Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1888-09-11
Western Boom" Towns.
NO PLACE ron rRorrs.IOsAL MY.

one Who hs. been through the mill
think might be able to give some valu'
able advice TO them. The sources Of Ia.
formation are numerous. but they hardly
furnish just the Kind Of knowledge which
the anxious fortune-eeker requires. foI
instance. . series Of very clever articles
is appearing In Harper'. Monthly from
the f.cile pen ofMr. Warner, and they
are most delightful and instructive read
ing. Yet TO poor young man consider.
ing whether OF no, he shall follow Horace
Grseley's advice. they are almO., value
less. Mr. Warner comes to one OF these
boon towns. Is driven abou, by the
local mAgna,es. inspeets the thriving
manufactures. looks =, the new and
gorgeous business blocks. admifes the
many handsome residences. finds ,ha, the
population has doubled In three years.
and !. t.seply impressed by the ~ondrous
prosperity Of the new West. but be
know. ro,hins Of the struggle for exist.
enee In the mids, Of this splendid prog.
res., Of the thousand. Oh, Of work, and
Of the difficulty Of hndins aud keeping a
place In the pushing crowd. And !, Is
a., these things which the young clerk
or professional man 10 Boston. New York
OF Phil.dslphis wants 70 know. This
fac, /. my excuse for adding TO the al.
ready ,oluminou. writing. ab0ut the
West.
Before | 20 any further | mus, explain
,h., wha, follows IL intended especially
for the black. coated class, Lr clerks.
teachers. lawyers aud doctors. There u
plenty Of work q, high wages for out
door laborsr. aud mechanics. II i' true
,h., rents and the Coz, OF living are very
high. but wage. are high also. Then.
too. II the man accustomed 10 outdoor
work fail. to g,, . place In town, be can
easily secure employment on . farm.
Ba, when one comes TO inyesiigaie the
condition. Of life a. IL presents itself to
the clerk or professional man. be /. struck
a, once by the difference. These well
ADVERTISED boom towns a,,fae, people
from the end. Of the earth. aud as the
professional classes are mos, mobile. there
. greater proportion Of them than Of
any other. These places ATE consequent
" flooded With clerks, s,snogrsphsrs.
dentists, doctors and lawyers. While
briek.l.yer earn from 81 TO SO a day.
book keeper. are starving on s.l.ris. Of
$50 To $40 q month. aud many are seek
ing work even =, the, figure ia vain. Ia
the las, .iI mon,h. 90 new lawyers have
come 10 omah. TO settle, and 20 Of the
old one. have left In despair The medi'
cal profession il IS much oysrerowded,
and several doctor. Of my acquaintance
have recently emigra,ed from the city be.
cause they failed To get anything TO do
In short, the curse Of the city Is the over
abundance Of shabby and imPseunioas
sen,ili,y. There are =, lsas, twice s'
m.ny clerks, lawyers and doctors as there
|. remunsra,iSe emplOymsn, ior. and the
town is filed with men too proud TO beg.
too stuck up 10 work with their hands.
and afraid TO steal.
OF course few do ge, on, bu, even
these suffer from many drawbacks. The
climate /. . mos, eIh.us,ins one. ren,s
and living expense. are very high,
clothes. and in fact ell the nsee.'aries Of
life. ar, much dsnsr than they are In the
East. There !. very little amusement,
Of any Kind. very few social pleasures,
and these few are no, open TO strangers
unls.. they have remarkably good intro
dueiions.
The ,own.peopls are very reserved With
ew.oomer. The city has 80 long been
Niece. for bl.eklss., 'windlen add
.coundr,l. Of every description. ,hs, the
respectable elemen, has learned. by sad
experience. to look ssksnee on all new
arrivals. They take q stranger for q
thief until he la. proved, by years Of up.
righ, conduct. that be Is an homes, man
Young men. without smu.ements, with
ou, any special resources, and with very
few .eausintsnee.. naturally. men being
social animals, diff into free and eas,
society And thus further widen the dis
,.nce between them and the respectable
residents. This process Is seen going on
al the time. and Is q most melancholy
bu, inevitable one.
All that | have written apple. with
equal force TO Minneapolis and Kansas
City. in which towns have lived. a. vel
a. TO Omahs. and, from wha, | can hear,
10 IN. other boom towns also. There
are numbers OF college men, especially
Harvard men out here, and with very lev
exception, they are working for very
small salaries, and those in the Proies'
sions are making very little money. In
deed. to be = college man !. anything oa'
. Recommendation in the roug b and ready
wes, People here pu, them all dowr
As "dude." aud consequently u'eles. ant
Impractical. Even in society dudes sr'
a, a discount, and there Is really no plae'
where they can feel a, home west OF 'h'
Mississippi. Little bands OF them CAT
be found in sll these towns living to
ge,her, excluded from the rest Of the In
h.bit.nts, and striving to avoid. as muei
- possible. any eon,ae. with the rough
bourgeois world around them. but thei
very efforts to escape encourage their Pc
eulisri,iss, making !, more and more I'm
possible for them 10 fra,ernize with th
people about them and thus increase tn
diss grseable features Of their lives. III
only consolation they have is that thei
former friends do not witness their s'rug
giles and their humiliations.
In view Of ell these things. my sdv'c
to young college man seeking employ
men, i not to come West, unless, o
course, he Is willing to 90 on farm o
to do day work on the streets. 10 IN
ordinary. comfortably brough. up, well
educated young man success here Is 81
mos, impossible. and the competition
40 severe and the conditions Of life .
di..gr,esble tha, he |. almo., certain
work Tor starvation wages and to ',sr'
10 the loves, company. For such result
it will no, pay him to leave his wsil-to
do home, to sunder ell his lifelong friend
J ship. and to spend his last cent on raj
way fare to these 90 called gardens OF th