{"id":3964,"date":"1948-05-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1948-05-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/may-1948-vol-29-no-5-graduating-into-life\/"},"modified":"2022-11-28T14:53:42","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T14:53:42","slug":"may-1948-vol-29-no-5-graduating-into-life","status":"publish","type":"rbc_letter","link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/may-1948-vol-29-no-5-graduating-into-life\/","title":{"rendered":"May 1948 &#8211; Vol. 29, No. 5 &#8211; Graduating Into Life"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"layout-column-main\">\n<p class=\"boldtext\">Young people are faced with decisions                     of great importance to them and to the country. Those who                     graduate from our schools this year must decide at once what                     vocation they shall follow; within a few years they must make                     up their minds about marrying and founding a family; and from                     now on they are charged with a certain responsibility for                     the development of Canada. All this requires that they set                     up a philosophy of life, if they have not already done so.<\/p>\n<p> Graduates have been through chosen courses: matriculation,                     science, philosophy, arts, engineering, and so on. The next                     course is in survival &#8211; not physical survival, because that                     is comparatively easy in this age &#8211; but survival as free men                     and women getting great satisfaction out of life.<\/p>\n<p>All over Canada another kind of graduating is taking place,                     the graduation of young people from foreign lands into Canadian                     life. All winter they have been studying, and today they are                     able to understand the English or French languages. At the                     International Branch of the Y.M.C.A. in Montreal the boys                     and girls sat on the edges of their chairs, so eager were                     they to answer questions, to say sentences in English.<\/p>\n<p>This is a graduation that is not only interesting but significant.                     These youths have escaped from bondage in countries ruined                     by war and oppression. They are making their way into the                     freedom of Canadian society. They will be the parents of Canadian                     children a few years hence. By their study they are building                     up for those children a better chance than will be enjoyed                     by children whose parents cling to their old-world language                     and customs.<\/p>\n<h3>What Comes Next?<\/h3>\n<p>Graduation is only the end of a phase. The greater part                     of life lies ahead. Every year some 150,000 young Canadians                     search for openings in the 20,000 or more different types                     of vocations we have in Canada. (These figures, and many more                     in this Monthly Letter, are taken from a useful and interesting                     publication of the Department of Trade and Commerce called                     <em>Canadian Census Occupational Data for Counsellors<\/em>.                     It is a 166-page bulletin filled with authentic information,                     available from the Dominion Bureau of Statistics, Ottawa,                     for fifty cents.)<\/p>\n<p>The first problem facing these young graduates is raised                     by the fact that the careers beckoning to the individual have                     increased a thousandfold. In the middle of the last century                     there were 300 occupations from which to choose; the most                     recent estimate is that there are 30,000, but of course not                     all are available in Canada. The Number One problem, then,                     is to choose a job.<\/p>\n<p>There are no greater tragedies than those brought about                     by merely drifting into jobs. Young people who fail to choose                     a life activity which gives them a purpose and provides them                     with satisfactory self-expression are like Carlyle&#8217;s                     unhappy people: &#8220;No landmark on the Earth; no lodestar in                     the Heaven.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It may be pointed out with reason that every person can                     work successfully in a number of occupations. It is equally                     true that for nearly every person there is some one vocation                     into which he can put more good, and in which he can find                     more delight, than any other.<\/p>\n<p>Youths are inclined too often to seize upon the best paying                     job of the moment, without asking themselves &#8220;Will it give                     me satisfaction?&#8221; As a consequence, they find themselves in                     dead-end jobs, disgruntled with life, and frustrated                     in their desire for self-expression.<\/p>\n<p>Men and women are needed today, and the demand will be equally                     great ten years from today, who are prepared to do a good                     job, but that preparedness does not just grow. Business executives                     know only too well how often they have had good positions                     go begging for trained men and women, simply because there                     are so many who are unwilling to qualify on their own initiative.<\/p>\n<p>Opportunities will come in spite of anything you can do,                     but if you are not ready for them they will pass on to someone                     else. There is an old saying to the effect that the small                     man wastes his time looking for big opportunities, while the                     great man uses his time taking advantage of the little ones                     as they come.<\/p>\n<h3>Canada Offers Opportunities<\/h3>\n<p>Besides all the obvious chances for carving a respectable                     place out of the years ahead, there are a thousand paths not                     yet trodden, and for the adventurous man Canada is still unexhausted                     and undiscovered.