News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-10-16
I'M. Quad in the Detroit Free Press.l

I'M. Quad in the Detroit Free Press.l
To graduate as dentist one must
pass at least two terms at college. He
need not know q pair of forceps from a
lawn mower when he sets out, but II ne
has passed year in the Office OF dem
fist he will find the experience OF the
greatest benefit to him.
Dentistry used to be an uncertain
thing. Any man who could Glitch on"
to q tooth and "yank" it out was a den
list. Every sort of doctor was ready
to answer all calls iii the line Of dentist
nv, although not more than one in ten
was anything more than q iawbreaker.
The profession was supposed to be
sort of annex to that of general prac-
titioner, and in the rural districts to-day
the family doctor would feel aggrieved
if one of his patients doubted his ability
to practice dentistry in first class style.
The dentist of to-day has thoroughly
studied the anatomy of the mouth. He
knows the location of every nerve and
vein and muscle. When he puts his
forceps on tooth he has pretty cor
rect idea of its roots and what he will
disturb down there. Twenty years ago
the only remedy for toothache was to
pull the tooth. If one did not have the
courage for that he must wear out the
pain. 70 day it is poor dentist who
pulls tooth because it aches. The ex-
posed nerve is killed, the cavity filled
and the tooth is as good as ever. Won
ders have been performed in dentistry
as well as surgery. 1t is an almost
everyday thing to transplant teeth from
the jaw of one person to that of another
and make a success of it. Projecting
teeth in the mouths of children are lined
up to plumb, as it were, and people
whose looks were positively ugly from
the set of their front teeth have been so
improved by the work of the dentist as
to astonish themselves. Teeth broken
off by accident have been capped so
neatly as to defy detection, and teeth
are every day extracted with such little
pain that only nervously weak patients
call for gas or chloroform.
Three years time should fit a person
for the practice of dentistry in all its
knowledge. Success will not then depend
on skill alone. The Offices of some will
be crowded, while others will have little
to do. The courteous, patient, good
natured dentist who does satisfactory
work at fair prices can count on an in
come of from 81, 900 to $1,000 a year,
according to his location.
In the other professions to be named,
such as artists, teachers, of music and
in schools, designers and decorators,
they are adopted as rule only by stu
dents fitted for them. A boy cannot
learn to be an artist any more than a
fish can learn to be bird. The artist
is born for his work and needs only ex-
perience. Put successful teacher at
failure. Ask designer how he would
like any other profession and he will ex-
press his distrust or disgust of them.
And now, my boy, let's go back to
the first article on trades and let me ask
you what you are going to do? You
don't know? But you must know
Unless you have half a million dollars
back of you and can sit down and lend
it out on mortgages or open bank,
you'll have to let your brains or your
muscle help you through. The chances
are that you will start out with far
better show than your father had, no
matter what you decide to go into.
Forty or fifty years ago boy had but
few trades to select from, and an ap-
prentice was treated little better than a
black slave. Down to twenty years ago
a boys time was rated at next to moth
ing. His father bargained him out as
he thought best, and the boys tastes
and inclinations were not consulted in
the least.
Do not let artisans discourage you
from learning this or that trade because
they have not made a success of it.
They may tell you that certain trade
is overcrowded. Investigate little and
you will find that only the botch work
men and chronic kickers are out of
work. The cheerful, enthusiastic work.
man is only idle when misfortune over
| takes the whole country. We have in
this country thousands of mechanics
who have no real heart in their work,
and no sort of interest in the welfare of
their employers. To be discharged is
considered to be no disgrace, and to be
in debt is no cause for worry. They
work while the eye of the boss is upon
| them, and kill time when it is not.
| They growl at the workingman's con-
dition, but are solely responsible that
they are not better off. You will find
them in one shop this week and in
another the next, and their sad tales of
being oppressed by bosses will make
you shed tears-if you are green enough.
| It is certain and undeniable fact that
the poorest workman is the one who
does the most complaining.
If you take up a trade push it to per-
lection. AS an apprentice be prepared
for many unpleasant things. To begin
at the foot means more or less drudgery.
Your inexperience will provoke ridicule,
contempt and sometimes abuse. Be-
cause you are boy any man in the shop
may feel free to order you about. Be
cheerful, obliging and civil and you will
find every man ready and willing to
speak a good word for you and help
along your skill. When you have be-
come q finished workman bear in mind
the welI-worn but truthful maxim that a
rolling stone gathers no moss. Steady
work at fair wages is what piles up the
dollars. A large share of our working
men are ever ready to listen to the glow
ing accounts of the high wages paid
somewhere else, and they spend good
portion of the year looking for the place.
Next to being settled in your mind
be economical. One of the chief causes
for dissatisfaction among mechanics and
laborers springs from the lack of good
management and the fact that so many
of them are spendthrifts. In every city
in the land large portion of workingmen
chew or smoke or drink. Their tobacco
injuries the system and robs the wallet.
Drinks could better be replaced by cold
water. Two dollars per week are taken
from their wages to maintain injurious
and selfish habits and vet those who