Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-03-02
STATIONS In LIFE.
Oliver Optics Advice 10 Boys on
Choosing a Profession.
INDUSTRIAL PURSUITS ARE BEST,
No Reason Why the Mechanic Should Not
Stand High in Society.
CHANCE DETERMINES OCCUPATIONS,
INDUSTRIAL PURSUITS ARE BEST.
CHANCE DETERMINES OCCUPATIONS.


WRITTEN FOR THE DISPATCH.1
In our plastic language certain words
have come to include a great deal more than
their original significance would warrant,
and profession" is one of them, and "oceu-
patton" would often express what is meant
by 1t. When we speak of young men start
ing out in life and selecting a calling by
which they are to earn their daily bread, we
are very apt to call it profession if its ma
ture is not yet settled. Ii the business
chosen is mechanical, agricultural or mer-
camille, it cannot properly be called PRO
fession." Formerly the term was applied
only to the three learned professions, though
the word now includes number of other
callings, such as teaching and others requir-
ing the exercise of great mental ability. We
u ue the term rather indefinitely when we
AK what young man intends to do for
! i wing.
This is doubtless a very important oues-
| ton, though IL oftener settles itself than it
| becomes the result of careful consideration,
1 will venture to say that in more than half
| the cases of boys seeking an occup patton the
| circumstances rather than actual choice are
/ responsible for the selection. Even in this
| country, where occupation is supposed to
| be abundant, the boy who is trying to find
place discovers that it is a matter of no
| little difficulty to get one. His family
needs the So or 81 week ne earns and he
has to take the first place he can fpl that
will yield him this pittance. He makes a
beginning without either his parents or
| himself having selected his occupation.
| MECHANICS Oh COUNTER JUMPERS.
| wish that more boys were disposed to be-
come mechanics, farmers and generally to
seek subsistence in industrial pursuits, for,
with taste Tor such callings, 1 believe they
would be more Independent and more sue
cessul as "bread winners" Unfortunately
many of them get the idea that it is more
| genteel to measure off tape behind counter
| than it is to WELD sledge-hammer or shove
| n foreplane. As a counter jumper he can
| keep his hands white and clean, stand in the
! presence of ladies and dress himself like q
swell, though he may be modest and SIM
| pie gentleman in this occupationras well as
| in any other.
We have been pleased to observe to what
| an extent places of this kind are filled IN
late years by women, to whom they seem
more properly to belong. If any boy, with
! such information as he can obtain in his own
| locality, will take his slate and pencil and
| figure up the compensation Of mechanics
and statesmen in drvgoods stores, he will
| have some material to guide him in choosing
profession. Or course, he must include in
his calculations the cost of clothing for a
nice young man behind counter in store
| frequented by ladies and one in a machine
or carpenters shop. He must consider the
| more expensive tastes and habits OF the
| former as compared with the latter.
In making this examination into the pros
| poets the future may hold out to him, the
| young man cannot avoid, ii he would, being
| greatly influenced by the repute in which
| these occupations are held in his community,
| the social attractions which one may pre-
| sent and the other may not, and especially
| the chances held out to him for future ad-
Vancement each may offer.
/ THE SOCIAL PART OF IT.
There is no good reason why the mechanic
| should not play the piano or the banjo Il he
is so inclined none why he should not keep
| himself clean and respectable and go into
| society; none why the doors of mansions
should not open as wide to him as to the
salesman in a store. If the daughters Of
! Squire Tinsel look down upon a mechanic
! and smile upon ounter-jumper, the
| former may console himself that he is no
loser by the preference, and that he may
save the money the latter expends upon
concert tickets and carriages.
Not more than one in a hundred of these
retail salesmen will make any great ad-
I VdEcemeEb III HIS DuSlneSS. 10e1e IS lot
room enough for more than that proportion
| of them at the top of the ladder. The
chances for boys entering wholesale houses
are better.
| The taste and even the iancy of boy
| ought to be consulted before he is planted in
| any occupation, if the circumstances will
permit, as they will not always. In later
years there is tendency to establish me-
chanical schools in the large cities, and
they ought to be encouraged to a much
greater extent than at the present time.
REAL USE OF MECHANICAL SCHOOLS.
Some boys manifest a very decided me-
chanical bent at an early age, and others, so
far as can be ascertained, have not the slight
est inclination in that direction. 1t can
hardly be expected that such schools will
turn out finished mechanics, but they will
render incaleulable service in giving their
pupils the skill to do such. small Jobs as
every man ought to be able to do. But the
greater service they will render is in testing
the fitness of their scholars tor mechanical
occupations.
If the boy is to learn trade it is GER
tainly best to let him choose it for himself.
He ought to be carefully ard wisely coun-
seled. Not many boys have the stability in
their undeyeloped years, or the knowledge
OF the ways of the world to make a suitable
choice OF calling. Young people ought to
be able to see this for themselves and ask
advice of those who are more experienced
than themselves. A young man may be
tickled bv the eloquence of a lawyer and
decide to become one himself, with little or
no knowledge OF the duties and trials of the
profession. I have known of hundreds of
young men and young women who have
made up their minds to become authors.
EARLY FANCIEs NOT TO BE FOLLOWED.