Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-09-27
A WORD TO BOYS.
FrcdcricksbuI,g Frec Lonce ,

boys little Know how their elders
particularly the men of business
watch their characters and lives a
they are growing up. While in.th
: role of street urchin. running bare
foot and practicing the demoniaca
devices of the craft, they are mould
ing opinions which are to make o
mar them in the future. The matte
OF primary Importance to every bust
ness man is that of trusted subordi
mates. Reliable aud efficient EN-
ployees are priceless to men of bust
ness, and the disposition TO watch on
Tor character is second nature to such
30, possibly years before boy il
aware that even his name is knowr
to the over-worked business man, hi.
character and disposition are men.
tally indexed for future reference
Hence it is that in after years some
youths are ignored by the business
men of the community, and they have
trouble in securing desirable posi-
tions, while others are sought after
and command good salaries.
Ifthe boys could be impressed with
the fact that their characters are thus
going to record on the mental tablets
OF the best men of the community.
there is little doubt that it would
be greater incentive to lead correct
lives, such as would leave an i'm
press upon characters that are in
the moulding state. 1t must not be
inferred that men view with disfayor
the pranks and so-called ''badness" IN
boys. They know that boy of strong
character usually displays these
traits, yet is free from dispositions
to be mean, sly, selfish, false in tongue
and action or given to dishonorable
dealings, even in his little sphere.
These are characteristics which dis
tlnguish the dishonorable boy from
the manly one, and the sharp.eyed
business man is quick to detect them.
When possessing the desirable traits
youth is never forgotten by his ell
ders, and though he may leave home
for a period of years, upon his return
he is at once recalled and recognized
by an involuntary reference to men,
ory's pages. The same is true of the
characterless boy. His elders recall
him, and through life, no matter how
much he may have done to redeem
himself, the record stands, and comes
to the front unbidden whenever he
is seen or heard of.
Almost invariably the character
lstics displayed in boyhood follow
into youth, and, IN manhood he
who earnestly desires to reform
fms the shirt of Nemesis, woven
in youth, binding him with its strong
folds; and few are able to rid them
selves of it. This is the stage of life
when the rejecting young man first
wishes that he could live over again
his boyhood. But our dissertation is
digressing-we were writing for the
benefit of the boys, all of whom we
love; they are the men of the future
who are to take our places. For,
when We, who may be blessed with
long life, are old and gray it is the
boy of to-day who is moving this old
world-theoretically in the word,
practically in the sense.
Of the boy who has grown into the
young man Hetty Green, "the richest
woman in America" and the peer in
business of any Wall Street broker,
makes the following striking obser-
vations in the LADIES' Home Journal
"One trouble with many young
men who start out in business is they
try to do too many things at once.
The result is that they don't know as
much as they ought to know about
any one thing, and they naturally
fail. The trouble with young men
who work on salaries is that they're
always afraid of doing more than
they're paid for. They don't enter
into their work with the right spirit.
10 get on and be appreciated young
man must do more than he is paid
to do. When he does something
that his employer has not'thought of
he shows that he is valuable. Men
are always willing to pay good SAL
aries to people, who Will think of |
things for them. The man who only
carries out the thoughts and ideas of
another is nothing more than mere
tool. Men who can be relied upon are
always in demand. The scarcest
thing in the world to day is al
thoroughly reliable man."
LETTER FROM A FORMER Ian