Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-01-04
FOR OUR BOYS.
NJ Quad on the Relative Advantages Of
English and American Boys.

man, is forced to accept advantages t,
place him ahead of the son of al
American gentleman. During his boy
hood he will be tutored in personal de
portment-a matter scarcely known OF
this side of the water. Over there it i.
an infieXible rule to send sons to col
lege and to keep them there unti
thoroughly educated. On this side o
the water there is no rule about it. The
matter rests most with the sons Il
they desire year or two at college
they 90. If not, that ends the matter
As rule, in England, young men are
educated first, and their professions
selected afterwards. Thus the army
officer is as highly educated in general
as the attorney. In this country the
education of young man. after leav.
ing high school is directed in certain
channels. The lawyer takes one chan
mel, the doctor another, and so on
through, and it is an everyday thing to
find lawyers who are sadly deficient in
the classics, and doctors of skill, who
make no pretensions to being posted
outside of their own medical works.
The English gentleman is refined, in
telligent and thoroughly educated.
| This is the result of training and teach
ing from boyhood up. The American
gentleman may be refined, courteous
and intelligent by nature, but thor
ough education does not always 90 with
them.
The son of an English mechanic
stands no show when matched against
th.,a g 4
to his trade his wages are much less,
and his term of apprenticeship two or
three Years longer. In the matter of
common school education the American
mechanic gives his boy every chance,
while the Englishman does not and
cannot, because the school systems are
not the same. In this country our
machinistS, tinsmifhs. carpenters,
painters, and so on are, as e rule, fair
ly educated, and keep themselves
thoroughly posted on all current mat
iers the world over. A great share of
the pol teal offices in this country, from
member of the Legislature. down, are
filled by men from the ranks of the
mechanics. In England the mechanic
must work for less money, live much
more poorly. and aspire to neither So
cial position nor political honors.
Between the sons of English and
American day labOrers there is 40 COM
parison. The first can give his boy no
education whatever, and he is a beast
of burden from the day he is able to
pull weeds in the garden to the day of
his death. Seventeen out of every
twenty of our day laborers-and this
includes teamsters, draymen, PAYERS,
diggers, street-cleanerS. and street EN-
ployes of gas and water companies, and
mortar-mixers and hod-carriers-
school their sons from 6 until II years
of age, and sometimes two or three
years longer. The son of an English
laborer seldom rises above the position.
In this country. and at this day, it is a
rare thing to find labOrer's son fol-
lowing in the footsteps of his father.
He can do better and he does do better.
1t may further be safely asserted that
there is no comparison between the
English farm laboror and tho Ameri-
can. The Englishman is unlettered
and unlearned, miserably paid and fed
and lodged, and his ideas of the world
are wonderfully few and crude. The
American farm laborer can, nine times
out of ten, read, write, cast up ac-
counts, discuss politics, descant on his
tory and give the general news
of the world, as learned through
the papers. He is well paid,
well treated, and his intelligence and
personal bearing can place him in the
society of those able to employ his
services.
To every class of English boys below
the sons of gentlemen and tradesmen,
America offers superior advantages in
schools, wages, trades and social
standing, and this fact brings hundreds
of them across the ocean every year.
Many times they come alone, landing
in strange country with but little
money and not one single friend, but
they make their way to success in a
very short time. One of the things one
never sees in this Republic is an Eng
lish boy out of work and money.
As to the difference between city and
country boys it lies entirely in the
training, The fairness son may have
the most intelligence as child, but
natural intelligence must be trained
and cultivated. or it becomes low cum
ming instead of wisdom. The country
boy has district school. run in al
most any fashion, while the city boy
has graded schools conducted on the
wisest system. So long as he is kept
in the country, the farmers boy has no
show at all compared to his friend In
town in the matter of education.
We look to mans's personal deport-
ment before we test his intellectual
abilities. The farmers son has no as
sociates outside of his own class. The
semi-soiitary life of the farm has few
influences. The work must be
done whether or no, and the farm
cannot expect time to cultivate
song or music. He is not brought in
to contact at church socials, parties,
lodges, lyceums, etc, with the refined
and educated. He grows up in his
ways and he remains thus. While the
social condition Of the American farm
er is immeasurably superior to that of
any similar class in any country on
earth, it is not what it could be made
nor what it will be fifty years hence.
And now, my boy, let me say to you
that no matter what State you live in,
or what avocation you intend 10 pursue
you have advantages which you may not
fully comprehend. There are no social |
barriers to keep you down. An Ionest
truthful. respectable boy or man can
step right to the front without capital.
His merits are recognized and rewarded. |
You have advantages over the boy of
twenty, ten, or even five years ago. |
Every progressive step in the countrys
history helps the boy as well as the
man. Twenty years ago the money of
the country was handled by men whose |
grey hairs We're supposed to be proofs
Of honesty, and the business was in the |
hands OF men past 40. To-day the
is giving the boys golden
chances. They are put at the day
books and ledgers, at the cash desks,
in banks and postoifices, in positions of
trust and responsibility everywhere,
and the active business is in the hands