Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1886-10-27
The Little GRAY Cabin.

An English author lately In This
country, while looking ever book of
biographies, OF eminent Americans, re-
marked, "Yhe little gray cabin appears
10 be the birthplace Of all your great
men, pointing to picture Of . fonf-
roomed frame dwelling, such MS fnay be
seen in every village from Maine TO Cal
ifornia, and which is usually tehahted
by the poorer class of mechanics and
lAboFefs. u snch dwelling Lincoln,
Grant,, Garfield, Blaine, Jeremiah
Black, Webster, Andrew Jackson, Haw-
thorhe, Emerson, Poe, and among men
Of affaifs 5, Aston, Girard, and Wander
bilt, were born. In fact, the great ma.
jority of our successful tinAncieis, sol
diers, jurists, or statesmen look back
to The little gray cabin" devoid OF
luxury OF ease, as the HON., of their
! childhood, where their ambition and
| strength REss had birth
The ordinary significance and, moral
of This fact, which Is preached every
! day to the boy headers Of the CoD5pan-
ion who ATE born in straitened cir
cn.nstances, is initiate the purpose and
energy Of truly successful men. II you
have energy, industry. and courage, You
| too may be useful and influential. You
have the same chance As these men
Now no good, but much harm, is
done by false statements, however fat
tering. 1t is not true that the boy born
now i'll the little gray cabin. without an
extended education, without capital, of
family, or political influence, has the
same chance al The Successful men of
past generations. The latter entered
the race with few. if any, competitors
The boy of to-day finds trained athletes
arraycd 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 a vast, long established
industry, in which enormous capital is
invested, and thousands of experts are
employed. He must begin by carrying
home packages, and how long will 1t 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, knowl-
edge, and inHuehceS
Poor lads push their way into the
greet cities, encouraging themselves by
remembering that Ben Franklin landed
in Philsdelphia with but sLpense in
his pocket
They forget that Philadelphia was
then but a village, and soon after the
field OF the most important events of
the world. Every citizen who had any
ability found the stage ready for him to
play the part of the hero, Franklin,
with his little paper printed by hand,
immediately found hearing from the
whole 6f 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
Philadelphia, or be called to control
her municipal councils?
There is always room on top" is
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 con top" is, keep
out of the crowded roads. If you covet
the phenomenal success of the -Astors
and the Liheolns, try for it under the
same conditions that they did; III the
rougher, more sparsely settled regions
OF the country, where competitors are
few. and where man of natural ability
is soon noted. The South and West
now offer these conditions, but they are
hardly to be found in our cities
Youths Communion