, the incandescent lamp and the
other great inventions of civilization.

Why is it that most of the able men in our great industries came from
the country districts? The reason is that the country boy is trained to
work. Statistics indicate that very seldom does a child, brought up in a
city apartment house, amount to much; while the children of well-to-do
city people are seriously handicapped. The great educator of the
previous generation was not the public school, but rather the _wood
box_. Those of us parents who have not a wood box for our children to
keep filled, or chores for them to do, are unfortunate.

Run through the list of the greatest captains of industry, as they come
to your mind. How many of the men who are really directing the country's
business gained their position through inherited wealth? You will find
them astonishingly few. There is no "divine right of kings" in business.
In fact, statistics show us that the very things which most people think
of as advantages, namely, wealth and "not having to work" are really
obstacles which are rarely surmounted.

Industry and thrift are closely allied. Economic studies show clearly
that ninety-five per cent. of the employers are employers because they
systematically saved money. Any man who systematically saves money from
early youth automatically becomes an employer. He may employ thousands
or he may have only two or three clerks in a country store, but he
nevertheless is an employer. These same studies show that ninety-five
per cent. of the wage workers are wage workers because they have
systematically spent their money as fast as they have earned it. They of
necessity remain wage workers. These are facts which no labour leader
can disprove and which are exceedingly significant. This is especially
striking when one considers that the employer often started out at the
same wages and in the same community as his wage workers. The employer
was naturally industrious and thrifty; while those who remained wage
workers were not.

The development of this nation through the construction of the
transcontinental railways, the financing of the western farms, and the
building of our cities is largely due to the old New England doctrine
that laziness and extravagance are sins. In some western communities it
is popular to laugh at these New England traits; but had it not been for
them, these western communities would never have existed. The industry
and thrift develope