<\/p>\n<p>A special Canadian issue of the New York Herald Tribune,                     issued in January, had headings such as these: New iron ore                     development may be one of world&#8217;s best; Added supply of coal                     seen in new field; World&#8217;s largest aluminum unit is ready                     to aid Marshall plan; Pulp and paper mills operating at rate                     50 per cent higher than in pre-war period; Electric power                     projects to aid industry; New industries climb sharply in                     8-year span; More than 2,000 industrial projects established                     in Quebec since 1945; Dominion easily maintains her position                     as the world&#8217;s third largest trader; Ontario leads in industrial                     plant building; Chemical industry expansion to set new high;                     Life insurance holdings per capita set record unsurpassed                     by any other country relative to national income; Chartered                     banks play a major role in economic programme. These headings                     from a United States newspaper should tell Canadians as well                     as people south of the border that this is a country of grand                     opportunity for the young men and women who leave school and                     university this year.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes one hears talk of all the wonderful chances there                     are in other countries. Some of the publicity given the &#8220;exodus&#8221;                     of young Canadians has been, to say the least, exaggerated.                     The articles have leaned to vague statements and generalities.                     Well, here are some facts.<\/p>\n<p>The National Employment Service obtained from the Department                     of Veterans Affairs the names and addresses of 1,127 veterans                     who are taking courses in United States educational institutions.                     A letter was sent to each man offering to supply detailed                     information regarding conditions and opportunities in any                     part of Canada, and offering help in finding a suitable position                     on graduation. Replies are not all in, but fifty per cent                     answered the first lot of 900 letters mailed, and others are                     coming in weekly as students near the end of their courses.                     Most of the students definitely wish to return to Canada;                     in fact, of the first 450 replies only one expressed no desire                     to return. Practically all who have finished their courses                     have come back to Canada.<\/p>\n<h3>The Value of Education<\/h3>\n<p>There is probably no country in the world where progress                     is so little conditioned on &#8220;pull&#8221; and &#8220;influence&#8221;. There                     is no country where a young man has a better chance to make                     his own way, according to his initiative and energy. Education                     is not thrown at the heads of youths who show exceptional                     ability, but is there for the taking by all.<\/p>\n<p>Some leaders in the professions and industry worked their                     way through university by driving cabs, waiting in restaurants,                     and keeping books of account in their spare time. Psychologists                     have arrived at the conclusion that a young man who does some                     of this self-help work is a better student and a better                     man than the one who has things made easy for him.<\/p>\n<p>But Canada does not put an undue premium on higher education.                     The lad who leaves high school to work has his opportunities,                     and, after all, Shakespeare, Burns, Carlyle, Scott and Darwin                     came into the sunlight of fame without any parchment certificates,                     and very few of the men at the top in Canadian industry and                     finance today have any except honorary university degrees.<\/p>\n<p>This is not to say that the highest education available                     to an aspiring young man is not the best education, provided                     it contributes to the work he intends to do in the world.                     In quantity of knowledge available the young man of today                     may excel a Plato or an Aristotle. The problem is to make                     use in the best way of what he gets. Dr. Raymond G. Miller                     says in <em>Take Time for Human Engineering<\/em>: &#8220;A formal                     education is comparable to a bunch of keys. In itself, mere                     knowledge is of no particular value, except as it is used                     to unlock the doors to the development of understanding and                     judgment.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Very few people progress in this world if knowledge has                     had to be forced upon them, or if it is handed them on a silver                     platter with second helpings when they spill one serving.                     The people who succeed are invariably those who have a thirst                     for knowledge, go out and secure their knowledge in one way                     or another, and then put it to work. Those who are obsessed                     with the thought, or have sons who think, that parents &#8220;owe&#8221;                     a higher education to their children at whatever sacrifice                     of comfort and ease should read the article &#8220;I Got a Right                     to an Education&#8221; in the <em>Canadian Home Journal <\/em>of February.                     This story, by Allen Roy Evans, M.A., brings into right perspective                     all the debate and dispute centring around the obligation                     of parents and the &#8220;soft&#8221; approach of youths who refuse to                     earn at least a part of their way through school and university.<\/p>\n<p>There is a movement afoot in this country for &#8220;Practical                     Education.&#8221; The Canadian Research Committee on Practical Education                     was born last spring, and now shares offices with the Canadian                     Education Association in Toronto. Its chairman is Dr. Fletcher                     Peacock, director of education for New Brunswick, and its                     vice-chairman is Hugh Crombie of the Canadian Manufacturers&#8217;                     Association.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the questions being studied by this committee, according                     to a list kindly supplied us by A. G. McColl, Research Director,                     are: What should be the primary objectives in the High School                     programme? Does the present High School programme meet these                     objectives? What proportion of all youth should the High School                     serve? Is the present programme meeting the needs of these                     young people? Is the employer satisfied with the training                     young people are receiving in High School? If not, what are                     the common deficiencies noted in the High School product?                     