New-York tribune., 1877-03-10
leges lay the foundations of general cultr,.

| A cOllegian may quote Greek verse about
Hebe's sandal, but he cannot make shoes Tho
colleges teach many things that widen a mana
intelligence, discipline his force, and raise his
intellectual tone, but they do not teach him
how to earn his living. A college gradu.
ate can teach school, sometimes well
sometimes not so well but without supple
mental training that Is all that he can do. In
every other occupation he must begin at the
bottom and serve an apprenticeship. We do
not disparage the advantages of an academic
education. 1t has become the essential c0ndi-
ton of good workmanship in the highest
spheres of human activity. But If men cannot
do as well without it as they could years ago.
neither can they do as much with it. Owing
to the spread of popular intelligence, the value
of college education as working capital for
young man is less than it was fifty years
| ago. simply because it gives him less vantage
ground. The educational lever is tool in
common use.
"Only give us a foothold," plead the hand.
some colegians "The lever may be short
but we shall bring to bear the power of
earnest purpose. Only give us a place to
stand" All this cry for standing room
comes from educated men in every quarter Of
the land Never before have there been 80
many educated men out Of work, out of
pocket, out of courage. The lower tiers Of
every profession and calling are overcrowded
with wOrkmen and idlers who have little to
do and have to fight hard to keep the wolf
| from the door. ValedictOrians are becoming
bartenders, and their classmates are taking
fares in tile street cars. There is glut of
literary labor of the lower grades. From the
West as well as the East, from San Francisco
and Omaha as well as New-YOrk, comes
the same cry, Standing rO0m-Only give
Gus that ~ When Mr.. Greeley used to
advise young men to go West there
was steady movement of immigration,
settlement, and internal development, which
made success reasonably certain to all who
deserved 1t and to many who did not. A
Young man who settled in a new town was
borne along on the wave of material progress.
| The rapid expansion of business and the
growth of population of the town gave mo-
mentum to his own fortunes. He left be-
hind him ranks that were overcrowded
and got fOOthOld somewhere else
before the crowd came. Education and
energy were forces that came into play
at once. While young men abroad were hob
| bling along in wooden shoes our young men
wore winged sandals But the TRANSATLANTIC
tide of immigration has ebbed and the cur
rents of Interstate migration are running
low. There was a temporary suspension OF
immigration after 1887 and 1857, but it did
not have the deadenng effect of the panic of
| 1873 Hard times and high taxes are ogres
that frighten away immigrants; the surplus
population of Ireland has been drained
| off; Germans are content to remain IN
| united Germany. The country is still
growing, but it is the growth of the
| oak and not of the mushroom. Rail-
road construction has been suspended in
all the Western States except California; agri-
culture is beset with terrible contingencies;
| the population is stationary save IN lew
localities like the Black Hills where there is
| sporadic development; and industrial enter
prise has lost much of its elasticity. Young
men cannot settle to-day in new town with
| the prospect of winning reputation and for
| tune in few years. They must struggle
through deep waters; they will not be borne
along on the crests of the waves. Nor is the
prospect much brighter in the South. In Ten
nessee there is a slight development of
manufacturing interests; in Georgia i'm
|
troduced; and in Texas immigration has re-
ceived strong impulse and the population Is
increasing quite rapidly. But in the South, as
in the West, young men must fight for stand
ing room, and when they get firm foothod
they must stand and wait for the turn OF the
tide The growth of our export trade Is
| sign of the return of commercial and lndustrlal
prosperity. The tide may be turning now, but
it will strike the East before it reaches tho
| West and South.
What. then, shall our correspondent do for
the handsome collegianf Give him an outfit
and send him to the Black Hillsf College
men do not make good gOld-dlggers ana
pioneers Pack him off to Texas as the most
promising field in the South Unless he has
natural aptitude for stOck-raising and plant
| ing or a special training for profession he
NAV as well stay where he is. IL he has the
| right stuff in him he can win success IN the
| East. One of the members OF the new CaDlhet
studied law while he was clerk in grocery;
| Kepler kept himself alive for science by tell
ing fortunes by astrology Schiller saved him.
self for literature by doing literary hack-work
for wretched pittance. If this handsome COL
Iegian cannot find an opening that he likes lev
him take the first that he can get, and then Keep
his eyes open for something better. Grit VIII tel
in the end, for the rough justice of this world
finds ont sooner or later what man is worth.
| If he belongs at the top he will get there;
| he belongs at the bottom he will stay tileie'
There is plenty of room at the top and stand
ing room can always be made at the bot'om
for those who are willing to begin low down
and fight their way up.