ESSENTIALS

New Zealand Tablet, 12 February 1914, Page 47

ESSENTIALS

I A young man of our acquaintance recently bought x an automobile. It was the first one he ever owned, and he knew little about machinery. He soon began to talk learnedly of spark-plugs, damps, self-starters, and a host of other things from the argot of motordom (Writes ‘A Looker-on' in the Boston Vilot). lie was especially proud of the color of his machine and the finish of the brasswork. However,\ he was not so familiar with the engine. To discreet queries about it, he was wont to reply: Oh, I have a good engine.' One day he took a friend out for a spin. The engine worked splendidly on the level road ; but the first hill proved its undoing. It balked. The car had splendid lines; it presented an attractive appearance, but the engine, the chief part of the car, was of very little account. " What the young man had really obtained for/his money was a collection of pretty ornaments. lie forgot that wind-shields, shock-absorbers, and sparkling brass work do not help. a. car to move. He took for granted the one thing that demanded the closest investigation before purchase. Any man at all familiar with automobiles could have told him that there is one prime essential — the engine. If that is not good the fine lines of a car are of little use. As with this automobile, so in general, people attach an undue importance to externalsdress, speech, education, and physical excellences, but give comparatively little attention to the prime essential in an individual character. . 1 notice a great many people who resemble my friend’s automobile. They have good taste, good looks, all the graces of manner, but they have not the requisite power for that rough and hilly road called life. Ask a young girl why she admires a man. The chances are she will say; ‘ He has such nice eyes.’ Then I think of those shining auto lamps. I ask a youth why he pays so much attention to a. certain young lady, and he tells me ‘ She is the prettiest girl I know.’ Yes, that machine was modelled on good lines and was attractive to look at. I inquire of some citizen why he is always lauding one of our legislators to the skies. He turns on me with, an injured look and says in a tone of crushing argument : ‘He is the best talker in Congress.’ v Now that I recall it, the young man’s car had a. particularly clear and sweet-toned horn. Not one of them gave a thought to the need of character. Sometimes the cylinders of ,a motor have a flaw. A skilled mechanic can naint it over and disguise the weakness completely. While he is at the wheel he nurses the machine, keeps the parts from heating, and manages in his wily wav to get considerable speed. Everything goes well until one has bought the car. Then some day he will be called unon for extra speed, and the flaw loses no time in manifesting its presence.

There are many people about us who seem to measure .up to the standard of > character, but there is a flaw, wed covered and seemingly non-existent. But a crisis of any kind, a real test discloses it they cannot stand the strain. The wise employer always has a way of trying out new men to ascertain whether there is a flaw in the cylinders. He who fails to do so regrets it when, it is too late. The motor world is familiar with endurance tests. A group of cars of different makes are taken to some point where the course will show whether any or all of the machines measure up to the standard. Life is an endurance test. In the long run the victory goes to the machine with the best engines, honestly built, and properly managed. There is in this fact a grain of advice to everyone, especially young people. While education, good appearance, and good manners are useful, there is one fact that no one can afford to neglect on his peril —that is the formation and retention of strong and sterling character. It is curious how little a man thinks about soft cushions, artistic paint, or shining brasswork when he is out on the road on a bad night with long hills ahead of him. What interests him then to the neglect of all else is the power of the engine of his motor. So when you are venturing into the perilous fields of motordom, or are selecting a wife, or a partner in business, or an assistant, do not over-emphasize appearance and the external graces, for there will come a time when these will be as useless as the elegant fixtures of a motor. In the final analysis the great requisite is character that will stand the test.