The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1869-03-12
WANTED A CLERK"

in this paper for clerk, and requested ap-
plcants to address their notes to him at the
Ledger Office BY the close of the first
Gay on which the advertisement appeared
there were four hundred and eighteen ap-
plicauts Cor this one clerkship. This af-
fords most forc,ble illustration of the ex.
tent to which the occupation of book. keep.
ing is overstocked in this city. Bat a lew
months previous, the head of business
establishment, who wished some help in
the way of writing, but in which some
literary ability was required, advertised
for an assistant, at moderate salary, and
having incidentally mentioned that the pos
sition might suit lawyer or physician not
in good practice, got more than hundred
applicants, of which ty-three were from
young lawyers and doctors. Here was
another illustration of an over supply OF
the professional or genteel occupations"
Another advertised in the Ledgcr, who
wanted person to take charge of the edi
torial work of weekly paper, got fifty.
seven applications, not more than hall
dozen of the applicants being recognized
newspaper writers, but nearly all of them
being clerks, bookeerers aud professional
men. Still another advertised for two ap-
prentices in a wheel;wrightand smith shop,
in one of the semirural wards of the city,
requesting applicants to give their address
and age He got three applications, but
IN every case the applicant was too old, two
of them being over eighteen, and one
nearly twenty. Still another advertised for
au office boy, about fourteen years old, and
had so many applicants that his place was
crowded for more than five hours, and the
applicants were of all ages, from nero chill.
dren not more than twelve years to full
grown men of twenty>one.
These are not very cheerful or en-.
couraging signs. They are such, how.
ever, as every man and woman in phila
delphia should give attention TO. The
present generation Of young men seem to
have strong aversion to every kind of
trade, business, calling or occupation that
requires manual labor, and an equally
strong tendency towards some so called
" genteel employment or profession. The
result is seen in such lamentlble facts as
those above statod-a superabundanee of
elegant penmen, book-keepers and clerks
of every Kind who can get no employment
and are wasting their lives in the vain pur
suit OF what is not to be had and a terri.
BILE overstock of lawyers without practice
and doctors without patients. The passion
on the part OF ooys and young men to be
clerks, office attendants, messengers, any
thing, so that it is not work of the kind
that will make them mechanics or trades
men, it is deplorable sight to those who
have full opportunities to see the distress
ing effects Of it in the struge o of such EN-
ployments by those unfortunates who have
put it out of their power 20 do anything
else by neglectiug to learn some permanent
trade or business in which trained skill can
always be turned to account.
The applications for clerkships and
similar positions in large establishments
are numerous beyond anything that would
be thought by those VINO have no chance
to witness it. Parents and relatives, as
we'll as the boys and young men themselves,
seem to be afflicted with tie same infatua-
ton. To all such we say that the most I'M
wise advice you can give to your boy is to
encourage him to be clerk or book. keeper
At the best, it is not well paid occupation.
Very Frequently it is among the poorest.
This is the case when the clerk is fortunate
to be employed but if he should happen
to be out of place then comes the weary
search, the fearful struggle with the
thousand of others looking for places, the
never ending disappointme nts, tie hope de.
fered that makes the heart sick, the strife
with poverty, the humiliations that take all
he manhood out of the poor souls, the
privations and suffcrings, of those who de.
pend upon his earnings, and who have no
resource when he is earning nothing. No
father, no mother, 10 relative should wish
to see their boys or kindred wasting their
young lives in striving after the genteel
positions that bring such trials and privas
tations upon them in after life.
How do these deplorable false notions as
to choice of occupation get into The heads
oi boys' Why do they or their parents
consider ii more " gentecl " or desirable to
run errauds, sweep out Offices, make fires,
copy letters, &c, than to make hats or
shoes, or lay bricks, or WELD the saw or
jackplane, or handle the machinist's file,
or the blacksmith's hammer We have
heard that some of them get these notions
at school. If this be true, it is a sad per.
version of the means of education provided
for out youth, which are intended to make
them useful, as well as intelligent mcm-
bers of society and not useless drags and
drones, Should it be SO, that the present
generation of boys get it into their heads
that, because they have more school learn.
ing aud book accomplishments than their
fathers had, they must therefore look down
upon thetrades that require skill and hand-
craft, and whose productions make up the
vast mass of the wealth of every country,
then it is time for the controllers and the
directors to have the interior walls of our
school houses covered with ma1ims ard
warning them against the fatal
crror.-PhsladeLohia Ledger.
A TRILLIoN.-This is a simple word,
but If includes n pond MANY unitS A nor