The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1855-08-01
Don't Depend on Father


Stand up here, young man, and let us
talk to you-you have trusted alone to the
contents of fathers purse" or the fair
fame for your influence or success in bust
ness. Think you that he has amassed a
fortune honestly, without energy or ac-
tivity? You should know that the faculty
requisite for the acquiring of fame and for
tune, is essential to- nay inseperable from
the retaining of either of these? Suppose
that ''father" had the crooks" in abun-
dance: if you never earned any thing for
him, you have no more business with those
''rocks" than gosling has with tortoise!
and if he allows you to meddle with them
till you have earned their value by your
own industry he perpetrates untold mis-
chief. And if the old gentleman is lavish
of his cash towards you, while he allows
you to idle away your time, you'd better
leave him, yes run away, sooner than be
made an imbecile or a scoundrel through
so corrupting an influence. Sooner or
later you must learn to rely on your own
resources, or you will not be anybody. If
you have never helped yourself at all, if
You have become idle, if you have eaten
fathers bread and butter, and smoked
fathers cigars, and cut swell in fathers
buggy, and tried to put on fathers inHu-
ence and reputation, you might rather have
been poor canal boy, the son of CHM
ney sweep, or boot black-and indeed
we would not swap with you the situation
of poor, half-staryed motherless calf!
Miserable object you are, to depend upon
your parents, playing gentleman, alias
dandy loafer.) What in the name of COM
mon sense are you thinking of? Wake
up here! Go to work either your hands
or brains or both, and he something!-
Don't merely have it to boast of that you
have grown in Gathers" house-that you
have vegetated as other greenhorns! but
let folks know that you count one.
Come. off with your coat, clinch the saw,
plow handles the sythe, the axe, the pick
axe the spade--anything that will enable
you to stir your blood! Fly round and
tear your jacket rather than be the passive
recipient of the old gentleman's bounty
Sooner than play the dandy at dads ex-
pense hire yourself on to some potatoe
patch let yourself to stop hog-holes, or
watch the bars, and when you think your
self entitled to resting spell do it on your
own hook. If you have no other means
of having fun Of your own, buy with your
earnings, an empty barrel, and put your
head in it and holler, or get into it and
roll down hill, don't for pity sake make
the old gentleman furnish every thing, and
you live at your ease.
Look about you, you well dressed,
smooth faced, do-nothing droncss Who
are they that have wealth anu influence in
society? Are they those who depended
alone on the old gentleman's purse? Or
are they those who have climbed their way
to their position by their own industry
and encrgy9 True, the old gentleman's
funds or personal influence, may secure
you the forms of respect but let him lose
his property, and die, and what are you?
A miserable aegling-a bunch of flesh and
bones that needs to be taken care of!
Again we say wake up-get up in the
morning round, at least twice be-
fore brcakfast--help the old man-give
him now and then generous lift in bust
Iness-learn how, take the lead and don't
depend forever on being led; and you have
no idea how the decipline will benefit you.
Do this and our word for it, you will seem
to breathe new atmosphere, possess a
new frame, tread new earth, wake to a
destiny and then you may begin to aspire
to manhood. Take off, then, that ring
from your little finger, break your cane
shave your upper lip, wipe your nose, hold
up your head, and by all means, never
again eat the bread of idleness, nor de-
pend on your father.