Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1867-07-03
4 Path 10 Fortune.
nr THEODORE TILTo>

AZ THEODORE nLION.
used 10 think that Mr.. Greeley was
ungenerous in advising young men not to
seek their fortunes in the great cities, but
in the country districts; particularly as
he himself had come from a country dis
trict. and found his fortune i'll great city.
But a winters travel through both country
and city has convinced me that his Oft
repeated views on this subject. and his
special earnestness in their advocacy, are
abundanty justified by the facts
left behind me in New York thousands
of young men, struggling hard 10 get a
footing III the world, earning scarcely
enough 10 keep soul and body together, Yet
who, if they had the courage to conquer a
new country, might easily achieve for
themselves that moderate wealth which Is
always and everywhere the best OF good
fortune.
Every great American city, at the pres
ent moment, Is overrun with applicants for
something to do Chicago. like New ork,
is crowded with young men who have
hocked to it, like moths TO candle only
to be devoured by the fame. The devils
chief temptation 10 a young man in the
West is TO prompt him to keep store.
g" Buy a stock Of goods says the great
adversary. And Of the multitudes who
listen 10 the suggestion nearly all are en-
shared The prospect appears brilliant
but the result proves fatal
Ii i an understatement to say that the
majority of Western farmers succeed. \
more accurate statement would be, that
with the exception Of small minority OF
Western merchants. all fail while. witt
the exception OF i small minority of " est
ern farmers All succeed. In view ot
these undisguised and warning facts. it i:
astonishing To sec - many Young mel
who. on coming from the East 10 the " est
TO BEGIN 4 career. wreck themselves AT tht
outset by deliberately choosing the wrong
channel To- success.
was walking with an experienced mer
chant around the market square of ;
Western town, TO whom happened to pu
the question. " How many of the hun
dred @ud twenty business firms around thi
square DO You personally know - -
know them all. he replied. How man,
Of them are thrifty in their business? :?
- Only three" He then explained tha
these three were growing rich that
dozen others were earning living; bu
that the great majority of the remainde
must sooner or later one after another
drop INTO bankruptcy.
On the contrary, almost every old-estab
lished farmer whom | have met IN III
, West has told me some such tale as this
=. came here ten (orperhaps titteen) year
| ago, with five hundred dollars. tor perhap
nothing.) and now | could sell my propet
for dozen or twenty thousand dollars
Thus it almost seems a if store were q
. open gate to failure, and farm an ope
road Ia success
1t requires an unusual aptitude Of min
10 conduct mercantile business. This az
2 titude is possessed by so few that ever
| beginner ought to take for granted ths
r he does not hold the talisman, until b
r finds bv an unmistakable instinct that h
= is really one of the few and fortunate ma,
/ tiers Of the knack do not mean TO sa
! that a man who cannot be merchant ca
be farmer Mother earth Is GOO
: nudge of men; she will not yield her Gro
- 10 the shiftless and the inefficient, Bl
n the farmer runs fewer risks than the me
# chant. The farmer gives safe credit
| God and Nature; the merchant gives {
i unsafe credit TO man The seed-time know
d that its promise will be fulfilled by Il
d harvest; but promissory note OF han
k never can know whether lis promise is
e be broken or not.