C++ :: Setting Variables For Text

I am trying to find a quicker way of setting the variables for text. here is my code:

sf::Text set_text_values(sf::Text text, sf::Font font) {
text.setFont(font);
text.setCharacterSize(50);
text.setColor(sf::Color::White);
return text;

[Code] ....

And I have tried it like this

void set_text_values(sf::Text text, sf::Font font) {
text.setFont(font);
text.setCharacterSize(50);
text.setColor(sf::Color::White);

[Code] ....

The code compiles and runs but it won't show the text on the screen like it did when i did it manually like this:

int main() {
Hull.setFont(font);
Hull.setCharacterSize(50);
Hull.setColor(sf::Color::White);
}

What is wrong with it?