Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1905-09-25
CHANCES FOR YOUNG MEN.

that there are not so many chances
for young men to succeed in the
United States now as there were when
the population was smaller.
Pessimists delight in saying that
this is so, and even many intelligent
but discouraged men utter the same
complaint.
The congestion of population IN
many places is undoubtedly chiefly
responsible for this statement, yet 1t
is noteworthy that whenever their
opinion is asked, the most successful
men in the leading industries-men
who began life poor and uneducated
argue with great energy that the
opportunities of young men for sue
cess are better today than ever
before.
This question of opportunity" is of
such universal interest that all the
arguments pro and con concerning it
are valuable.
The latest captain of industry to
add to the literature on this subject is
Mr.. j. }. Hill, the Northwestern rail-
way magnate, who celebrated his
9th birthday Saturday. This indie
fatigable worker asserts there "are
more opportunities than there are
young men to take advantage OF
Them" The country, he admits, has
grown larger and life is more COM
pick, but in his opinion it cannot be
gainsaid that if the country has grown
bigger the opportunities have grown
with it, and if life is more complex it
at least results in a greater variety of
opportunities"
To quote Mr.. HIPS most important
observation:
A young man has always had to
! help make his opportunities, and ne
must do that today as ever. But
! young men fail more nowadays than
they used to because they expect to
reap almost as soon as they SOW
That is the very great trouble with
the young men of the present. Ihey
expect opportunities to come to
| bASu WlbuOuG dP ~
shaping of things SO that oppor-
tunities will drift their way. You
have to keep your eyes open and
catch hold of things: they'll not catch
hold of you, as rule.
The above observation will not
appeal to the fainthearted and in
dolent, but the energetic and per-
severing will appreciate it's full force
and gather courage from it.
The young men of all generations
have been told by the wisest men of
affairs that energy, system and per-
severance are the greatest COM
ponents of success and that without
them they will never prosper. That
is as true today as when the Greek
philosopher advanced the same
proposition, and Mr.. Hill is only fol-
lowing in the footsteps of the wise
men of past ages when he says
plainly:
If young fellow doggedly bucks
! the world and circumstances without
| sense or reason all this time he is
liable to get nothing more than
sore head. He must know how to
take advantage of opportunities
use his brains, in short. A young
man who has no brains ought to aU
least have enough animal sense to
find it out, and learn to depend upon
and get what benefits he can from
the brains of others.
All men cannot be leaders. Sue
cessful men can only give others the
advice which their experience has
proven valuable. All of them have
found invariably that work and plenty
of it was ecessary to achieve partial
or full success in any calling.
Few of those who advise young
men, however, appear to lay stress
enough upon social environment.
Application is laudable, but after a
hard days work what is done with
the rest of the twenty four hours is
of vital Importance. If that spare
time is devoted to dissipation or idle
ness it does not tend to improve the
quality of the next days workman
ship. The successful men have
always known what to do with their
leisure time. The health and educa-
ton can be improved wonderfully
during leisure hours. Bodily and
mental strength are requisite for the
undertakings inspired by ambition.
There are unquestionably many
opportunities for success now, the
same as there have been since the
creation of the world, but now, as
ever, they must be searched for.
Everyone encounters obstacles, but it
should be borne in mind that failures
are intended to serve as stepping
stones to success. Most successful
men have been "broke," have met
with failures, have been discouraged