St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1886-10-30
THE LITTLE GRAY CABIN.

| Advice to Poor Boys Who Are Taught
That Ability and Industry Brought to
Crowded Cities Will Surely Make Them
Great.
An English author lately in this
country, while looking over book Of
eminent Americans, remarked: Tho
little gray cabin appears to be the
birthplace of all your great men,"
pointing to picture of a four-roomed
frame dwelling, such as may be seen
in every village from Maine to Califor-
MIA, and which is usually tenanted by
the poorer class of mechanics and la
borers. In such . dwelling Lincoln,
Grant, Garfield, Blaine, Jeremiah
Black, Webster, Andrew jackson.
Hawthorne. Emerson, Poe, and among
men of affairs, Astor. Girard and Van
der5ilt. were born. In fact. the great
majority of our successful financiers,
soldiers, jurists or statesmen look back
to the little gray cabin" devoid Of
luxury or ease, as the home of their
childhood, where their ambition and
strength first had birth.
The ordinary significance and moral
of this fact, which is preached every
day to the boy-readers of the Compan-
ion who are born in s.raightened cir-
cumstances, is-imitate the purpose
and energy of truly successful men. Ii
you have energy, industry and cour-
age, you too may be useful and influ-
ential. You have the same chance as
these men. Now, no good, but much
harm, is done by false statements.
however fiattering. 1t is not true that
the boy born now in the little gray
cabin, without an extended education.
without capital, or family influence,
has the same chance as the successful
men of past generations. The latter
entered the race with few, if any, CONF
petitors- The boy of to-day finds
trained athletes arrayed against him.
Astor and Girard. for instance, found
ont there was money to be made by
dealing in peltry. Their sixpences
turned into pounds as by magic. But
the poor boy now who goes into the
fur trade finds it vast, long-estab-
lished industry, in which enormous
capital is invested, and thousands of
experts are employed. He must begin
by carrying home packages. and how
long will it be before his energy and
ambition will win him the race against
countless other young men who also
have energy and ambition, and with
them capital, knowledge and influence?
Poor lads push their way into the
great cities, encouraging themselves
by remembering that ben Franklin
landed in Philadelphia with but six
pence in his pocket" They forget
that Philadelphia was then but viii
lage, and soon after the field of the
most important events in the world
Every citizen who had any ability
found the stage ready for him to play
the part of hero. Franklin, with his
little paper printed by hand. imme-
diately found hearing from the whole
of the colonies, and was pushed to the
front as director of public affairs. But
how soon would . poor boy with
hand-printed sheet find notice now in
the city of Philadelphia, or be called
to control her municipal councils?
There is always room on top" is .
popular and true maxim. But there is
q great difference in the routes to the
top. Our advice to poor boys, who
ta1nk tne1r place Is on eoP Is' AeeP
out of the crowded roads. Ii you covet
the phenomenal success of the Astors
and the Lincolns, try for it under the
same conditions that thej did-in the
rougher, more sparsely settled regions
of the country, where competitors ars
few, and where man of natural abili-
ty is soon noted. The South and West
now offer these conditions, but they
are hard ~ be found in our large cit
isA-Xovth's ComponioA