The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-09-25

great despite his disadvantages, not by
aid of them. What might Lincoln not
have been, had he but enjoyed the edu-
c~ational advantages of a Phillips, a
Seward or a Gladstone? Give your boy,
as well as your girl, a chance. Sacrifice
every reasonable thing to that end, and
you will never regret it. All he may
learn will be a help to him in every ave-
nue. of life. Also, teach your boy to do
business in every day affairs. Do not do
it all yourself. A boy always kept in
the background, and never taught any
thing about business matters, is just ten
years old, when he goes out into the
world to do for himself, no matter what
the family record says about his age.
Very much the same with the girl. Who,
by the way, is not apt to dispute the
insinuatiOn that she is very young.
Whether our educational institutions as
at present conducted, give the best pos
sible training for the boy or girl, what
ever his plans for the future, is a ques-
ton l shall not try to settle. Certain it
is, they are the best now in existence,
and their defects can be remedied, as
they become apparent. Certain it is,
that there is not in our country an insti-
tuition or an influence that equals our
common school system in the dwelling of
classes, in the uplifting of the common
people, and in the discrimination of the
true principles of American citizenship.
The acceptable American citizen must
be moral and religious. | do not mean to
say to what church, if any, he shall be-
long. But a good man should acknOw-
ledge and respect the Divine power and
authority of the Creator of all men, and
lead lives in accordance with that allie
glance. No man can violate and set aside
the laws of health and proper physical
living, and be a perfect physical man.
Neither can he defy the moral code re-
vealed in the Divine book, and ingrafted
in the conscience of all intelligent men,
and remain a valued citizen and a happy
and useful man. Some young men get
the impression that the proper thing to
do, is to SOW a certain amount of wild
oats before setting down to useful lives.
Never was a greater mistake made. |
would say to young men, that wild oats
bring forth the most bounteous crop of
any seed that is sown-and the reaping
must be done, whether you will OF not.
The wild oats" theory is generally i'm
bibed from young men a little older, and
a little worse. Fellows who SCOT at
church and state alike. Young man, the
fellow who tells you it is not manly to
go to church and Sunday school, is not a
fit companion for you. The fellow who
SCOTS at the integrity of men and the vir-
tue of woman, is unfit for you to assQ-
ciate with at all. He is a menace to the
community, a dishonor to the father who
begat him, and a disgrace to the mother
who bore him. Shun him as you would
shun the devil. To become like him, is
ing in the community, and to lose the
respect of all good men and all good wo-
men. Never in the history of our coun-
try, was so high a premium placed on
the moral, upright young man, as now.
Particularly is this true in the business
World. In the great institutions of the
country, where young men are employed
and have a chance to advance in position,
the saloon hummer and street loafer
are not wanted. Railroad companies,
other corporations and companies, and
individuals employing men, want sober,
Industrious, decent young men, and pay
them good salaries. Such young men you
may be, and get such employment with
such pay, or you can swagger on the
streets, use vile language, drink vile
beverages, and reap your wild oats and
die in the gutter. The choice Is your
own.
The telephone, also, is a great convent
ence to the farmer. Great strides are
being made in this line, and / look to see
the day in the near future, when the far
mers of every prosperous community,