The Chemawa American, January 28, 1920, Image 1

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ass.The Chemawa American
P r i n t e d a t C h e m a w a , O re g o n , a n d D e v o te d to t h e in t e r e s t s o f I n d i a n E d u c a tio n
Vol. X X II
W ednesday, J a n u a r y 28, 1920
REPUTATION AND CHARACTER
A careful reading of the following article will bene­
fit anybody. It was addressed tó the students in gen­
eral assembly recently b y S u p t. ‘H all and it bears a
message:
There is nothing that a person should vaille like a
good reputation and character. Our very , greatest
men and women have regarded their reputations as
their moèt precious possessions and under no circum­
stances would they permit their names to attack to a
proposition of any kind that was not of a very high
character. In business great su ms of money are .fre­
quently paid for the use of a name, because the owner
. possessed a great reputation for integrity and square
dealing. In-order to gain a good reputation for hori-
esty, square dealing and all-round dependability it is
necessary .not to be satisfied to do things by halves or
leave any job or proposition half finished. Nothing
but completion will satisfy the demand.
It is those students who have, the imperative de­
mand for the best in their natures and who. will ac­
cept nóthi ng short of it to make marked progress;
who set the stàndards, theddeals, for-'ethers, and who
stamp their individuality upon those with whom they
associate. No-one with such ideals can be induced to
do a questionable act or half-do a thing. Such, a
person knows that his; success and happiness depend
upon the pursuit of high ideals-and keeping himself
up in quality. For he knows that if he should make
a¿“ bad break” it would taint his ideals, lower his
ambition and make an easy path by which to ruin his
reputation.
A student with the right kind of stuff in him, with
good red blood coursing through his veins, will not
give up the struggle but will allhw^ nothing to enter
his life to taint his reputation, or deteriorate his ideals,
or lower his standard of quality in word or action.
What success in life will a student make whu is satis­
fied with the cheap, the botched, the slovenly, and
who is a shirk, a deserter?? People »who «are worth
while have a very high sense of the way to act as well
as how to do things. They know Well that the only
way tp achieve distinction and maintain a good repu­
tation is to have the backbone, the persistence and
determination not only to follow out an ideal, and by
No. Í6
so doing elevate their own life to a higher standard,
but oe^the nieans of influencing o th êis* ^^-'example.
In our school affairs do you notice that the dependable
students or workers always push things that come to
their hands a little higher up—a little farther on? It
.is, this higher up, this little farther on, that counts in
the quality PC your work , It is the constant effort to
{be square with yourself that, conquers./,
How, many atudents are here at Chemawa who by
their acts can be ^counted as mediocre,-(or who lack the
will to be first-class—stucfents who apparently only
exist and have to be pushed, encouraged and almost
driven to take their lessons or vocational work, stu­
dents, who, unless they rise above their present states,
will neyer be anything but bunglers, who will meveip
fill any position right, because they are simply drifters,
take no pains to be first-class, put no conscience into
their work, and are never given any responsible place
to fill, either in or out of school, altogether by reason?
of their Utter unreliability? Such students have se­
cured a bad reputation'.
Aside from the lack of ambition, or desire, or ef­
fort to'shiè'à good sthdenty thërhâre other things that
help tb make such students stand low vidth their as­
sociates. Dissipation, bad habits, neglect of health,
faillite tc study; all make poor students. A boy
weakened by dissipation, whose understanding |has
been '’dulled' whose growth mentally and morally has
been stunted by self-indulgence, is almost a wreck,
indeed, and is hot «¡even half a man.
Fverÿ fault which you allow habitually to control
you, pulls you down, puts you at a disadvantage,
and practically ^debars you from..honon position, pros­
perity and happiness. ?
There is a distinction between a student’s reputa­
tion and his character. A reputation 5 is based 6n
what people think of him and character is what he
really is, but it is only in rare instances that people can
be fooled and then only for a very short time. So,
really, reputation and character go hand in hand.
My thought that I leave with you tonight is: No
student can ever hope to accomplish much who ¡does
nôt hâve thoroughness and accuracy indelibly fixed in
hfe' life habits, for the habit of doing things poorly
ruins the career of a student even though he has the
mind of a President Wilson.