Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1875-04-16
OUR NEW YORK LETTER.
The Young Men from the Country
Bergh In a new rOIe-Beecher-MOd
eFn ConVeuiences-Busin
A SHORT BUT TRUE STATEMENT TO YOUNG
1rrU rpo,r ruF CoUNTRY

Bergh In a new rOIe-Beecher-MOd
ern COnvenienees-Busi
A SHORT BUT TRUE STATEMENT TO YOUNG
MEN FROM THE COUNTRY.
The ambition of half the young mel
from the country is to get to some large
city, New York, being of course, the
first choice. The young man who has
TO rise at four and go out in the rain Of
snow, as the case may be, and do the
chores on farm, before the regular
days work begins, very naturally desires
some life less exacting and less laborious
He takes trip to the nearest city, anC
sees the spruce young men with theil
hair parted in the middle standing in
graceful attitudes behind counters, and
he SO envies them the pleasant, elegant
life they lead, that he makes up his mind
to get there himself, and il he has nerve
enough, he does it. Let us see whether
he has made a change for the better or
not.
A T. Stewart s. Co., the largest dry
goods dealers in the United States en-
ploy in their up town stores about seven
hundred statesmen of all grades. These
men are ruled by dicipline as rigid as
that of Prussian army. They are re-
quired to be on b and at seven IN the
morning to answer to their names at roll
call, and take their places. Sickness
makes no difference. They are required to
be at their posts from a. m. till " p. m.
If one is absent, he has to say why. II it
should be sickness or any other good
cause, he Is not discharged, but his time
is deducted, and there is 70 appeal al
lowed. The great merchant knows moth
ing OF the circumstances of his men, nor
does he want to know. He wants work
for his money-if he gets the work you
get your money, all be agrees to pay
and that is all there is of it. Your moth
er may die, or your child-you pay for
the time to attend the funeral.
Of course work so exacting is well paid
for. Is it Let US see. The lowest salary
paid to regular statesmen in this establish
ment is seven dollars per week, and the
highest twenty? the great majority of
them receiving from twelve TO fifteen
dollars per week. Out of this twelve
dollars the salesman has to pay first, sew
en- dollars per week for board-and such
board For that sum he gets room
eight by ten feet, in an attic, and two
meals per day of the cheapest and mean
est food. HIS washing costs him not
less than one dollar per week-for clean
illness is required-which leaves him but
four dollars. Then he pays at least one
dollar per week for car fare, postage
stamps, and other incidentals, leaving him
three dollars for clothes &c. He gets
sick occasionally, and losing an hour now
and then is unavoidable, all of which
makes large holes in his small salary.
To sum up, he works like a galley
slave three hundred and twelve days in
the year, twelve and a half hours per
day, and gets most stInted living, and
nothing more. Many good looking
clerk IN Stewards this day would ex-
pose naked feet if he took his boots off,
for going without stockings saves tine cost
of buying and the cost of washing. And
the wearing of black scaTfs to cover the
shirt front is generally matter of taste.
The shirt costs three dollars and the
every time. A black scarf and collar
ID " uutJ
And these poor fellows dare not strike
for better pay, or complain in any way.
Should one intimate desire for more,
of goes his head, and hundred stand
ready and eager to take his place. And
what is the ultimate reward for this
Promotion comes in time to those who
have especial fitness and superhuman in
dustry and energy. In such an establish
ment, if you live long enough, you can
get up to the magnificent salary of TWEEN
ty-four dollars per week !
Young man, ii you don't like your
farm learn trade, but avoid the counter
A good mechanic can always get work at
some price, and when business is good at
good prices, but the counter-jumper,
Heaven help him, is as complete slave
as S. q. negro before the war. What
becomes of them when they get old the
Lord only knows. Probably they never
get old. Before they reach thirty, they
90, if they were good, where there will
be no danger ofmeeting their greedy en-
ployers. How sweet it must be for one
of Stewards twelve dollar clerks to die
Don't be a salesman, book-keeper,
or anything about great mercantile con-
Germs. There are prizes to be drawn, but
the Kentucky Library was a certainty in
comparison. Where one gets prize ten
thousand draw blanks, and a blank in
this line Of life is the blankest thing in
the world