Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 January 1915 — Dr. Maiden’s Uplift Talks [ARTICLE]

Dr. Maiden’s Uplift Talks

By ORISON SWETT MARDEN.

-HADN'T TIME TO MAKE FfeIENDV Not long ago Mr. Mellen, the former president of the New Haven railroad, and most bitterly talked about railroad man of his time, said: “I thought If a man knew his business and worked at it hard and produced the beat product he could with the materials available, that was enough. But apparently it was not." "It Is enough until a storm breaks," said the newspaper man to whom Mr. Mellen was talking. "I thought I was strong enough to meet any storm," he answered. "What should a man do to prepare for the kind of storm that hit me?” "He might have made more friends outside of the line of business —friends with the public.” “But I hadn’t the time. I was too busy. I have had six weeks* vacation In 44 yeans. How could I find the time to meet your newspaper reporters and cultivate the good will of editors? I engaged a man to do that work. Well, we shall see. I may have a little more time now to make friends." After all, what does that thing which we call success amount to if we have sacrificed onr friendships, if we have sacrificed the most sacred things in life in getting it? One of the most beautiful things that can ever be said of a human being is that he has a host of friends. When Lincoln’s friends were proposing him for the presidency he was poor and comparatively unknown and people said: "Why, Lincoln has no rich men back of # hiin; he has no political pull, no money, not much of anything excepting a lot of friends." This Is true, but what friends they were! They made his presidency possible. Only he has friends worth while who 1b willing to pay the price for making and keeping them. He may not have quite as large a fortune as if he gave all of his time to business and moneymaking. But wouldn’t you rather have more good, stanch friends who believe In you and who would stand by you in the severest adversity than have a little more money? What will enrich the life so much as hosts of good, loyal friends? Most of us attend, to everything else first, and if we have any little scrape of time left we give them to our friends, when we ought to make a business of our friendships. Are they not worth it? The faith of friends Is a perpetual stimulus. How It nerves and encourages us to do our best when we feel that scqj-es of friends really believe in us! ~ It means a great deal to have enthusiastic friends always looking out for our interests, working for us all the time, saying a good *fls at every opportunity, -supporting us, - speakJuE'for ns In our absence when we "need a friend, stopping slanders, shielding our sensitive, weak spots, killing lies which would injure us, correcting false impressions, trying to set us right, overcoming the prejudices created by some mistake or slip or a first bad impression we made, who are always doing something to give us & lift or help us along! One reason why bo many people are disappointed with what life has for them is because they have never cultivated the capacity for friendship. Friendship is no one-sided affair, but an exchange of soul qualities. There be no friendship without reciprocity. Many people are not capable of forming great friendships, because they do not have the qualities themselves which attract noble qualities In others. If you are crammed with despicable qualities, you cannot expect any one to care for you. If you are uncharitable, intolerant, if you lack generosity, cordiality; if you are narrow and bigoted, unsympathetic, you cannot expect that generous, largehearted, noble characters will flock around you.