The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-07-21

and 1t troubled him greatly. His
ticket, which had been purchased in
Europe, was only to st. Louis, and he
mentioned this fact to the man he met
at the train. The man thought the
situation over, and said
"1ll tell you what to do. When
you get to st. Louis you 90 up to
the North Side Branch of the Y. M.
G. A. They speak German up there,
and maybe they can get you a job
till your uncle comes back
THE young man spoke German and
French, but not word of English,
and his case looked rather hopeless.
1t so happened that only a few days
before his arrival in the city a manu-
facturer had told the secretary of
the North Side Branch to be on the
lookout for a capable young man
who could speak German and French.
Before evening the youth from the
mountains of Switzerland had been
set to work. and had secured board
ing place in a German family. After
some three months his uncle wrote
for him and he went to Kansas City;
but his position was held open for
him and he found nothing that suited
him so well even with his uncle's
Influence to help him. Then a prom
Use of a substantial "raise" settled
the matter, and he came back to st.
Louis.
There was youth who held a po-
lsition just above that of office boy.
His education was limited and he felt
himself unable to command more than
the meagre salary he was receiving
The secretary of the Y. M. C. A,
with whom he came into personal
contact urged him to enter the night
school and prepare himself for some
thing better. At once his ambition
was fired, and in a little over a year
he had far more congenial place
at double his former salary. Two of
his friends, who took night courses
in telegraphy and typewriting, have
secured good railroad positions with
in the past month.
"The classes in mechanical draw
| ing are among the most popular in the
| Y M. G. A. night school, leading tn,
way TO excellent situations for a great
number of earnest young men One
| of these was a bundle wrapp-r in one
OF the department stores and it was
utterly impossible for aim t. give up
earning money long enough to fit
himself for more remuneratige en-
ployment Three years ago he benz
for the first time over a drawn Z
board and today he is employed liz ole
of the largest contracting firm4 in
the city at an excellent salary and
has added to his income by designing
and erecting a number of buildings
as a private enterprise. One of his
classmates in the night school was a
lyoung Porto Rican who knew prac-
tically no English. He wanted to be
an architect, and there was no school
he could enter, because of his need
for personal instruction in both
draughtsmanship and English. He
was told that the Young Mems Ch"is-
| ian Association had the right sort OF
school for such case as his. so he
was enrolled as a student, and he
proved a most diligent one. He nov
speaks the language with scarcely 6
ltrace of foreign accent, and is en-
Iployed as draughtsman in one OF
the big architectural offices. A third
member of this class was a boy who
had just graduated from high school
His parents had kept him in school
by dint of much economy and person
al sacrifice, and it was necessary for
him to go to work imme diately. His
hrst position was in a large manu-
featuring plant, where the services OF
a draughtsman were constantly re-
CURED. The boy saw chance tc
step into paying position as soon as
he could fill it, for the man who did
the designing was overworked and
would need help in little while. He
had talk with the manager and was
told to enter the night school al
once. AS soon as he had mastered tho
rudiments of his craft he was given
supplementary instruction by the
draughtsman. who was member oil
the firm, and today he is doing all
turing plant and is earning a mans
salary, although he is barely past the
voting age"
OF course Montpelier cannot do the
work that is done in the large cities
but there is good field for night
~. NJ. c. A. school here the coming
fall and winter. AS is well known
there are many Italians, Spaniards
and other foreigners, who live in
this city and vicinity, who have had
illtlS Oppol luhity w icdi Ii W iSuu
English, or to acquire other import
ant educational subjects. 1t ought
to be possible in this way to help a
Igoodly number of foreign born resi-
dents to become better and more in
telligent citizens. For a modest fee
it ought to be possible to provide
classes that shall meet on certain
evenings each week for instruction
in some of the rudimentary branches
of study.
1t is understood that some persons
have generously volunteered to teach
such classes and it is hoped that the
work may become the success it de-
serves to be. The experiment is well
worth trying.
| General regret will be felt through
out the State at the decision of Hon