“How can he do that?”
“Well, if he is a shipping clerk, he may do so by discovering in an
invoice an error with which he has nothing to do and which has escaped
the attention of the proper party. If a weighing clerk, he may save
the firm by doubting the adjustment of the scales, and having them
corrected, even if this be the province of the master mechanic. If a
messenger boy, he can lay the seed of promotion by going beyond the
letter of his instructions in order to secure the desired reply. There
is no service so low and simple, neither any so high, in which the
young man of ability and willing disposition cannot readily and almost
daily prove himself capable of greater trust and usefulness, and, what
is equally important, show his invincible determination to rise.”
“In what manner did you reach out to establish your present great
fortune?” I asked.
“By saving my money. I put a little money aside, and it served me later
as a matter of credit. Also, I invested in a sleeping-car industry,
which paid me well.”