Is the remedy more likely to be along the lines of an improved                     general education programme or by a greater emphasis on the                     skills and qualities essential in efficient employees? Is                     the school working with business, industry and labour forming                     a partnership in this vital enterprise of planning and providing                     a suitable education for young people? Would a closer liaison                     be mutually beneficial?<\/p>\n<p>Just before leaving the matter of education, look at this                     tabulation. It shows in black and white what education has                     been obtained by persons in various vocations. This table,                     part of the occupational data bulletin referred to on page                     one, will well repay study by both graduates and those who                     will employ them.<\/p>\n<table width=\"415\" border=\"1\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" class=\"smltabletxt\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" colspan=\"2\" align=\"center\">Number<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" colspan=\"4\" align=\"center\">Number of years                         at school distributed in percentages<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" colspan=\"2\">M &#8211; Men<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" colspan=\"2\">W &#8211; Women<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"center\">0-4 years<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"center\">5-8 years<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"center\">9-12 years<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"center\">13 &amp; over years<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">1. Professional persons<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">M<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">123,033<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">0.3<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">7.6<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">27.2<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">64.9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">W<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">126,802<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">0.3<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">7.2<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">55.9<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">36.6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">2. Proprietors, managers, officials<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">M<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">864,664<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">15.4<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">55.3<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">24.8<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">4.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">W<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">30,685<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">12.8<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">44.1<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">37.2<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">5.9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">3. Clerical, commercial<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">M<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">389,981<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">2.1<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">28.1<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">57.1<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">12.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">W<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">232,824<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">0.4<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">15.4<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">70.0<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">14.2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">4. Skilled workmen; foremen<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">M<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">519,190<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">8.8<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">52.0<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">35.6<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">3.7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">W<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">12,405<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">3.3<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">41.8<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">50.7<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">4.2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">5. Semi-skilled workers<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">M<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">409,969<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">8.2<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">54.9<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">34.1<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">2.8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">W<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">146,331<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">3.6<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">45.7<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">47.7<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">3.0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">6. Unskilled and service workers<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">M<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">1,038,919<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">17.0<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">61.1<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">20.5<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">1.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\">&nbsp;<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\">W<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">282,896<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">8.0<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">55.3<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">34.3<\/td>\n<td valign=\"top\" align=\"right\">2.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3>Vocational Guidance<\/h3>\n<p>There is a tendency for industries to become more highly                     mechanized but to have the machines so simplified in operation                     that relatively inexperienced operators may use them. Such                     industries can employ unskilled labourers and teach them all                     they are required to know in a week or less. A survey made                     by H. M. Bell for the American Council on Education showed                     that in 2,216 occupations in 18 industries 8.5 per cent of                     employees required no training, 59 per cent one week or less,                     11.3 per cent from one week to one month, and only 21.3 per                     cent required more preparation.