From The Detroit Times, March 3, 1914. By Berton Braley.
He’d read all the dope on attending to work
And toiling to suit your employer;
He knew that to loaf or to laze or to shirk
Was quite an ambition destroyer;
So he plunged into work with a zest and a vim
And he did more than double his share of it;
He needed a raise, for his wages were slim,
But he knew that the boss would take care of it!
For hadn’t the books made this simple fact plain—
That people would recognize talent;
That if you would work with your might and your main
The boss, with a manner most gallant,
Would give you a raise, though you said not a word,
To show you were worthy of credit;
So he toiled and he sweated, but nothing occurred
And life didn’t go as he’d read it!
The boss was aware of his merit, all right,
But he said, “Why the deuce should I raise him
So long as he’s willing to work day and night
For what his position now pays him?”
But weary with waiting, the worker grew wise;
He said to himself, “Why, dod rot it!
These books on success are a bundle of lies”—
So he struck for a raise—and he got it!