- John McLean fails to obtain the coveted honor of selection to the Senior Society at Yale, but is cheered by a letter from his father who reminds him that the courage of the commonplace is the greatest of all. Nevertheless, the girl he loves leaves without bidding him goodbye and John, not knowing that her grief over his failure was the cause, assumes that she has lost faith in him. Three years later, John graduates from Boston Tech and is appointed superintendent of the Big Oriel Mine. Conditions are deplorable at his post and John sets out to win the confidence of the men, which he succeeds in doing, winning all but a few miners led by the foreman O'Hara. When a fire breaks out in the mine, the two adversaries are trapped in a shaft. O'Hara loses his mind and attacks his comrades but is knocked senseless by John. Relief arrives just in time and John finds himself a hero, not only to O'Hara and his former foes, but to the world outside. At the Yale commencement, he is praised in a speech by the president, feted by his classmates, and his happiness is made complete when the girl confesses her love for him.
- John McLean belonged to a family that for years had sent its sons to Yale. Without exception those sons had always been chosen in the Senior Societies, but "Mac" had done nothing to distinguish himself and became uneasy as "Tap Day" drew near. He gets a letter from his father telling him if he should not be chosen to remember "the courage of the commonplace is greater than the courage of the crisis." Tap Day came, but McLean was not among the number chosen. The girl he has fallen in love with is a witness of his humiliation. She could not speak to him because she was afraid she would break down, and smarting under this blow, "Mac" faces the future. He knows he has been easy going and resolves to apply to his career the "courage of the commonplace." He does not see the girl again, but three years later graduates from Boston Tech, first in his class. Shortly after "Mac" returns home his father tells him he has been chosen superintendent of the Oriel Mine. The position was offered him because his name had been given by the faculty of "Tech" as the man most fitted for the responsibility. McLean finds conditions at the mine very serious. There is much discontent and O'Hara, the head foreman, is one of the chief malcontents. He sets about to improve conditions. He lays off the chronic slackers. He forms clubs where the men and their families gather in the evening. He helps all who are in trouble. O'Hara and his men threaten to strike but postpone it when some of the women intercede. A fire breaks out in the mine, imprisoning many men. Accompanied by a few volunteers McLean goes down. Under his direction the men are shut off by a wall of earth and rock. While another party is digging the way through a separating wall, O'Hara becomes deranged and McLean overcomes him with difficulty, emerging with a broken arm. After days of anxiety the rescue party breaks through the wall and the exhausted men are taken to the top. The young superintendent is the hero of the hour. The strain has been too much for McLean, and he collapses. Nursed back to health and strength he is carried to spend commencement week at Yale, where the President holds him up as an example of what a supposed failure can do if he has the "Courage of the Commonplace." "Mac" sees the girl whom he has loved all these years and he tells her so, but is given little time for love-making. Borne away on the shoulders of his classmates in triumph, he has to add one more day to the long time he has waited for the girl.
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By what name was The Courage of the Common Place (1917) officially released in Canada in English?
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