The Washington herald., 1908-01-01

/ 20 get it all by the pick and shovel route.
/ The farmer boy learns the lesson Of fru-
gaiity, industry. and perseverance on the
/ farm. and when he goes to the city he
! generally goes to the front. But the city
/ boy. little matter whether he be OF high
or low degree, seldom is able to rise above
/ the environment Of his station. Every
/ where there are opportunities TO spend
money and time to no advantage, and
/ these opportunities are not allowed 10
/ pass.
This is the day for resolutions The
man, woman, or child who makes not
! some resolution to turn a new leaf on
New Years Day is not animated by de-
sire to do better and be better in the fu-
ture than he has in the past And, after
all, there is some good in the most Of US,
so that there are very few who have not
made a mental pledge for the year 1893 by
/ the time they read these lines.
The greatest lesson the American city
boy can learn is 10 save money and
time. During the week before Christmas
/ the foreigners Of New York alone sent
/ five million dollars to the old folks in
far away Europe. The savings banks
/ Of the country are full TO overlooking
with the money OF the foreign born The
/ BOwery Savings Bank, In the very heart
OF the foreign center Of population in
/ New York, has deposits aggregating A
/ hundred million dollars. and practically
/ four-hfths Of the deposits are those OF
the foreign born and Of children of for
! eigners. And throughout the country one
finds the strongest savings banks where
the foreign population is the greatest.
/ The foreigner has learned the lesson
long ago TO live within his income and
TO save something If possible He usual
" does both. The farmer boy has learned
the same lessons by force Of necessity.
The theater party, the expensive clothes.
and the habits of idleness are unknown
/ quantities to MIN. Hence when he comes
to town. unless he departs from his train
ing, he is successful.
Some one has said that the worst for
tune that can befaI child is 10 be born
with a silver spoon in his mouth. It
takes away from that ch1d the great
riches that lie in frugality, economy, per
severance. and industry Many have
come 20 think that the day of fortune
for the poor boy is past. But even a
casual study Of the situation shows this
not to be true. In the city Of Washing
/ ton the president of one Of its leading
banks is stil far on the sunny-side Of
/ fifty. and twenty years ago he was a
| struggling drug clerk. In Congress there
are a dozen members who were either
bootblacks, newsboys. or telegraph oper-
stOrs. In every city there are many
young Americans who have come in
from the country and are now at the
helm Of affairs.
/ The handicap under which the city
boy labOrs IS shown nowhere more stTik-
/ ingly than in the personnel Of the lead
} ing officials OF the government. Since the
civil war there has been but one Presi-
dent who was, strictly speaking. A city
born boy, and that one is the present
occupant Of the White House. who has
risen 10 that position in spite Of more
/ haudicaps than any other man who ever
/ entered the Presidential race. Lincoln
was born in a log cabin. johnson Jared
no better in the matter Of situation when
he came into the world. The boy who
to-day comes into life amid such finan-
cisl circumstances as greeted L. S. Grant
when he opened his big eyes on a won
derful world would be pitied by the
average American. Hayes. Cleveland.
and Mckinley were country born and not
well TO do.
A year or two before the lamentable
death Of President Mckinley he was
| travelling through the West on a special
train. Around him were gathered a dozen
prominent official lieutenants The train
t
pened 10 be sitting on the observation
platform when they passed a farmhouse
by the track side. The morning was
somewhat frosty and a barefooted boy
was observed to drive a COW up from
the place where she was lying and 90
stand on the spot 10 get his feet warm
/ Mr.. Mckinley remarked that this re-
minded him OF his own boyhood days.
when he had done the same thing many
a time In the whole crowd there was
hut one who had not driven up the COWS
to warm his feet.
The average youth does not Tealize
how much small savings viii amount to
in the course of time if judiciously in
vested. A hundred dollars saved at TWEEN.
ty-twO. If kept at interest carefully com.
pounded at 5 per cent, will amount to
S92S by the time one is sixty-two. The
boy who will start out to save 500 a year
at the age of twenty-five carefully com
pounding the interest thereon, will, by the
time he reaches sixty-two, have some
$1,000 for his old age. And the average
American boy in the city spends a hum
dred dollars each yea- from which he
receives no more real b-%eft than il he
had thrown it into the gLAter.
It is good to read ia .h%+ latter days
the homely letters of the II, y: u-ho made
America what it has been and will be.
After George Washington retired from
the Presidency he sent George Washing
ton Parke Custis TO Annapolis 10 school,
months he wrote 10 the Father of His
Country inquiring Of him 10 whom he
should look in case he needed funds. Gen
Washington in a reply. in which he ad-
dressed the youth as Dear Washington, 5"
said that he did not like TO hear him
asking about funds two months after go
ing TO school-that his board had been
paid for quarter and could have no ex-
penses beyond the books he might need.
lie added that he had given him some
eight pounds of Maryland money when
he left for Annapolis, and concluded by
| saying, Surely you have not conceived
that an indulgence in dress or other ex-
ltravagances were matters that were ever
contemplated by me-" The American boy
of ordinary station who was not allowed
to spend more than S32 in two months
while at college would think his father a
mseT.
! The number of young Americans who
have bank accounts is lamentably small
In many Of the cities not over 10 per cent
Of the salaTied young men are thought tc
have bank accounts. In Washington
where there are thousands Of young men