The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1870-10-27
From the New Orleans Times.
THE SLAVE TO THE YARD
STICK:
Or, Give YOUR Sons IN Trade.

STICK:
Or, Give YOUR Sons m Trade.
For many years had an idea that the Oc-
cupation of salesman or clerk in a retail
dry goods establishment was most enViable
they were all ofthem neatly dressed. nice
'ly shod, their tout ensemble betokening apleas-
ant and remunerative employment. Their
LABOR seemed light, they were always under
shelter from summers heat and winters
cold, their business intercourse was with
the beauty and fashion of the city, and / felt
sure their compensation was ample. and the
road 10 preferment and fortune
freely open 70 them. How much better.
thought, than to be laboring at trade, that
exposes you to all weather, and occupies all
your time, and from six till six again; and
then how much more neat and respectable.
An! there Is the rock so many fine crafts
Sink upon. We Americans claim to be DEM
ocrats, and, in truth, we are the very snob
oiest attempts at aristocrats that 1t is pos
slble to conceive Of
however, to return to the first part of my
subject; while still full of these ideas, /
made the acquaintance of gentleman con-
necteu with the dry goods business, and was
expressing my intentions of having favo-
rite nephew brought up in that business,
when his utter establishment at my ideas
upon the subject brought be to full stop in
the expression of them.
my dear madam" he exclaimed, show
little you know Of the hardships we retail
some pleasure in waiting upon an agreeable
lady, but even that is modified by the fact
that, however sociable and agreeable she
may be In front of the counter, you are by
nomanner OF means certain that she will re-
cogniZe you as an equal upon the street. In
my opinion, there is no slavery to be COM
pared with ours. Let me give resume Of
what is required Of us by our employers:
In the first place, we serve an apprentice
ship of five years-during which time little
or no wages are paid, and for the next five
years the larry is very small-the treat
ment during this time is not by any means
so agreeable as to make one think his bed
made of roSes-all kinds of servitude is ex-
pected, and exacted to come and go, fetch
and carry, as quickly and obediently as
bond slave could do; then we have to go TO
w work at seven A. NJ. and work with slight
intermission for a dinner, that is indeed
''hasty plate of SOUP" until nine p. NJ. and
often, in the busy season, later still. The
time allowed us to dine in is so short, that
we rather "bOlt our food" than eat it and
the consequence is, dyspepsia troubles many
of our class. We are not allowed in many
stores to sit down. and the continued stand
ing from early morn till late evening, causes
swelling in the feet and legs, that becomes
in time chronic and very painful.
Not more than one in eighty ever become
merchants, or one in two hundred ever re-
ceive salary sufficient to enable him to es-
tablish business on his own account-it is
some outside windtall that furnishes the
only about one in five are kept by their
employers the whole year through, and those
who. like birds of passage, come from the
North and West, are often compelled TO
work their way back from here. When the
dull season comes on, from April to Octo-
Der, the salaries are reduced, and a clerk
ifamarried man, has hard lines of it to keep
his family from suffering during these
months. while often the merchant is giving
champagne suppers to his friends.
Then again, many of the stores fine their
clerks If they are late in the morning or at
meal time, In getting to the store, no matter
what the excuse may be, they are clerks
and AS such, are not entitled to the consid-
Grafton that other men are-and then, when
YOU become old and rheumatic from over
work, you are, in many stores, liable to be
turned adrift, to live If you can, or die If
you can't help it-there are noble excep-
lions 60 this, of course; it is a common
thing for clerks to die in poverty, and to be
buried by subscription, and for their wives
and children to be lett dependent upon the
charity of friends and the benevolent asso-
Citations of which the husband may have
been a member. snow, my dear madam,
how would you like your nephew to be
placed under such slavery as this ?"
'sOh, if one-half of this Is true, I'd rather
he should temper clay in a brick-yard,"
was my hearty reply, and l would.
The negro, for whom so much tender
sympathy has been expressed, was, in the
days of his slavery, far better Off-true he was
hut when the sun went down he was free.
his wants were provided fOr-fOod, clothes,
and house room was found him in sickness
or health, and when old age rendered him
unable to perform further service he was not
turned off to die in want and be buried by
charity. Contrast the pictures.
Parents are guilty of sin against their
children who allow them to grow up with
out trade, not profession; there are too
many picayune lawyers and doctors thrown
broadcast upon society now, but trade: it
is immaterial what trade, but a trade let it
be at all hazards, If he has the brain to rise
to eminence in it it is well, and should he
change to a profession, he will not be held
back from eminence by learning a trade. if
his mental capacity is of medium quality, he
is always certain of his daily food, If he has
q good trade, and is sober and industrious.
Ii you prefer 1t, make him q tiller of the
soil, but make him a practical farmer, edu-
cate him tOeit as you would to law or divin-
fty, it needs it. You can't make farmer of
boy without proper course, and even a
scientific course of study. any more than
you would make diamond of a fiintstone.
The idea that some persons have that I'M
less boy shows preference for some par
ticular trade. that it is useless to give him
any, is all folly; for in truth the bow who
displays marked talent for any thing Is the
rare exception. They are none of them over
fond of work, and If you inculcate a deter
mination to sueceedin what he undertakes.
q stability of purpose, in your son, you have
laid the best foundation for his success.
Men have risen to the highest stations from
the humblest positions in trade; shoemak-
ers and blacksmiths have sat upon the Su-
preme Bench. Zufutin Matsys, an eminent
painter, some of whose works Sir Joshua
Reynolds said were equal to any of Raphael.
was blacksmith, and we'll noted as a first
class artisan in his trade, before he COM
menced his studies as a painter. Sir Rich
ard Arkwright was country barber, but
having talent for mechanics, turned his
attention to inventing machinery to inn
prove cotton spinning, aud became one of
the most noted of English manufacturers
Hadyn, the great composer of music, was
the SON of a cartwright, and helped his ia
Their at his trade. Our great Patrick Henry
was farmer and tradesman. Sir Will
liam Herschel was q common musician in
the pand OF Hannverian regiment and in
the Durham militia. John Hunter, the
great anatomist, was first capenter and
caDinet maker. In fact could find host |
OF Instances where talent and brains lifted |
men from the lowest ranks of life to the
highest.
Contrast the state of uncertainty in which |
the family of q salesman or bookkeeper in
any kind of mercantile business is constant
ly placed by the liability of the head Of it |
losing his position, and being for months
out OF employment, with that of the me-
chanic, who knows that while he Is spared |
his health and strength, bis two hands, al |
most without the aid Of brains, can keep his
family above want and even in solid COM
fort; and then do like nine-tenths Of my ac-
quaintances are doing now, let your boys
grow up to hunt situations ~ clerks in
stores II you think that the most sensible
plan. don't.
ssOh Shame, Where Is thy BIush?',
The Collector Of the Port of Savannah
has written himselfdown an ass. In an OFF,
cious burst of loyalty he ordered that a |
United States nag. which he discovered on