The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1883-06-07
The South's Need.

upon the active duties of life. No coun- |
try of the globe commits it's interests in
so marked degree to the keeping OF young
men as does the United States, and no
country can rival it in rapidity Of devel- |
opment. scientific and mechanical progress,
thorough business management and sue
cess. And it may be remarked, also, that
the era of the nations history which has
witnessed the longest strides towards this
envied prominence, is that i'll which rev.
olution has occurred in business methods.
No change more radical OF sweeping can
be cited than that which this country has
undergone during the past twenty years,
and the most striking characteristic OF
that change is the transfer of the burden
from old to young shoulders. This has
been particularly noticeable in the South.
Before the war the young men of this sec
ton, as class, led a life of comparative
idleness and dependence. They were looked
upon more as useless ornaments than ac-
tive, earnest members of society. At
thirty they were business babes and SO re-
garded by their seniors. Itwas rarely that
the commonest of every day duties. much
less prominent public trusts, were COM
mitted to them. Now all of this is hap
PLY changed. Within the past two weeks
striking illustration has been afforded.
In this and three of the counties imme-
diately surrounding it, young men have
been chosen blythe popular voice to occu-
Ply the most responsible and eXacting posi-
tions in the government of a county. In
Augusta, Allegheny, Rockingham and
Shenandoah each, the newly elected prose-
cutting attorney is a young man, and we
doubt not that in other sections Of the
State the junior generation has come
prominently to the front. Thirty years
ago the ideaof selecting such ''boys" for
such places would have been regarded as
preposterous. And yet we believe that
| each will discharge the duties of the posi-
| ton as ably and fearlessly as any of their
maturer predecessors. Not only in the
professions but in all the avocations of
trade and commerce, the young men are
stepping forward ande dmanding their
who.e.share of the responsibility and reward
Their enterprise and energy and industry
| are reaching out in every direction, and
the result has been that more manhood and
independence are developed now at twenty
| five than formerly at forty.
There is one lesson, however, the most i'm
portant of all, that has been slow in impress
ing itself upon the young men of the South.
1t is the necessity of preparing for the de-
mands of the future. Manufactures are
the great lever that is to lift this fair land
OF ours into prominence. Every day de-
velopments are made which point to the
South as the seat of great and prosperous
productive industries. These industries
will demand for their successful operation
talent combined with skill. They open up
the most promising career for those seek
ing independence. They offer the surest
and shortest road to wealth, and are wOr-
thy Of the best efforts of the most ambi-
tions. And yet but few of our young
men are preparing to take advantage of
the opportunities presented. Look over
the list of students at our colleges and
universities. The law and medical classes
are crowded to repletion, and when their
members have finished the course they
start forth in the world to compete in the
rank of professions already overlooking
with numbers, many of whom are barely
eking out an existence. On the other
hand, the scientific and mechanical depart
ments are but poorly patronized whilst
the demand for their graduates is increas-
ing with each year, and affording indie
pendence and competence to all who are
willing and capable. The broad, rich field
OF industrial enterprise is calling for gath
erers of it's golden harvests whilst in the
narrow pathway of professional indepen-
dence, the crowd is jostling and trampling
upon all who have not some special claim
to distinction.
The prejudices OF the past have much to
do with this unfavorable condition of af-
fairs, but inasmuch as we have left those
prejudices in the rear in other respects,
/ every prompting of-manhood demands that
the most silly and senseless of all should
be forgotten. The young men of the South
should know that it is just as honorable
to learn trade as to enter the lists of the
law. Each should feel as much pride in
declaring Il am carpenter" as in hand
ing his card with attorney printed
thereon. Responsibility is no longer meas
ured by the softness and whiteness of hand.
With the abolition of slavery passed away
the degradation of labor. or rather that
false idea of degradation which prevailed
in the South when the standard of labor
was the labor of the slave. If Southerners
are to reap the fruits of the South s man.
ufacturing prosperity, then the youth of
the South must be educated to an apprecia-
ton OF the advantages which surround
them. They must themselves put their
hands as well as heads to work. And they
must feel, too. in the manual employment.
the same pride and ambition which stimu-
late them III their efforts to acquire a
knowledge of the professions. Their
manhood, their whole strength and heart
must be enlisted in the work they set
about to do. If they fail to do this if
they continue in the way so many are now
pursuing, the sceptre will pass from Jul
dea; the rich inheritance which nature
i.e>e eiuen us will go to swell the Golfers of
| the Stranger, anu aIIen DuG worInler hands
will grasp the prize now held out so temp
tingly. This practical age is demanding
practical men. 1t is calling for strong.
earnest, active brain and hand work. 1t
will be satisfied with no half way meas
ures. He who reaches for it's rewards with
one hand, while with the other he draws
after him the prejudices of an era that is
dead, will but gather the husks that fall
| by the wayside. The young men of the
South must wake to the consciousness of
their surrounding. The path of duty, of
honor and of profit lies invitingly before
| them. The South needs, and will have.
men of brain, of muscle. of mechanical
skill and enterprise men who are not
ashamed to work with their hands, but
who glory in it. If her own children fail
to respond to her call, then there are thou
sands OF others who are eager for the
adoption
The Bourbon papers of Virginia are pre-