Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1873-11-06
Our .tFloatiug Population"
by CHARLES ". JENKINS.

Our 'sFloating PopulatiOn."
by CHARLES ". JENKINS.
In every large town there is null
titude Of young persons who arc be-
ginning active life in the peri|ous, loose
"u"."" "n.. ed in this phrase.
""v "rc c'''l> apprentices, workers
lin light manufacture, seamstresses, and
the like; their homo being the board.
ling house-not divine institution
and their spare moments falling by the
wayside, where bad birds Of the air
come and devour them up. They arc
subject to none Of the wholesome re-
straints that pertain to domestic life,
to but few Of those that belong to
neighborhood and extended acquaint'
.uceship. They like the city because
no Que, except their employers, knows
Or cares who they are OF what they
do, and they use this unnatuial
freedom cureleasly, if not self
ishly. They are ''aAoat" as soon a.
the daily task is done. As they have
no family duties or interests, their re-
lease from work at night is the signal
for roaming about in search Of rccre'
alton. They might read instructive
books, but they are tired; they might
spend their evenings in profitable So
ciety, but there is little or none at their
command; they might contribute in
some way to the happiness of others,
but they are not drawn to such occa.
patton by those cords Of personal
interest by which We are led, step by
step, up the ladder Of uosel6shsess to
actual sclf:sacri6ce. Therefore they
Roat-whither?
They float into idleness, into endless
gossip, into irregular habits. They
float into novel.reaaing Of tho worst
description. They float into the theatre
US often as they eau afford it: They
float into saloons, and into the house Of
her whose steps take hold on hell.
And as natural consequence Of this
way Of living, they lose whatever they
may have possessed Of principle. They
dismiss the "prejudices Of their educa-
ton" one by one. If parental ex-
ample and preccpt have been consis-
tent aud whole-he.rted, the memory Of
them is constant check, but too often
is not sufficient to Withstand the assaults
Of present practical iu6delity: Having
floated away from church and Sunday.
school, from Bible-reading and Bible
thinking, from prayer and thanksgiv.
lug, they soon find themselves TAT sea"
Us regards any reli. ,ious belief God
seems afar of: His Word has become
to them = dead fable. They see no
divine providence in human affairs, no
grace 10 human souls. They look with
Indifference or contempt upon religious
professions and practices. They feel,
sure Of nothing, for to-day they be.
lieve one thing, tomorrow another, and
the next day neither. 1u this there
is no possible comfort, and their unsta.
b;>, forlvrn condition renders them an
EASY prey 10 the numerous wild beasts
.h;:.S: Satan keeps expressly for bis
work n cities. Rambling, aud mid
nivht dissipation of every Sort what
ever yields excessive excitement 70
divert the mind, are the ns::ural r:sot'
when young men and women nave
Rootetl for a season on the troubled ST.:
whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
Who could have stood on the beach
ut Watch Hill when the Met;s broke
up and its hundred passengers were
afloat in the waves, without moving a
muscle to 9. We one Of them Every
young person who leaves country home
to ''make his own way in large city
is, in many respects, as helpless as he
who jumps from wreck into the pitt
less ocean. lie needs friendship, not
merely advice; he needs the influence
Of elders who asc not too old or too
selfish to be companionable; he needs
the fellowship Of Christians clothed
with every day, matter-of:fact piety;
he needs to be consciously part Of .
community whose public opinion shall
be both a restraint and = stimulus.
Every one Of these is a cord bound
about him and drawing him to firm
foothold. For lack Of these, innumera-
bic "floaters" have lost their last
chance Of spiritual life. How shall We
extend these influences to those who
are ready to perish ?
Costly and (therefore) exclusive
churches will not do it. General invi-
tations to attend prayer-meetings will
not do it. Semi-occssional and extra
conventional professions Of ''interest IL
young men" will not do it, nor for
getfulness of tho temper aud wants Of
youth. We would say, in general,
that there is need Of a personal work,
based on bona tde personal :nteres. !;
(there is too much which is simulated
for an cnd). also of wise adoption Of
social Christian influence to the wants
Of those who arc now virtually beyond
its pale. These, in conjunction with q
free gosrel-free without the stigma Of
charity-would soon rescue large mum.
bers Of our Floating population.
They are now floating do,on the stream :,
why stand We here idle?
On Thursday last, a Norwegian COM
mitted suicide by hanging himself, in
the town Of Wheeling, Rice county.
He made his preparations deliberately,
it would seem, as he assembled a tree,
and having fastened the rope as far out
on the limb AZ he could reach, he it,
ted the other end to his neck and
swung of:
It was stated at the meeting at the
Wells House, that Col Thompson had
succeeded in the formation Of firm
for the manufacture of wooden ware
and wood in shape, ut Wells; conse-
qucnt, however, on the building Of the
road to Mapkato, so as to allow ready