Weekly Trinity journal., 1869-07-17
The Rush for Gentcel Occupations "A Life
OF Poverty Preferred to Manly and
Independent Toll.

The Philadelphia Ledger says
A few days ago a gentleman advertised In
this paper for clerk, and requested appli-
cants to address their notes to him at the Ledger
office. By the close of the first day on which the
advertisement appeared, there were four hundred
and eighteen applicants for this clerkship.
This afforded most forcibe illustration of the
extent to which the occupation of clerking and
book keeping is overstocked in this city. But n
few months previous, the head ola business estab-
lishment, who wished some help iu the way of
writing but in which some literary ability was
required, advertised for assistant at moder-
ate salary, and having incidentally mentioned
that the position might suit lawyer Of physi-
clan not in good practice, got more than a hun.
dred applications of which fifty-three were from
young lawyers and doctors. Here was another
illustration of an oversupply of the professional
or "genterl occupations" Another advertiser
in the Ledger, who wanted q person TO take
charge of the editorial work of weekly paper,
got ffty-seven applications, not more than half
a dozen of the applicants being recognized news
paper writers, but nearly all of them being
clerks, book keepers and professional men.
Still another advertised for two apprentices in a
wheelwright and smith shop, in one OF the semi
rural wards OF the city, requesting applicants to
give their address and age. He got three appli-
cations but in every case the applicant was to
nearly twenty. Still another advertised for an
Office boy, about fourteen years old, and had so
many applicants that his place crowded for
more than five hours, and the applicants were of
all ages, from mere children not more than twelve
years old to full grown men of twenly-one.
These are not very cheerful or encouraging
signs. They are such, however, as every man
and woman in Philadelphia should give attention
to. The present generation of young men seem
to have strong aversion of every kind of
trade, business, calling or occupation that re-
qures manual labor, and an equally strong ten
dency toward some so-called 50 'genteel" EMPLOY
ment or profession. The result is seen in such
amenteble facts as those above stated-a super
abundance of elegant penmen, book.keepers and
clerks of every kind who can get no employ
r,ent and are wasting their lives in the vain
pursuit of what is not to be had and terrible
overstock of lawyers without practice and doc
tors without patients. The passion on the part
of boys and young men to be clerks, office at
tendanls, messengers, anything so that it is not
work of the kind that will make them mechanics
or tradesmen, is deplorabe sight to those who
have full opportunities TO see the distressing eff
fects of it in the struggle for such employment
by those unfortunates who have put it out of
their power to do anything else, by neglecting
to learn some permanent trade or business in
which trained skill can always be turned to ae-
count.
The applications for cerkshps and similar
positions in large establishments are numerous
beyond anything that would be thought of by
those who have no chance to witness II.
Parents and relatives as well as the young men
themselves, seem to be afflicted with the same
infatuatiou. To all such we say, that the most
unwise advice you can give to your boy is TO en-
courage him to be a clerk or a book-keeper At
the best, it is not we'll paid occupation Very
frequently it is among the very poorest.
This is the case VIXEN the clerk is fortunate
enough to be employed; but if be should hap
pen to be out of place, then comes the weary
search, the fearful struggle with the thousands
of others looking for places, the never-ending
disappointments, the hopes deferred that makes
the heart sick, the strife with poverty, the bu-
miiations that take all the manhood out of the
poor soUla, the privations and sufferngs of those
who depend upon his earnings. and who have
no resource when be is earning nothing. No
father, no mother, no relative should wish to
see their boys or kindred wasting their young
lives in striving after the genteel positions that
bring such trials and privations upon them in
after life.