<\/p>\n<p>It is obviously in the skilled occupations that education                     is of most value, for there it provides background against                     which competent handling of situations may be erected. This                     is where vocational guidance has its most worthwhile sphere                     of activity. It is a major responsibility, these days, to                     guide young men and women so that they shall make the best                     use of their natural skills and acquired knowledge in work                     suited to their interests and capacities.<\/p>\n<p>This assistance cannot be given in a casual or routine way                     by teachers, clergymen and parents. It demands the service                     of people who can sit down with the youth and &#8220;talk things                     over,&#8221; bringing to the discussion a wealth of experience,                     a breadth of understanding, and a patience which will together                     build confidence, reach the truth, and help in setting up                     objectives.<\/p>\n<h3>Dependability and Personality<\/h3>\n<p>One way to attract favourable notice is by taking extra                     care so as to earn a reputation for dependability. This means                     looking beyond the day&#8217;s work, and accepting responsibility.                     Dependability is not achieved by listening to lectures, but                     by thought, hard work and self-denial.<\/p>\n<p>The majority of dismissals, according to the Dominion Bureau                     of Statistics bulletin already cited, are not due to inefficiency.                     Numerous studies seem to show that only 15 to 25 per cent                     of dismissals are due to incompetence, slowness, spoilage                     of materials and physical unadaptability. Causes of most other                     dismissals are given as: personal defects, lack of job wisdom,                     and emotional immaturity. Included are such things as: insubordination,                     laziness, trouble making and drinking.<\/p>\n<p>Dependability means being able to trust your own conclusions                     arrived at after your best consideration. A man who wants                     advice before he does anything important can never be depended                     upon in business. Dependability demands that if you happen                     to be wrong you admit it quickly and emphatically. There is                     no more effective way of demonstrating dependability than                     to speak out when you know you are right, and to admit unhesitatingly                     when you are wrong.<\/p>\n<p>These things enter into personality, which is the sum total                     of the effect we have on other people. The enterprising, energetic,                     dependable man has an authentic dignity. The outward appearance                     is only the manifestation of something inside. This something                     usually inclines a man to take the gentle, the favourable,                     the indulgent view of his companions&#8217; failings, and to be                     courteous even under provocation.<\/p>\n<p>Personality may be modified by temperament. Everyone is                     entitled to a temperament, provided it doesn&#8217;t get in the                     way of his advancement. Temperament is merely a natural disposition                     which determines how we will feel and act at various times                     and under various circumstances. The author, artist, poet,                     sculptor and actor are excused much because people subscribe                     to the dictum of the German philosopher that &#8220;One must have                     chaos in one to give birth to a dancing star,&#8221; but ordinary                     people cannot get away with too many temperamental tantrums.<\/p>\n<p>Young people starting out in the business world should keep                     in mind the philosopher who argued with the Emperor Adrian                     and remarked: I am never ashamed to be confuted by one who                     is master of 50 legions.&#8221; There is also the story of Hajji                     Baba, whose chief hit him playfully on the head. Hajji Baba                     boasted: &#8220;though I rubbed the sore place, I still could laugh                     at the jokes of my chief.&#8221; Only time and ripe experience bring                     such wisdom.<\/p>\n<h3>What is Success Worth?<\/h3>\n<p>What a youth does after graduation depends largely upon                     his ambition. He needs to study his objective and decide what                     to give up in the interests of success, because by this time                     he knows that nothing is to be gained except by giving up                     something else. It is not worth the same sacrifice to capture                     a flock of sheep as to capture a rich city.<\/p>\n<p>Those succeed best, and probably easiest, who form definite                     ideas of what they are going to do before they start to do                     it. A specific, concrete and definite aim gives the mind unity                     of action.<\/p>\n<p>Then a strategy must be worked out. Every man must plan                     his own strategy, based upon his peculiar abilities. David                     couldn&#8217;t fight Goliath with Saul&#8217;s weapons, and a man who                     knows he has not a genius for fighting must learn how to prosper                     by the arts of peace. In any event, wise strategy makes an                     alliance with circumstances which in case of success will                     follow up the pursuit, and in case of reverse will screen                     the retreat.<\/p>\n<p>The strategy of British commanders has always lent itself                     to description in few words. Here are some examples: Jervis,                     &#8220;order, simplicity&#8221;: Nelson, &#8220;disobey orders if necessary;                     keep enemy from consolidating; close &#8211; do not wait to have                     the battle forced upon you&#8221;: Wolfe, &#8220;always try once more&#8221;:                     Wellington, &#8220;keep your main strength hidden; when the enemy                     is lulled into security jump with both feet&#8221;: and Hamilton,                     &#8220;if strategy doesn&#8217;t work, go get the enemy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The first suggestion by Wellington is an important pointer                     for the young man starting out in business. Too often youth                     is inclined to adopt big-shot manners without having                     big-shot qualifications. It is well to avoid display                     until you are in an unassailable position.