Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-11-05
DoLLAR-A-DAY PEOPLE.

What can you dor dOn tbllnk I can do much of anything; was not brought up to anything. and never had to work.' But what do you think you can do?'' T don't know; I never tried anything Do you write good hand?' II don't know; couldn't say" Do you write rapidly?" Not very" ''Will you write me letter of application so that l may get an idea of your handwriting and general edu- cation?' T don't believe I can do that"
 This is the substance of conversa- ton that recently took place between the .forewoman in charge of the clerks in the subscription department of popular monthly magazine and a young girl who had called in answer to an ad- vertisement for additional office work CTS.
 This girl is typical of hundreds of people in New York and in every other large city in the country, who are haunting publishers offices, clamofing at the doors of great business houses, and wandering the streets footsore and weary in search of work they cannot find.
 Is it any wonder that such people fail in their efforts? Is it surprising, under such conditions that an adver- tisement for a clerk at $5 or $6 a week floods the, advertiser with hundreds of answers, while one for a man or woman at $10,O00 year calls out not one.
 We boast of our educational system and the unrivaled opportunities of every boy and girl living under the American flag to obtain not only a common school, but also college, ed ucation, if they have grit and vim enough to work their way to it, yet our Hand is full of incompetents.
 The twentieth century, with nineteen hundred years of preparation and ex- lperience and culture back of It, is turning out greater number of proba- ble failures than any century of the l middle ages, considering the relative advantages Of the times.
 When we compare Lucy Stone pick ing berries to earn the right to go to college. or Lucy Larcom working in factory at the age Of 10, yet through her own unaided efforts attaining high rank as teacher and poet. with this other girl living in the midst of the opportunities offered at a great edu- cationa1 center,t who couldn't write a simple letter; when we compare boy of the same type with, Garfield sweeping floors and ringing bells, or an Elihu Burritt learning to translate He- | brew during the pauses of his work at the forge. we must answer that the fault is with individuals. The young people of our. land are not awake to their advantages.
 Gray-haired men and women of middle age or more are working in of fees or factories, side by side with girls. and for the same pittance They failed to educate themselves. Youth is passed and they are reaping what they have sown. There are, of course, many amongst them who are victims of circumstances and are not really responsible for their present positions, but the majority are where they are because they neglected the opportuni- ties that called insistently to them when they were boys and girls. Gram mar schools, high schools. evening schools. lectures and libraries offered them their treasures, but they would have none of them. Now they com plain that they are unl11cky. that fate is against them. and that others, no better or worthier than they, go to the top of the ladder while they remain at the foot.-Orison Swett Warden in No- vember Success.