The following article, written by a Railway officer for the Dunedin “Star,” should prove interesting to readers of the “N. Z. R. Magazine”:—

One of the outstanding incidents in a man's life and one requiring serious contemplation is the choice of his calling. The present large scale of unemployment and trade depression emphasies the value of continuous occupation to those less favourably situated in respect of wealth, and those following professional callings seem Fortune's favourites.

Apart from the material aspect, the choice of the calling is pre-eminently important from the fact that it determines environment, and therefore influences the intellectual side of life. There are many professions from which to choose; many are old-established, and generally looked upon as providing substance and respectability, others are new and steadily establishing their prestige. Before the prestige of a profession is established it is necessary that it should reach a state of usefulness to society from which it derives popularity, the generally accepted hall-mark being the recognition of the ability and service of its members by State benefits and honours. Of the professions newly established is the railway profession, the opportunities and possibilities of which it is the purpose of this article to discuss. The transport revolution brought it into being, and its great sphere of usefulness has established it in the public favour.