“You believe in meeting great emergencies with great individual energy?”
“There doesn’t seem to be any way out of it. A man must work hard,
extra hard, at times, or lose many a battle.”
“You have mingled in public affairs here in Chicago, also, have you
not?”
“Yes, I have always tried to do my share.”
“You believe the chances for young men to-day are as good as in times
gone by?”
“I certainly do. That is my whole doctrine. The duties devolving on
young men are growing greater, more important, more valuable all the
time. The wants of the world seem to grow larger, more urgent every
day. What all young men need to do is to train themselves. They must
train their hands to deftness, train their eyes to see clearly, and
their ears to hear and understand. Look at the call there is going
to be upon young men when this country will be organizing its new
possessions and opening up new fields of activity. What the world needs
is young men equipped to do the work. There is always work to be done.”
“You think, in your own field, there is a call for energetic young men?”
“It never was greater. A young preacher who looks around him, studies
the conditions, finds out just a few of the ten thousand important
things that are going begging for someone to do them, and then proceeds
to work for their accomplishment, will succeed beyond his wildest
dreams.
“The world looks for leaders, it looks for men who are original, able
and practical; and all I have got to say to a young man is simply to
find out clearly all about a need in a certain direction, and then lead
on to the alleviation of it. Money, influence, honor, will all follow
along after, to help.”