HOW TO GET ON

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 294, 6 May 1911, Page 10

HOW TO GET ON

AIJYLCE FROM THE HIGHEST PAID .MAX JX THE WOULD. FROM EUUAXD BOY TO .MILLION A IKE -Mr. Anthony Drexel, who married .Miss .Mar jo: rie Could, and is heir to ,C4,ouiy. >». lias entered the stock-broking oilices of Messrs E. 0. Randolph, Xew Yark, where he starts as an ollice boy aud will work his way up. This method of making a start from the lowest rung of the ladder ha» been followed by sons of many of the great American millionaires. It U to get a thorough "grip" that these young men, born with llie proverbial golden spoon in their mouths, set ill to learn their respective businesses i lom the beginning. Cornelius YanUerbilt, for instance, when about twenty-four years of age, and, like young Drexel, shortly after his marriage, went into the railway "shops" and learnt the business from the start. And there are many other instances. Young Drexel will, of course, "rise" quickly Ironi one post to another, learning the duties of each in succession, till he is received into the linn as junior partner. And he will then be a junior partner who "knows all about it," as any prospective idler or delinquent will iind out to his cost.

OXE WHO KNOWS. -Mr. Charles .M. Schwab, the famous American steel magnate, when discussing the subject, of thus starting the sons of millionaires, said: "It is easier for a poor ollice boy to climb to the top of the tree than for a rich man's son to go through the rank? and worthily succeed his father." Few men have a greater right to speak of the fascinating topic nj "llow to Get On" than has -Mr. Charles' M. Schwab. As a boy he was a farm hand, an errand boy, and a grocer's assistant. Then came a job with Carnegie, driving stakes at os a day. At 22 he was earning £I,OOO a year. At 25 he had reached £5,000, and, long before he was 40, he was earning the amazing salary of CIOO,OOO per annum, and held nearly .£8,000,000 of stock in the company. XECESSARY SUFFERING. "I have studied the problem of what faculties make for success in life very closely," .said Mr. Schwab, "and I have come to the conclusion that, with rare exceptions, there is only one way to the to]), and that i- from the bottom of the ladder. "liut can a rich man's son really start from the bottom of the ladder? I say— Xo! How can a mail lead a hard-work-ing life and suffer all the knocks that really make for success when his private life is one of refinement and case? It is not consistent. He cannot undergo the necessary sufferings. "At a dinner 1 gave in Pittsburg to Count Wittgenstein, the big Austrian ironmaster, iIU of the leading members of the steel trade were present, So of whom had risen from the ranks. That is about the average proportion. "The millionaire's son, working at ft bench with the other workmen, is a disturbing element in the workshop. My first advice to friends who join my staff is: Never let your pals know that you know me. Go on your own. Then you'll get credit for what you do, and promotion will be of your own earning. ALWAYS WORKING OR THINKING OF WORK. "A wealthy man's son should start as a manager. If he is keen he will soon learn the work and make a better head of the firm when his day comes. Details of administration are best learnt in tie' manager's office. "The well-educated, carefully-nurtured young man, who is brought up in a refined home, gives up his spare time to refined and intellectual pleasures. Not so the poor youth to whom business is everything. He is working or thinking of his work all the time. "The problem of success in the business world is wrapped up in the different social outlook of poor men and wealth** men. The luxury of a university education nearly always destroys the - 'get on" instinct. "Yet, if I had a son, I'd be the first to send him to a university and give him all the opportunities for education and refined surroundings, though I should know that by doing so I was seriously handicapping his business career. "I have selected many, many thousands of men for important positions. I can always tell when a man ha.s the 'something' which means success. To cultivate that 'something' you must start, as a poor man and reaily be a poor man."