The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1853-1861, 1853-08-02
A Bad Start and a Worse ontcoznc.

A young man'n thi; city lately attempted
shooting himself with a pistol, giving As a re;
son for doing SO that he had no means of living.
lie had written Ills friends for funds, but net
receiving any, he determined on seifdestue-
ton: We know nothing Of the individual, and
only gathered the above particulars from some
of the daily l'apers; but the case suggests
some important considerations.
l.Why.is it so many boys arc suffered to
grow up in our country, without Il practical
knowledge of the means Of an honest lycI :
hood? In other words why are not hoys, al
boys, everywhere taught to work Is there
any disgrace in being abr, from early cduca
ton, to earn an honest living BY lie Labor Of
ones hands, whenever it may De necessary
Do not parents do an injury to their children,
and to the community at large, hy raising them
upand thrd>ting them ont upon the world un-
prepared to earn Il competent sub':i,tcnce !?
Are their SONS too good to work? Alas for
want of correct views on this subject. and uI
useful, honorable employment, hundreds arc
led first to drinking and gambling houses, and
then ta disgrace and ruin.
2. In country like this, where openings for
industry and enterprise are So nrrnrrous. " here
every healthy man may do well if he will, why
should IN u and especially young men, com
plain, ,eesa sSfHtsQl the means Of living? lii
cestStfls not besSusc there is nothing to be
,loseEHat beeS use iags.e ;sstssa1 opening, for
them; but IT'S reseei,hcr t, o
proud or too lay GA false
education, connected &dff1 sssaSsttcir
own important selves, lead tkeas 3ssSgNsgdde
that honest labor is dcyrudi"Tsassfessss1& IA.
ding; though they will not Often sIt.;Ik "ut
thus, this is the feeling. TO soil their pretty
hands and dirty their fae unpaltor ;loiheS, is
stoop To which they cannot sub"it
pride will not allow it; hence they are too o.:
ten ready to resort to almost any Course rather
than go honestly to work. In all this there is
radical alPerror, which in most cases may be
traced to the influence of early education.
Ihe parent was, perhaps, some thirtv-scvrn
and half cents better Of than his m,i..hbors,
hence he, weak man, was led to suppose til
his son was only suited for some profession, or,
attic very lowest, to " z" into some business
as 1t Is usually mcd-,hat is, to stand be.
mad some counter, cut tape, and measure cali
CO. And this, in the estimation of the ,vcr
fond and deludcd parent, is "morc reSpecta-
BILE" thalrthe various handicraft pursuits of th'
country. How upon the face OF the earth did
it ever enter the heads of men that it WAS more
respectable to stand hy 4 counter than by II
work.bench--to measure cloth than make the
coat-to shave notes than to shave timber!
How, we cannot imagine. Out upon such
ninnyism say we! Let our SONS be tan4ht
that idIcness is a disgrace, and that no man has
right to live upon the common stock vi ithout
contributing his share-Nto the support of the
whole; and then let each and every man lay
to" ana do something useful To- himself and
others. If he cannot do Mjs let him do t*oi,
but let him never be dIc, but always u*cfirIiy
employed; then he will not be SO anxious to
hurry hi,S Slt out Of thi, world, bad as some
pretend to think it is.