SMOKE TALK BY PRESIDENT TUTTLE

Mr. Lucius Tuttle, president of the Boston and Maine Railroad, gave a most enjoyable. smoke talk before the student body in College Hall, Saturday evening, February 10. Mr. Tuttle made on pretense to oratory, yet his remarks were eloquent with simplicity and truth and abounded with similes and apt comparisons.

"Every one of yon," said Mr. Tuttle in beginning, " is not only in the formative period of your life, but is also a member of a particularly favored class which is soon to produce leaders in thought, action, and business. To me it is an inspiring thought, when I stand before an audience of bright-eyed men like you, that right here are the beginnings of the. problem. And I believe that a few seeds sown at the right time and in the right place in the career of manhood must bring a harvest of satisfactory results. If you do your whole duty, you will become leaders of thought and of men."

Continuing, the speaker said: "We hear much today about self-made men. There is no such thing in the world as a self-made man. There never was a greater myth. Within a socalled self-made man is implanted a divine spark which fortunate circumstances fan into a flame. There is no such thing as luck, I have no patience with those who say there is. The man who is successful has only done what he should have done with the possibilities which God has given him. College bred or not, he has done the best he could with his inheritance.

"Now, the first thing for a man to do, whether a man of superior education or not, is to cultivate the powers of observation, analysis, and deduction. I have great admiration for the man who systematically weighs opinions before accepting and appropriating them. Every man should learn to think and act for himself. And in all his thinking and acting, he should do the duty which lies nearest to him, and take heed lest ambition overrun judgment. I decided long ago that a young man should never plan to be president of the United States or of Dartmouth College. Things never come in that way. They are always the result of continuous performance of duty and of subordination of ambition. Get hold somewhere. Get something to do, and do it so well that the one who gives you the work will say, 'That fellow can do something better.' The patient plugger who does a little more than he is required to do, who shows a healthful and progressive interest in his work, who, in short, does common work uncommonly well, is the one who will be promoted. Therefore, I say, do the duty that lies nearest, and do it mighty well.

"And while you are doing your duty, cultivate decision of character. Learn to say 'yes' and 'no' quickly. That will save precious time. The man who falters will not succeed in anything, but the man of decision will rule.

"Cultivate personal judgment. Draw your own conclusions. Other people can seldom put themselves in your place. The strong people in this world are not the people who ask how to do things, but who think, decide, and do for themselves. Do things so well that they will not have to be done over. In all things have method. Time spent in hunting for things which ought to be in their place is valuable time lost. In all your personal and business transactions, insist on method.

"The great study which is before you young men is not the study of law, of mechanics, of medicine, but the study of man. What are you going to do with the man who comes into your sphere of influence? Many men can deal with things, but few men can deal with men. No study demands more interest and effort than the study of mankind. The men whom you are to mingle with, although perhaps possessing less gray matter, are all men of clay like you, and they may go wrong for want of your care. Your responsibilities as students of the human problem are vastly greater and more important than your problems of action and of business.

"Again, don't be a dreamer or become discouraged. To dream is not to accomplish. 'We are not here to drift, to dream;' we have serious work to do. Discouragement is fatal. The man who works out his problem by patient plodding is the man who wins success.

"Now a word about reading. An educated man ought not to spend more than ten minutes a day with a newspaper and less time than that with current literature. So many things have been written which will endure till the end of time and of language, that it seems pitiful for a man to waste his time on trash, and thereby develop literary indigestion. Such reading is as bad as pouring water through a sieve—and worse, for it hurts the sieve.

"There was never a greater mistake made or wrong committed than to declare that the world is growing worse. Men were never so ready to step on wrong as they are today. During the wonderful progress of the past twenty years, men have met wickedness with an enthusiastic, 'Down with it,' and it has been put down with constantly increasing success. The young man should never lose faith in human nature.

"This brings me to the subject of money. The love of money is not the root of evil; what is done with money determines whether it is evil. To accumulate money with the purpose of making two blades of grass grow where only one now grows is commendable. How could our educational and charitable institutions exist without money? How could they live if some successful men had not accumulated more money than they needed? Making money for the purposes of mankind ought to be applauded by everybody. I have no patience with those who declare that wealthy men are criminals—wait till you see what they do with their wealth. If they do good with it, let us be thankful that they are God's treasurers.

"Finally, in all that you do or hope to do, be clean, morally as well as physically. Have good aspirations, and try to be true to them. Men who have lost sight of a good goal are like rivers that have lost their longing for the sea. They expand into moral swamps and poison all their surroundings. As Parkman has said, it is easy for a man to drop back into barbarism. Every man has constantly to be on his guard. Dose your desire for good and clean things, and you will lose the glory of life. Remain true to your highest moments and be strong in spite of adversity, and you will reap the reward of the faithful."

As President Tuttle took his seat he was given enthusiastic applause, after which he arose and happily said:

"I hope you will excuse me for giving such a homiletic talk, but if you have enjoyed it as much as I have, you have had a mighty good time."

The student body then expressed pleasure and satisfaction by giving Mr. Tuttle a vigorous College cheer.