<\/p>\n<p>Next to the ill-repute of the immature &#8220;big-shot&#8221;                     is that of the &#8220;little-shot.&#8221; He is usually a clock watcher,                     whose criteria of a job are the amount of time off, short                     hours and long vacation with pay. Little-shots go into                     tedious and devious detail every time a superior asks them                     for a report. They make their jobs appear difficult, and think                     they are giving an impression of the vast amount of work they                     do. Behind the smoke screen is usually found mental laziness                     and haziness. They have no idea of how to glide over the unimportant                     and to give proper attention to the important things.<\/p>\n<h3>The Time to Start? Now!<\/h3>\n<p>Obviously, this business of getting the right job and then                     getting on in it means more than merely answering an advertisement                     and reporting for duty. An important thing is to realize this                     at once, and start now to do something about it. People who                     postpone are lacking in drive efficiency. That boyhood superman                     to many of us, Napoleon, remarked that no blunder in war or                     politics is so common as that which arises from missing the                     proper moment of exertion. We all know the silly hesitancy                     which does not know enough to come in out of the rain, but                     stays outside while it is raining and, when it stops, goes                     inside just as the ceiling is failing.<\/p>\n<p>Having planned well and having got started, look for ideas.                     Almost any idea that jolts one out of current smugness is                     better than none. Make your own programme so long and so hard                     that the people who praise you for a good piece of work will                     always seem to you to be talking about something very trivial                     in comparison to what you are really trying to do.<\/p>\n<p>This discussion should not be allowed to leave the impression                     that if he uses certain strategy the graduate&#8217;s life will                     be easy. The price of success is readily stated: start where                     you are now, without waiting for a &#8220;good break&#8221;; throw wishing                     overboard and do something substantial and realistic about                     preparing for the next highest post; find out what obstacles                     there are and plan to surmount them by developing capability                     and directing it effectively; and then keep going.<\/p>\n<p>There is a gain and a loss in every step forward. Something                     must be left behind, but the loss is not important if you                     secure the gain. The higher you climb in the scale of success,                     the harder you will have to work to hold your position, and                     the more you will have to put up with. That is one reason                     why there are not more people up at the top.<\/p>\n<h3>What Lies Ahead?<\/h3>\n<p>To predict what is ahead for Canada is futile speculation,                     because it depends upon so many variables: the state of the                     world, the urge of our young men and young women, the sense                     of our statesmen and business-men.<\/p>\n<p>The wars have presented unpredictable situations in Canada;                     technological advance is so fast that it upsets predictions                     from day to day. In down-to-earth figures, here                     are the immediate prospects as outlined by the Department                     of Reconstruction and Supply in March: a 17 per cent increase                     in private and public investment outlay for new capital goods                     in 1948, compared with 1947; a capital programme of $2.8 billion,                     the highest in Canada&#8217;s history; of this, $2,184 million is                     to be in privately-owned business, institutions and housing,                     while public outlay is expected to reach $635 million.<\/p>\n<p>Canada has undergone noteworthy economic advance in the                     81 years since she became a dominion, and there is good reason                     to believe that the process of growth has by no means reached                     completion. New industries are being encouraged, and existing                     industries are expanding in a way to contribute to Canada&#8217;s                     long-term development.<\/p>\n<p>This advancement of Canada has taken place within the friendly                     atmosphere of western civilization, a culture based on principles                     established in the western world at heavy cost through the                     last seven or eight centuries. Working on the foundation so                     well laid, today&#8217;s Canadians have the responsibility of preserving                     the fruits of the work of pioneers, and developing human potentialities                     which will enable men to use to their full value the new powers                     with which science has gifted them.<\/p>\n<p>Young men and women who graduated this year are part of                     a civilization whose fate may be decided within their own                     life-span. This civilization has in it, despite all its                     faults and dangers, the seeds of freedom and of decent living.<\/p>\n<p>There is no need to approach the future in a timid and tremulous                     way. All the power we can ever use now exists, and awaits                     our intelligent application. These are days when pomp and                     pride cast only a faint shadow across the pages of current                     history. Ability and knowledge and initiative, linked with                     common sense, are the points on which this year&#8217;s graduates                     are judged and by which they will rise or fall.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[1],"rbc_letter_theme":[],"rbc_letter_year":[28],"class_list":["post-3964","rbc_letter","type-rbc_letter","status-publish","hentry","category-uncategorized","rbc_letter_year-28"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>May 1948 - Vol. 29, No. 5 - Graduating Into Life - RBC<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/about-us\/history\/letter\/may-1948-vol-29-no-5-graduating-into-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"May 1948 - Vol. 29, No. 5 - Graduating Into Life - RBC\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Young people are faced with decisions of great importance to them and to the country. 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