The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1903-12-10
OPENING or THE SERIES.
Hon. j. A. DeBoer Spoke on Some
Young Men / Have Known"

gatbere at the Y. NJ @. A. gymna-
stun on Wednesday evening to bear
the first of the series of practical talks
to young men by Hon. j. A. DeBoer.
Ii. j. M. Jones. president of the associ-
alton, introduced the speaker in fitting
terms and briefly outlined the object
of the course OF talks.
Mr. DeBoer took for his subject
"Some Young Men / Have Known"
and gave III informal and truly prac-
tical talk interpsersed with n goodly
amount of wit and humor which cap
tivated and held the closest attention
of his hearers. He prefaced his re-
marks by saying that it was very
difficult undertaking to give what
may be termed practical talk. 1t
was a difficult matter, even for pro-
fessional man, to give such talk be-
fore men of his own profession, for
an electrician to give practical talk
to electricians, or for minister to
address an audience of persons versed
IN theology. 1t was still more difi.
cult to talk to men, intelligently, who
represented so many different occupa-
tions of which he knew nothing or
but little. He said he would, however,
be able to give few essentials of
success which referred to all classes
of men, wherever or however &C.
cupied. He said he was a believer in
the theory that every man had an OPP
portunity, no matter i'll what occupa-
ton he was engaged. Every man
would have an opportunity to bet
ter himself. To illustrate his sub
| ject he took for example the lives of
few young boys he had known as a
| boy and as an associate in the city of
Albany. He explained their con1i-
tions, in the first place, in regard to
parentage, saying one boys father
was a stove maker, anotheI's black.
smith, another's an ordinary laborer,
while another boy was Obliged to get
along without any, his father having
died. He described what opportunity,
to these boys meant-vigor OF youth,
the swimming hole, the theatre, ETC.,
referring humorously to the fact that
any of them would scrape the whole
week to save money enough to admit
them into the "nigger heaven" of the
theatre on Saturday night. These
boys, brought up in conditions which
involved the common substantial
things of life, such as three square
meals day and place to sleep, went
/ out to seek their opportunities on the
plan that life is the pursuance of
happiness. One of the very first
things they learned was that they
were obliged to receive adverse knocks
in whatever they turned their hand to,
and must fight to overcome.
In 1876 five of the boys gathered in
the basement of the Albany Journal
office, of which paper Charles Emory
Smith was then editor, and used to
await their allotment of papers to sell
on the streets of Albany. In those
days the papers used to wait for the
news before printing, instead of get
ting out the extra editions as they do
today, and sometimes the boys were
kept waiting for their papers for two
hours. The speaker described in q
picturesque manner the boys as they
looked to him at that time, showing
the manner in which they acted out
plays, some even from Shakespeare,
as they were awaiting their editions.
He pointed out in most interesting
manner the characteristics of "Theo-
bald" Smith, George" Addington,
Oscar" Michael and joe Graham.
Then he pointed out the result of the
development Of those early character
istics in their present positions, one a
professor of bacteriology in Columbia
: University. another municipal judge
/ in Albany, another an Episcopal rec
tor in Philadelphia and another a
noted Roman Catholic priest.
, In closing he laid down few es-
sentials of success which he had OBJ
served in his experience and which
applied alike to.every person, wherever
they might be or however they might
/ be occupied. He said he didn't care
whether one called it sermon or q
recipe for patent medicine but the
essentials were: First of all cleanli-
ness of body, then cleanliness of sur
roundings, cleanliness of speech, activ-
! ity of mind and body as averse to
loafng. certain amount Of conf
deDce in yourself or an idea that you
were up to the average and as good as
the next man, and last of all to seize
( the chance as it came. The speaker
emphasized the fact that every man
must have a chance sometime and,
when it came, it was for him to jump
on it,
The next talk will be by Rev. Il.
r. Whitman on Finding Ones
| Work"