telephone, be he operator or patron, aristocrat or plebeian, should practice tele phone courtesy. He should speak neither too loud nor too low, but should endeavor to put a smile into his voice, and not tears, doubt or accusation. Many people, on taking down the receiver, will shout. “Who's this?" Then, not getting an answer, will say, "Who are you, anyway?” This is followed up with "What do you want?" All of which is quite dis courteous. absurd and inoppor tune. Any one taking down the re ceiver should announce who he is. If you were a salesman, on enter ing an office you would not shout at the first man you met. "Who is this.’ or "AVho are you?” AA hen you call on a person you have never before met. you cer tainly do not demand that he should rbveal his identity until you have first revealed yours. A ou moderate vour voice, and you speak pleasantly. On Good Terms With Public. On taking down the receiver, either to answer a call or to put one in. when you get your party, say, "This is Mr. Brown who is speaking." Just assume a pleas ant attitude of mind, and your voice will follow. I have noticed that trainmen on certain railroads for the most part have pleasant voices. They call the stations in away so they are understood, and they do not appear to he bawling bad names at their enemies. They are the voices of mon who arc well nourished, who get eight hours sleep, who think well of themselves, who are proud of their jobs and proud of the road for w hich they work. Thus are they placed on good terms with their colleagues and with the public. THE HOME PAPER Thomas Tapper Writes on How To Build a For tune TL No. 6.---Getting Rich in a Hurry statement has recently 1 been made that in one year the American people con tributed about seventy-seven mil lions of dollars to various fake in vestment schemes. This means that they dropped the money down a bole, expecting- it to rush up again in a golden shower. Instead of that, there was a group of busy men at the other end of the hole carrying away the precious stuff tn baskets —for they, too, have fami lies to support. The seventy-seven millions of the preceding pa rag aph was not the entire annual crop. This sum was paid over to the get-rich-quick concerns that were closed up by the postoffice department. There were many others that did business without using the mails and were undisturbed. Why is it so easy to sell worth less paper? Answer No. I—People want to get rich In a hurry. Answer No. 2—Golden promises make golden dreams. The thing is so bright we actually arc fasci nated by it. So we put real money into a golden dream, and then we wake up. IT. A promoter was talking one day to an humble individual who did not seem to know much. “How do you invest your sav ings?” asked the promoter. “I put them in a savings bank,” said the man. Never Get Poor. Either. "Well, you will never get rich that way,” the promoter said. "No." answered the humble indi vidual. "probably not. but I’ll never get poor that way either.” In view of the countless ways of investing money which promise nothing less than "marvellous re turns,” it takes a good type of mind to stick to simple, direct ways of saving The seventy-seven millions, of which we have been speaking, was not the money of rich men. It belonged to those who could not af ford to lose It—to widows, and to wage earners of all classes. A Man Without Ambition— Is a Watch Without a Mainspring Continued from First Column. to do at least the best work possible during his little moment on the stage. There are tivo strange hours for each human being The. painful hour of his birth, when he comes into this AA’orld. all unfitted for it. The responsible hour of his death, when the man who is conscious looks back over that which he has done. Re sure that the man who has wasted his time, thought only of himself, neglected his duty and pushed aside his amb» tion, can suffer enough self-reproach in that last hour to mak* up for many days of eating and drinking and of empty self-in dulgence. The only man worth while is the ambitious man. The onh’ child or woman worth while is the ambitious child or woman. Ambition moves the world, as the mainspring moves the Avatch hands. And the human being without ambition is like the watch without a mainspring. Such a Avateh and such a human being, looked at from the outside, are quite satisfactory—smooth and pleasing. BUT THERE IS NO USE IN THEM. The business of every human being is to cherish the spring of ambition within him. and do Avhat little he can to move forward the world in general—if he be big enough—or. at least, that little corner of it in Avhich his life is passed. The thing to do is to have THE RIGHT AMBITION. Don’t mistake foolish egotism for ambition. The frog in La Fontaine's fable Avas ambitious in the wrong Avay. He Avanted to be as big as the ox. and he swelled himself up until he hurst. Vanity—not ambition—was his mainspring. We should like to write to the friend whose letter we publish a few words as to the proper character and direction of ambition, as Ave see them. That, however, must he reserved for another editorial. This one is long enough. There is a hackneyed quotation which says: ‘‘l charge thee. throAv away ambition.’’ The wise man will do just the reverse' He will keep alive the spark of ambition as a shipwrecked crew would keep alive their smouldering fire. Once that spark goes out. u man might as well he dead—he is only a shell, eating, drinking and * waiting to die. The sooner he dies and makes room tur •—•iher. the better Bv THOMAS TAPPER. When any one wants you to put your money into a proposition that will make you wealthy in a few weeks, refuse to have anything to do with it. as a matter of princi ple. It can not be done. Rosy as the dream is, it is still a rosy dream and nothing more. One of the fundamental rules of investment is, the higher the inter est yield, the greater the risk. Bonds of the most conservative character, with the highest guaran tee as to safety of principal, yield in the neighborhood of four per cent; sometimes a fraction less or more. When some one quietly slips you information that you can come in, on the inside, and get 30 per cent, or thereabouts—don't go in. All the doors are locked, and when they throw the victims out of the back window their pockets are turned Inside out. TH. The banker puts It this way: Judicious investment is the art of making the most of your money WITHOUT EXPOSING IT TO THE RISK OF’ LOSS. "Be Patient,” the Great Rule. That kind of safety has to be paid for in small interest returns. You may feel that at the rate your surplus funds get Into the bank you will never get rich. Re member the remark of the humble individual—you will never get poor, either. The great rule Is "he pa tient." In an Interview recently. Mr. An drew Carnegie is reported to have •said this; "The trouble with many men of small means is that they will never make a beginning, and keep putting off the time when they have a nu cleus for investing. The goal of the wage-earner in saving should be to acquire SI,OOO. PRUDENT INVESTING OF SMALL SUMS will help him to obtain this first SI,OOO. Money grows surprisingly, and if you have none now try the experiment I suggest of getting SI,OOO and see if I am not right.” Notice that Mr. Carnegie speaks of PRUDENT investing—of what? Os small sums.