The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1903-04-17
The Times and tho Young Man.


The Times and tho Young Man.
Traternal Voice: Whenever a rich man
dies. a man who has risen from obscure
poverty to great wealth, 1t Is a common
thing for young men to say: ooh. yes. he
started when there were lots Of chances.
But a mar can't do that sort of thing
now" In 1910 the discontinued said that
the halycon days were in 1872, when a man
could get a fat contract in the war. In
1870 the rich men had the chance OF the
gold fever In 1s4s. In 1900 we say that it
was easy enough for a man to get a start
during the war of 1855. And SO it goes.
In 1890 1t will no doubt be said: ''Oh, yes,
a man had a chance in 1900 when all was
prosperity, and America was just Develop
ing her new territories" Yet thousands
OF young men today are saying that there
are not chance for u poor young man."
They say this so glibly: they argue SO
plausibly about the crushing influence of
trusts and the combination OF capital, that
many mothers have written asking: rs
this true7 Has my boy no chance because
he Is poor?"
When a young man sits down and be-
Titles the times in which he lives. and
walls about '.the good old times when
men had a chance" 1t Is a pretty good In
dication that not the times are wrong. but
that the young man is either incompetent
or indolent. TIL fact that a young man is
poor is not a hindrance, and never was.
On the contrary, poverty Is the finest in
heritance q young man can have. No
combination can be better than poverty
and good health to a young man who
wants to carve his way in the world. The
young man to be pttied is he of means who
knows no stimulus to the best e%ndeavor.
But the young fellow who inherits poverty
Is to be congratulated. He has what all
men who hav risen in the world had to
push them on to make them mighty. The
finest process of character building
through which a man can pass is that
Of poverty. It Is u priceless stimulus.
Such conditions as hard work and an
education obtained with difficulty breed
men. and men SO bred. have the best train
Ing to onQue obstacles. A young man
does not start with nothing when he has
good health, and believes In frugality and
honesty. He has everything that has made
thousands of men useful, honored and
happy.
There is no condition OF mind so fatal
to a man as that which puts him out of
sorts with the times in which he lives
The most useless men in the world today
are the unsuccessful loafers who regard
the riches of others as an insult to them
selves. The young fellow who has any
thing In him never stops to regard other
people except as he can learn from them.
He has no time to abuse the methods of
others. Thus insincerity is rooted out from
the nature. That is n practice he leaves
to the loungers who kick their heels at
the station platform, or rural groceries,, or
corner groggeries. 1t is the chief great
ness of America that a young man can
make of himself what he chooses. No
man. business house nor corporation keeps
3 young man down because he is poor.
The demand for brains today Is too great.
A young man OF capacity. industry and in
tegrity has a field for individual effort
such as never before existed in this coun-
try. And success Is neither harder nor
easier than it ever was. Success never
yet came to the laggard, and IL never will.
Let a young man be capable; have enter
prise, be willing to work, and carry him
self like a man, and he goes where he
will. His success depends upon himself.
No times, no conditions, no combinations
of capital can stop a young man who has
determination to honorably succeed, and
who ia willing to work according to the
very utmost of his capacity and sinews of
strength.
The real trouble is that the average
young man won't work. He has gotten
the insane notion into his head that sue
cess comes by luck, that men are made by
opportunities which either come to them
or are thrust upon them. And he waits
for luck or a chance TO come along and
find him.. Or he ~dissipates his energies
In pTOIlIteSS CnAnN6lS. instead OIL using
every mouleu OF his time he wastes hours
in sensual pleasures for which a young
fellow with the right stuff in him has
no time. Instead Of defying and dismiss
ing temptation he courts 1t, winks at it..
plays with 1t. Instead OF placing dress
and amusements in their proper relative
and position he takes them out Of their
places and lets them hold a wrong value In
his life. Instead Of using his time in
learning from other men he wastes his
breath in idle lamentations. Instead Of
taking a sane view of conditions, and see
Ing will a clear mind that as trade wild
ems, opportunities increase, he takes the
mistaken view that the rich are getting
richer and the poor poorer. These are tho
conditions of mind in life which are keep
ing thousands OF young men down. and
will keep them down.
The times are all right. 1t is the young
man who finds fault with them who Is not,
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