Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1881-07-02
A WORD TO SCHOOL.BOYs.

A hOkD IO SCHOOL-BOYS.
Whenever meet party of you on
your way to school, am strongly
tempted to stop and have little chat
with you. Possibly you might. call
what l would say very much like
preaching. Well, it might start earnest
thoughts, and we are apt to call words
which do that preaching. l wonder,
boys, if you realize what it costs to get
an education. Have you ever heard
how much your own city or town annu-
ally devotes to the schools. Have you
ever considered howmuch your parents
must eXpend to keep you clothed and
IN school fer ten or twelve years? How
much parents often deny themselves,
how many pleasures and luxur es, that
the boys may have q good highs school
education, and then, perhaps, 90 to
college. Then how much labor you
yourself must give, how many years OF
labor it costs you to obtain even an Or
dlnary education to fit you for busi-
ness life, and if you study for profess
sion there must be three or four years
more of hard work.
So you see it costs great deal in
MnlsQGp end in that which, is of more
ucation; but let me tell you secret.
1t costs much more not to have one!
For without it how helpless you are;
all your life long you will have to be
paving others for the use of their
brains, and are at disadvantage at
every turn in life. If you have
capital and go into business, you
must pay high-priced man for
doing much which you ought to be
capable of doing, and even then you
are in a measure in the power OF an
other If you are so unfortunate as to
have dishonest book-keeper or cash
ier, he may swinde you out of half
your profits, and you will never be able
to discover it,
remember years ago janitor en-
ployed in our school building who could
neither read nor write. He frequently
hired the boys to add up bill for him,
or write a letter, and they invariably
charged him ten or fifteen cents fol
their service. 1t was not very large.
hearted for the boys to ask payment fol
such small services but that is not the
point | want to make. The ignorant
man had to pay for the use of little
learning, and you will find it the same
the world over; all business men viii
tell YOU that knowledge and judgmen
are hired only at great expense. IL
any pro ession or trade you will flint
(other things being equaO the man o
the best education has the advantage.
And lastly, the lack of knowledge
will cost you the society OF cultivated
people, for of course you cannot asso
ciate with the educated if you are igno
rant; they would not enjoy your soce
ty, nor you theirs. Ignorance will cos
you much modification and many re
grets for lost opportunities, so whe
you grow disheartened that you ar
giving up so much for your education
remember it will cost you much NOR
, not to have one.
If you will carefully observe men yo
will find that most of them have a
ambition by that | mean fixed dete
mnation to possess something, or
succeed in some undertakings One ma
longs to be come learned, and will spen
his days and nights in study, giving u
many pleasures that he may have MOI
time to spend over his beloved book
= Another wants to be famous as an e,
= plorer, so he turns away from all IL
. com orts of q quiet home, and wande
= over strange countries, suffering unto
!, ! discomforts that he may become note
!, ! as a traveller or d scoverer. Anoth
IL has set his heart upon riches, al
; toiling early and late turns his heart al
!, mind from much that is ennobling. b
u coming old and worn in his pursuit f
y y gold. .
Q Now, do these win the object fl
J which they are strivinge lnvariabl
y if they are persistent in their effort
d there are few things within the boun
e of possibility that you cannot possess
Is you patiently and perseveringly wo
"a for them. Then how important is
L. that your ambition should be mol
II one. Have you ever asked yourself t
question, "What is my aim in life
'e Probably you will say that you are nj
n too young and inexperienced to det'
70 mine what trade or calling you will f
lr low. That is true, but ii you are 9
OF enough to be in school you can und
ly stand that you may work for some {
iect, and this should be clearly define
s. You want to get the most thorou
e. education possible. Your advantas
er NAV be limited, or may be very go'
~ in either case you want to make
us most of them. Having set your he
'ir on this, do not look far ahead and
a. pect to accomplish great things wi
you take up advanced studies. Do