Don't let yourself be like that boy!

The reason he didn't know was that he had never interested himself in anything outside of his athletics, friends and recitations. He had not observed life; he had not looked ahead. He had neither dreamed dreams nor seen visions. Like many other boys, he had never done much thinking. People who can't think ahead of their job or situation don't get very far. They just stay in their rut and don't get out.

How much thinking about your careers are you going to do while you are at school or in college? Are you going to do something useful? Are you going to participate in the life of your community? Twenty years hence you will be asking yourself some questions; and if you can't answer these questions to your satisfaction, you will be unhappy and mortified, like that old Frenchman who did "nothing but hunt."

Napoleon I was asked how he managed to make such quick decisions. He answered, "By constantly thinking of situations which may confront me." We must do this! We must draw lessons from the experience, the success and the failures of others, from our own observation of men, and our reading of books.

What boys are doing in school is not "preparing for life"; they are living life itself. Onequarter of it is over when they leave school.

If you haven't made the proper use of this first quarter of your life, the results are absolutely certain to affect the rest of it. If you haven't done well up to the age of seventeen, the chances are strongly against your doing well later on. Therefore, seize every opportunity that will help you form an accurate estimate of your particular situation; so that when the time comes, as come it will, your tastes, talents and limitations will be thoroughly known, your decision made, and you will be ready to act.

A

CHAPTER II

ELEMENTARY ECONOMICS

THE RIGHTS OF PROPERTY

VOCATION usually involves the making of money, although that may not be its chief object. It is therefore important that the reader cover some general principles upon the subject of economics and political economy.

Political economy is by definition "the science regarding the production, distribution and consumption of wealth." It treats with the rise and fall of prices, the laws of supply and demand, the problems of labor, tariff and numerous fundamental conditions regarding which it is essential that the successful business man have considerable knowledge. Bolshevism, socialism, and many other "isms" are largely caused through ignorance of these fundamental facts, coupled with unsatisfactory living conditions.

Savage countries live by means of agriculture, hunting, and a few primitive industries. Modern civilization is founded upon the three great basic industries Agriculture, Commerce, and Trans

portation. These are now so complex and so intimately correlated that the slightest interference with any one of them at once produces serious disorganization throughout our society.

Perhaps the most important fundamental condition to be recognized in a civilized state consists of what are known as the Rights of Property. The first section of the Constitution of the State of New Hampshire reads as follows: "All men have certain natural, essential, and inherent rights, among which are the enjoying and defending life and liberty, and acquiring, possessing and protecting property."

This is based upon a natural instinct which existed when men were monkeys. A wild beast will fight for its den, and a man will fight for his property. Communists, Socialists, Bolshevists, etc., seem to disregard this natural instinct and fundamental law. We have only to look around at countries where the rights of property are not observed to determine which condition is the more desirable. In Turkey, Russia, and Mexico, where the rights of property are disregarded by the government, and where accumulations of wealth are likely to be seized, it is well known that only a small amount of wealth exists, and that the people are miserably poor. In other countries where property rights are secure, wealth is abundant and poverty rare. Give a man secure

possession of a barren rock and he will make it a garden. Immigrants arrive in this country with practically no capital and settle in undeveloped homestead sites in our Western states. Within a short time, on account of their being sure of their title to their property, they have developed their little communities in an incredible manner and are supporting one or more banks with the deposits of their savings. These people would never work for some one else, or in a country where they are not allowed to own property, as they will work for themselves in a free country.

CAPITAL

The creation of capital is a process of saving. We hear a great deal about capital and labor nowadays, and should therefore understand exactly what capital is. It consists of anything that has subsequent utility. The first savage that made himself a bow and arrow was the possessor of some capital. He had the product of his own labor and intelligence, which was of future use to him. From an academic point of view any saving of money or goods that is not immediately expended is a creation of capital. As soon as a man has a dollar in the savings bank, for which he has no immediate use, he is a capitalist. The principle is the same as if he had a million. In order to do without capital, we must abandon this principle.