The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1886-09-25
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: 'fThe
little gray cabin appears to be the
birthplace of all your great men,"
pointing to picture of 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, Aston, Girard and Van
derbilt, 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 Conlpa7s-
ION who are born in Strengthened cir
cumstances, is-imitate the purpose
and energy of truly successful men. If
you have energy, industry and cour-
entail. You have the same chance as
these men. Now, no good, but much
harm. is done by false statements,
however flattering. 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, COM
petitors. The boy of to-day finds
trained athletes arrayed against him.
Astor and Girard, for instance, found
out 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 vii
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 a
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 a
popular and true maxim. But there is
a great difference in the routes to the
top. Our advice to poor boys, who
think their place is ION top7 is, keep
out of the crowded roads. If you covet
the phenomenal success of the Astors
and the Lincolns, try for it under the
same conditions that they did-in the
rougher, more sparsely -settled regions
of the country, where competitors are
few, and where man of natural abili.
ty is soon noted. The South and West
now offer these conditions, but they
are hard to be found in our large cit
les. - Youths COmpa,liosa