leadership. Our leaders in the State Capitol and at Washington are not accidents. They have achieved because they have done definite things; task by task, effort by effort, step by step, they have gone ahead and have grown in reputation. Any man can do to-day what should have been done yesterday. The leader wins his place because he can see ahead, to-morrow from to-day. Lincoln, for instance. He became a leader because he was one of the first to see and to proclaim that this Nation could not continue to exist half slave and half free. You can understand that, Perry?"
Perry nodded. And still he sat in that attitude of frozen astonishment.
"Leadership," Mr. Banning went on, "is wisdom. It carefully considers what it is about to do and sees clearly what result will follow. Most people do things on the spur of the moment without due thought. That's the reason there are so few persons fit to lead. There is one thing that Room 13 must never do—it must never go off half cocked. Often mistakes, once made, can never be remedied. Sometimes they can be retrieved. The true leader always knows when to admit he has been wrong. That's all, Perry. You'll remember it, won't you?"
"Yes, sir," said Perry, and arose from the
