The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1866-11-16
A Word 10 WOrkIngmen.

u w VI w WV hfHrsfNhs
Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, in q re-
cent address to young men, thus Illus
tratcd the honor of sticking to your
trade
always honor q man who emo |
blcs his calling whatever it may be. -
Franklin made it nobler and easier /
for men to be printers in nll time to
come because he remained printer -
presume YOU have all heard of the
Dowsc Library 1t, with fine collec-
ton Of paintings, was once the prop
erty of an old tanner, who determined
that his friends and neighhors should
know that lie could be a man OF taste,
scholar man of culture--tanner
that he was. SO he collected his
books a few at n time, and what is
more to the point, he read them. -
And being tanner he had naturally
taste in The line of leather, SO he
waited patiently until he could have
them oil bound rs he wished And as
he grew older he became very wealthy
and had before he died the best library
of any one in that section OF the coun-
try. When go to Boston, whatever
else fail to see, | always go TO the
Atheneum and pay my respects to
that old library Men determine their
own status and no voting or influence
can change them II you put IL man
who is but FIVE feet high on table,
you don't increase his stature; you
may send man to Albany--that won't
make him wise; YOU may send him to
Washington that won't mako him
great man. \ man may be sent to
Congress and not be n sage He may
even be President and make some
mistakes. This rule of education of
ennobling the manhood of men, is APP
plicablc as well to the clerks as to the
laboring man. Importantly may Sc
cure to them remission OF time, or n
slight increase Of wages, but the vital
necessities of these Young men, the
volume OF being and the elevation Of
character are secured in no such way;
they are the normal result of educa
ton, and follow appointed paths. In
aiistocratic societies the tendency
is TO elevate the few and depress
the masses, but in this country and
wherever true Democracy has It's way,
the tendency is to elevate the many
and repress the few. 1t may be true
that the tens are more scarce than IN
earlier days, but it certainly is true
hat the thousands are more plenty
There are not so many genluses and
great men, but there are vastly more
true men, worthy men, intelligent men
than ever before. Here we are Jealous
of the few, and prominence is not SO
readily granted to the ambitious as
where the average of society is low
The tendencies of our time are far
higher and better than formerly. The
natural temptations remain, to be sure,
but it seems to me that in all indus
trial and professional callings there is
q purer, more generous and higher
ambition than formerly. Virtue is
more honorcd, dissipation is repro
bated, and Christian character is far
more common among young men than
in my boyhood. Twenty years ago, if
one should speak i'll a public assem-
blage it would be taken for granted
that he was clergyman, a lawyer, or
at least a professor; but now it is no
uncommon matter to hear men talk
intelligently and interestingly ON
matters of law, of ethics, of various
subjects, whose hands are yet hard
from the holding of the pillow, whose
skin is yet grimed with the dust o.
the forge. Labor is honorable among
us. idleness dishonorable. Men vii
be free in Europe as soon ms the mass
es are intelligent and morai--not be
fore. Make much then of manhood
make its wrist too long for manacles
its hand too strong for prisons On
young men are those TO whom w
must look for help. They are stronge
to-day among us than ever The
are strong for war, they are stron
to for good. They may help societ
in many ways. They may help by n
ambition OF intelligence, rather than {
pleasure. Let them read study, edu
cate themselves. thereby making tru
MEN for the State, true men for thei
calling, true men upon whose wit an
wisdom the country can rely in tim
OF trouble and embarrassment The
may help by redeeming their occup1
tons from vulgariziug tendencies.
trade is what man sees fit to max
it--not what other men think best t
call it. They may help by giving me
power--not to escape from certa
callings, but to ennoble them.