The St. Johns herald., 1901-11-16

feW AmeEICduS VIII QlSpulc DIT Thomas Lipton's statement that the American boy is better able to make
 his way in the world than the English
 boy, and that this is partly because be
 is allowed to shift for himself at an
 earlier age This is not the only reason,
 however. One ascribes the superior
 powers of the American boy to the
 blended blood of many races that flows in his veins. Another thinks the Amer
 ican mother and the inspiration of
 wholesome home training are to be credited with the boys ambitions. Oth- CTS believe the climate has something to do with the character of the Ameri- can boy, by causing earlier maturity, while many mention the superior oppor- tunities for education and for employ ment existing in the United States. All these causes undoubtedly are at work in producing the self-reliant and manly type of boy admired by Sir Thomas Lipton, though all are by no means of equal importance. The mixture of races has had a beneficial effect, but still more significant is the fact that it Is a mixture of the more daring and ad- venturous elements in each race. It requires courage and a pioneering spirit to seek a home in new cond- nent. America has been magnet for individuals of this peculiar tempera- ment from the days of the settlement of Jamestown and Massachusetts Bay to the present hour. It was the hard schooling rather than the mingling of races that created the alert American type of boyhood and manhood. Many of our most successful men have sprung from pure English stock in New Eng
 land or Virginia, or from German or other blood practically unmixed. The influence of the more stimulating American climate undoubtedly may be seen, but this is a force that requires generations to show its effects. More important than any other single ele- ment in producing the ''savoir faire" of the American boy is that of opportu- nifty. From the earliest days there was more work to be done in America than the men could do alone. The boy was needed and was expected to work. The conditions were such that the boy neither could nor would stay at home and Hive off'' his parents to the extent that English boys do and must under present conditions. The abounding op- portunities of the new world naturally evolved self-reliant type of manhood, alert, adaptable, ingenious, fearless of obstacles or dangers-a type rich in in- ventive genius rather than in scholarly attainments. The American comes naturally by these qualities, both by birth and by training. In this country the young man is trusted with greater responsibility than he is in Europe This has given our industries the mo- bility and aggressiveness which seem so disconcerting to our staid European rivals. Whether this early brilliancy of the American youth foreshadows an earlier loss of grip is a debatable l question. It is true that a man past the age of 50 has a poorer chance of in the United States than in Europe, but his earlier opportuni- l ties may compensate for this. How ever that may be, the present is the l young mans age in this country, and | he is more capable of carrying his | large responsibilities than the youth of any other country. The old country puts faith in old men; the new country puts faith in young men.