Milford chronicle., 1889-05-31
CROWDED PROFESSIONS.
ADMoNlTloN TO YOUNG MEN FROM
ONE WHO IS EXPERIENCED.

you after an experience Of nearly thirty
years in one Of these overcrowded profes
dons, | sound note Of warning against
choosing a profession hastily, and caution
you that, unless you have unusual endess
ments and extraordinary luck, no matter
which profession you may select, you vii
probably find yourselves, in five years, much
In the condition of the traveller who, coming
to certain cross roads where the finger boardl
indicated four different roads as leading e
the place which he desired to reach, asked 9
countryman which was the best road, and
was told; "Wall, stranger, ye kin jist take
yer chico, but whichever on 'em ye lake, be
fore ye've gone more'n a mile, yen be derned
sure to wisht ye'd taken some otherP
II you could know how many, how very
many, men in my profession aren not earning
aud never will earn, decent living, al
though many Of them possess every quality
deserving Of success, except the power &C
command It; and how large proportion Of
them do not, and probably never viii, carr
as good living as a first class carpenter,
briczlayer or machinist could easily earn; u
you could know, as you will know in ten OF
twenty years from now, how many college
educated men have suffered, and will con
tinue to suffer, shipwreck on the rocks that
lie In the way Of professional career, you
would understand why have felt it to be
my duty to utter some words Of warning for
the benefit Of those who have ears willing ia
hear.
THEY NEVER WENT TO COLLEGE,
Do not misunderstood me. ! have nc
thought Of Understanding the great advan-
tages Of college education, for no college
man Is likely ever to do that; but do warn
you against the stumbling block OF over
estimating its Importance, and OF supposing,
as too many students did in my day, that
college diploma is Of itself a species OF title
Of nobility, the open sesame to fame and for
tune, and that its holder, being too well edu-
Gated to work, must necessarily adopt some
profession
Remember that very large proportion OF
the most successful and illustrious men whom
this country has produced were not college
educated men, and some Of them did not
even have the advantage Of fair common
school education Ten Of the twenty-three
presidents Of the United States Washing
ton, Monroe, jackson, Van. Buren,, Taylor,
Fillmore, Lincoln, johnson, Grant and Cleve-
land; two of the chief justices Of the supreme
court Of the United States-the great John
Marshall and John Rutledge; ten Of the fiji
Pennsylvania; Benjamin Franklin, Patrick
Henry, Henry Clay Washington Irving,
John Greenleaf Whittier, Horace Greeley,
Thurlow Weed, James Gordon Bennett, John
Sherman, Allen G. Thurman, and hundreds
of others whom l might mention, whose
names are part of the history of this country,
had none Of the opportunities which you are
enjoying. And probably not one in ten Of
the self made millionaires Of this country,
the bank presidents, the merchant princes,
the railroad kings, the great fnanciers, or
the responsible editors Of our great newspa-
pers, were ever inside Of the doors Of a COZ
lege
The world will not ask whether you have
diploma, but it will ask what you can do;
and the only way that you can satisfy it on
that point Is to do something that conclu-
sively demonstrates your capacity.
Superior physical strength is no longer at
a premium, for machinery has to great ex-
tent taken its place, but intellectual superb
ority never commanded so high a premium
as it does today The man who is intellectu-
ally but half an inch taller than his fellow
men is bound to forge to the front There
never was an age in the history Of the world
when there was so good market for brains,
but they must be the genuine article. The
world is not easily humbugged, and the man
who attempts to hoodwink it is bound to
''get left" It wants scholars, not sciolists;
poets, not poetasters; statesmen, not poll
clans; inventors, not imitators. 1t demands,
above all things, originality. It will be sat
isfied with nothing less than the very highest
degree Of excellence, in scholarship, in me-
chanical pursuits, in business, in literature
and in each Of the several professions.
GOOD MATERIAL IN DEMAND.
But there never was time when the world
was willing to pay such high prices as it viii
pay today for what it needs / know law
yers, doctors and editors with incomes Of
from SOS, 900 to $4,000 year; but they arc
few, and they are worth every dollar that
they get. Popular preachers command sal
aries that make an average lawyers mouth
water The author who can write books that
will compel people to read them can get
prices the tenth part Of which would have
made Homer, Milton and Shakespeare bo-
nanza kings. Milton received e10 in his life
time and his widow IS after his death for
paradise Lost" Rider Haggard can today
get $4,000 for a single story of 300 pages, and
our leading magazines have paid popular
authors as high as 500 a page. Scores Of
college graduates apply in vain every month
for situations on newspapers, but let one Of
them write but ten, lines or even head line
that indicates real talent for newspaper work,
and he can Immediately get a good situation
and can soon command a salary Of 5000.
The man who wrote Wanamakeris advertise
ments few years ago was paid $4,000 q
year for that work, and any one who con
write equally good advertisements can easily
get as good a salary tomorrow.
But whatever line Of intellectual work you
may resolve to do or whatever profession you
may adopt, remember that the secret Of sue
cess consists in doing thoroughly whatever
you attempt, and In doing 1t better than any
one else has ever done it No man ever sue
ceeded greatly in business, or politics, or lit
erature; in law, or medicine, or preaching, in
any other way. Genius is the happy faculty
of selecting the particular kind of work fol
which one is specially fitted; Of doing only
that which one can do best, and doing it tC
the utmost measure of ones ability. There
Is no such thing as genius which can accom-
! pIsh great results without work. The story
Of It is fairy tale, which self conceit tell
as an apology for Incidence and incapacity,
Believe me, the world Is not waiting FOL
! your graduation to crown you with laure
wreaths, or to lay the treasures Of fortune al
/ your feet Whatever measure of success you
may achieve must be won by patient toll and
/ pFe-eminent merit
The only person whom this age has nc
room for is the non-producer; but there
never can be a surplus of bread winners or Of
brain workers who are worthy Of the name
From Rufus E. Shapley's Address Before
the Union Philosophical Society Of Dickinson
College.
'aThats a pretty bird, gramma," said 4
little boy Of this town. YES" replied she
"and he never cries "That's because be-