The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1890-08-21
OF
POOR BOYS.
REV. DIR. CROWELL, OF
TRINITY, WRITES WORDS
OF WISDOM.

OF WISDOM.
WHAT A POOR BOY NEEDS TO GET AN
EDUCATIoN-MoNEY Is SECONDARY
THE DRAWBACKS AND DIFFICULTIES.
State Chroniclel
The first thing that a poor boy
needs IN order to get an education
is an inspiration that he is worth
something to himself. Call 1t am
bitlon, selfesteem or anything else;
it is after all the sense of present
and future worth of his native pow
ers that affords the point of depart
ure for him, Whence that sense
of personal worth we may not know,
or how it comes may be mystery,
but it comes as certain as fate.
The dull and hopeless Anthony
Trollope, whom his father OCCASION
ally Knocked down with the family
Bible, at last broke the crust of his
apparent stupidity, and felt his
strength like young eagle.
The second thing needed is conf
dence in others. A Baltimore young
man, about a half a century ago,
went to a man of wealth and asked
him for the use of a few thousand
dollars with which to begin business:
"What security have you to give?"
asked the merchant. "My own
personal honor, sir" The loan was
made and so was the fortune of the
young man. This incident suggests
a third essential besides confidence
of others, to the getting of an edu-
cation by poor boy, that is, integ>
rity and intelligence. No one will
care to help to educate a young
man whose character is unsOund.
Nor will any man in his right
senses do much for a lazy, loafing
Young mani speak of poor young
men. Character is better than
collateral. The measure of credit
which character can command is
simply enormous. | met a manu-
facturer the other day who told me
of a merchant who had failed and
settled with his creditors for so
cents in the dollar, with receipts IN
full. Then some one turned around
and offered the creditor IS cents in
the dollar for the other half of the
unpaid debt from which the cred
itOrs had released their insolvent
debtor. Such was the confidence
which he had in the man who had
failed but not impaired his power
to restore himself in business nor
lost his integrity IN the time of
trial.
Integrity, to define more strictly,
means Wilderness of character. 1t
must be above price; 1t must be
kept entirely out of the market, for
as soon DIS it or a part of it becomes
for sale, then men will not be willing
to trust it unless it is plastered over
with bonds and mortgages, and the
poor young man has none of these.
Integrity means truthfulness in act
word and thought alike. A liar is
q curse to the human family, be-
cause he becomes its destroyer.
So, then, as a woman guards her
honor, must man guard this part
of his possessions called Integrity
of characty, above suspicion of evil.
Diligence comes Of purposeful
life. To what purpose can a young
man be living who simply eats,
drinks, sleeps and breathes open
air on tie street corner, as if he
had a perfect right to it? Incidence
is vice, or the next step to it. He
who will not use opportunities is
not the one upon whom to spend
money. a poor, lnd0lent young
man is prospective pauper, a
criminal potentially. If he can be
shaken out of his lethargy, his age
will be the richer, for poverty NAV
tben be spur to effort. Senator
Simon Cameron, who began very
poor and became rich, said Of his
son Don, that he, the father, had
one advantage which Don wanted
in starting life; that advantage was
in being poor. Poverty is nothing
to be ashamed Of; but on the other
hand it is nothing to boast of.
have known young men who made
fools of themselves cOddling the
notion that their poverty entitled
them to future greatness. There is
aoOut as much virtue IN that as
there was IN the plous dIrtiness OF
| 3 hn Yannlyc