FTHE" NEW YO'
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com
-- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
MUSIC TIRADE
VOL.
LV. N o . 14.
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman Bill at 373 Fourth Ave., New York, Aug. 5,1912
SINGL E
$ 2 .OO°PER S VE°A^ ENTS '
Of What Does Greatness Consist?
T IMAGINE if that question were propounded to a hundred men there would be a hundred different
I
answers.
I
In countries where hereditary rulers exist, greatness applies largely to people of royal birth,
*- and so great is the admiration of some men for these royal personages they will make any sacri-
fice for them.
.
Only the other day in Japan the conqueror of Port Arthur killed himself because his Emperor had
travelled the way which all of us must journey sooner or later.
In all countries where kings rule it is considered that a son of a king is greater upon the day of his
birth than all of the other babies born in the Empire on the same day bunched together.
In republics we are prone to say that the man who wins in a Presidential election is greater than
any of the other contestants for the position. In this country we are likely to say that the man who
makes millions of dollars is great, vastly greater than the humble individual, but I have known some
men who were temporary possessors of millions who did not impress me as being either great souled or
great minded men, although they did have a certain kind of shrewdness.
What constitutes greatness, after all?
I think that it lies in those attributes common to all men—in loyalty, courage, strength of feeling,
intelligence, sound judgment, a power to do things and the wish to make the morrow better than to-
day.
'
a <•
One of the fundamental errors in our system of moral education is to teach children to be great in
the sense of being wealthy or achieving notoriety.
The kind of greatness this world needs and the individual needs is that inner greatness which so-
called success or failure has nothing to do with.
The first thing a man needs is to learn that worldly success is not the sole proof of greatness.
There are thousands of successful men in this country who have never climbed upon the heights of
fame and their names have never been connected with political, financial or even patent medicine or
breakfast food history.
The pages of human accomplishments are unadorned by their names and yet in their own way
they have won a modicum of success in business, or, having fought the battle of life along straight,
conscientious lines, they are fit to stand with the best, even though their names do not appear in five
hundred papers every day during the year.
A man is great who is a business builder because he must have improved his condition to have
advanced—no matter how modest the move—in the right direction.
A stand-patter is no particular good in business or in life because he is eminently satisfied with the
conditions which are round about him. To stand still means a step backward, for there should be no
halting ground. It is either forward with the endless procession or backward we are forced.
The man who makes up his mind to stand still is already half defeated, and it will only be a short
time when his retrogressive moves become apparent to all.
The stand-patter will rust out. He is bound to, for rest is another name for rust.
There can be nothing inactive in this world. That is the law of nature and it is higher than the
law of man.
The trouble is, too many men waste their time. To stop this waste should be the aim of all.
Time is our only real possession and with time enough ahead there are always accomplishments
worth the winning.
It was Napoleon who said: "Get your principles right and the rest is a matter of detail."
And so it is with the individual or corporation; if the principles are right and the aim be to ad-
vance, nothing- can prevent it,