The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-08-14

One OF the notable things about the
present age is the prominence OF youta-
Girl novelists, boy bank presidents, bay
orators, politicians, editors, and soldiers
are very much in evidence, and some peo-
pie complain that the middle-aged and
old men are being pushed entirely into The
shade by all this boyishness- The dead
line at fifty idea has been much and IN
favorably commented upon. It is argued
that the old mans experience and wisdom
ought to count for something in the ma6ir g
OF q country.
One reason for this, in America, is that
the country itself is young, and in many
cases the younger generation is an i'm
provement over the preceding one. For
example, nobody can deny that, generally
speaking, the young men in the art schools
have been the makers OF American art
They have had better training, and use
more scientific methods than their elders.
This is not altogether so at the present
time, because even the oder men are
modern in their methods and possz SIS
their share Of genius, but when the Coun-
try was in the making there were some
.
vogue. The same is true of many other
things. In a new country, owing to the
pioneer character of the population, and
the ignorance of most of it, ana the sparse
ly settled lands, it is impossible to reach
as high a perfection in any art or busin IS
which depends upon training, as in a more
thickly settled and thoroughly organized
society. So long as there were no schools
and colleges in America equal to those of
Europe, even approximately, the home
trained man was al a disadvantage, and
when young fellows came into the COM
munity, fresh from study in London, Ber-
lin. or Paris, their methods justly took
precedence. in many ways, of the expert
ence Of their predecessors. There are
some things in which experience counts
for more than training, and some in which
the reverse is true. There are also many
ways in which youthful experience ard
enthusiasm are worth more than the more
conservative and cautious knowledge of the
elder. This is true in almost any busi-
ness where it is necessary to take
chances. Unless man has the speculator's
temperament he will not take the risks
Nitu AS Is OIu tiltl ne VIII WneD young,
and in new country 1t is generally neces-
sary to risk, to bluff, and to work against
large odds in starting any new enterprise.
The young man has little to lose in gaining
his experience; his elders have everyth ng.
AS the country grows older, however.
this prediction for youth is likely to les
sen. In every highly organized soc ETY.
experience and long training are courted
at their full worth and youth receives
its proper amount OF discredit for rawness
crudity, and conceit. The boundless self
conceit of some young Westerners, their
large content with themselves, their coun-
try, and everything that is theirs, receives
the rudest sort of check when they land in
an older and better organized society. The
woman who is "a perfect LADY, in a coun-
Try village may be awkward enough in a
New York drawic groom. and the man who
is considered wonder of oratory, liter
airy ability, or shrewdness in provincial
town, finds out his blunder and learns the
value of older heads when he comes to a
big city. All the same, this youth is often
really superior to the farmers among whom