Year: 1871

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In Your Sons.


1t is a generally observed fact that, in
this country, very large proportion of
the successful men are either the sons of
poor parents, or orphans-or half orphans;
and that comparatively few SONS of rich
men amount to much in any business or
profession, Notwithstanding the superior
advantages they have sf education, posi-
ton, and an inherited capital TO start with.
The exceptions are usually, of course not
always, the oldest children of those who
have gradually grown up to wealth-those
who received their bent while the parerts
were themselves too thoroughly occupied
| to carry their children, and too economical
themselves to allow spendthrift habits in
their children. Another thing we have
observed is, that, other things being equal,
successful men come from large rather
than from small families. Three-fourths
or more of the rich men, and the infiuen-
tial men of this city, to-day, have risen to
their present positions from very INDECENT
circumstances in early life. Why is this
so? Is it necessarily sos Must the we'll
to- do parent feel that. after all his efforts
to acquire for himself and his family the
position that wealth gives, there is some
compensating decree of Providence which
Orualns lnat MS sons must enter upon
descending scale?


Our observation has led US to the con-
clusion that two of the strongest elements
of success are, courageous selfrelidnce, and
economy The boy left poor orphan has
to fight his own battles. No rich father
furnishes him carriage to ride, and so he
must walk-and he learns to walk. No
one reaches out friendly hand to lead
him, and he learns to go alone. With
scanty supply of pocket-money, he is COM
PEELED to habits Of economy that ever after
cling to him THE boy is father to the
man" is trite saying. The poor boy comes
up to manhood, and instead of leaning
upon some one to aid him, or of waiting
for some one to come to his help, he strikes
out with feeling that, to use vulgarism,
he must 'root, hog or die, and he roots
away. Look where you will, and you will
find that ninety-nine out of every hundred
successful men are inspired with just this
selfrelidnt feeling. 1t is at the very foun-
dation of the go-ahead and get-ahead-your-
| self spirit that animates them The man
who was helped by his father when boy,
whose school expenses were paid by father
instead of having to earn them himself,
whose expenses in preparing for his pro-
fession, or whose capital in starting bust
ness, came from some paternal bank, be-
gins life with dependent feeling, and it is
next to impossible for him to strike out
into the world with the feeling that what
ever am must make myself; whatever /
get must get for myself The only son,
| petted and aided as he could not be if he
were only lone of several" lacks this ele-
ment of selfreliance. Even in his sums"
and his other school lessons, he is helped
out by his mother or sister, or perhaps by
father, or a subservient teacher. 1t is
very strong objection to private or home
schools and tutors, that with few pupils,
the teacher helps the children too much,
and they also lack the stimulant of compe-
tition In large families of children they
have each to fight his own way along
among compeers, and thus healthful self
reliant spirit is acquired.


We have said enough to illustrate our
idea. Let every parent consider the sub
| ject well and see what he can do to culti-
vate this self-reliant spirit in his children.
| Let the training begin in very early life.
Every time we see mother sit down to
work out the boys sums for HIM, and
help him dig out his other lessons, we feel
| that she is by so much teaching him to
lean upon others, and lessening his manly
independence. If he is overtasked to abb
solute despair, let the task be lessened an
other time, but in every case let him pad
die his own canoe" Kindly encourage
him to do it, but do not do it for him.
While still very young, give him full
charge of some work that he must accom-
plish entirely without aid from Others.
We think it well to give every boy on a
farm at least a small plot of ground, In the
care and direction of which he is to be alb
solute sovereign, suffering its losses and
enjoying its profits. In its management
let him have little of your aid or even ad-
vice. He will thus both learn self-reli-
ance, and be led to plan and study for
himself Though there be score of servants
in the house, the child should not harbor
the idea that he can run to them for every
thing wanted. In short, whatever the sta
ton, let the children have. a considerable
nunieer of duties and cares that they must
attend to without leaning upon any one


With this courageous self-reliance secur-
ed habit of economy-not a mean or
miserly parsimony-will go far to ensure
mans success. We believe every boy
should have a money purse, and always
have something in it. If you can only
spare him three cents a month, let him
learn to spend but two of them, and to
keep an account of the expenditures. 1t
is as important for him to do this, for the
habit it begets, as for the millionaire to
enter sale of hundred thousand. A
! business man of our acquaintance, possess
ed of large wealth, came to this city almost
penniless, and engaged to work for very
small salary Himself aud wife took apart
ments that allowed them to save 5000
year. While his fellow clerks tooka three
shilling noon lunch, he contented himself
with one costing half that sum, but quite
as nourishing. The money saved by these
two economies was Just what he needed
when little business enterprise opened to
him, that laid the foundation of his present
wealth. Getting rich depends not so
much upon what man receives, as upon
what he saves The sons of the rich sell
dom acquire these habits of economy, but
commencing where their fathers leave OF, !,
they retrace his steps, and they leave OH
where he began-at the small end of the
| horn.-AmeTicdn AgriculturiSt.