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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 1901)
. I What Are the Young Chances ? A Symposium. Che VOL. IV. NO. 6. NEBRASKA CITY , NEBRASKA , AUGUST' 901. SINGLE COPIES , 5 CENTS. PUBLISHED WEEKLY. OFFICES : OVERLAND THEATRE BLOCK. , T. STERLING MORTON , EDITOR. A JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE DISCUSSION OF POLITICAL , ECONOMIC AND SOCIOLOGICAL QUESTIONS. CIRCULATION THIS WEEK , 17,500 COPIES. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. One dollar and a half per year In advance , postpaid to any part of the United States or Canada. Remittances made payable to The Morton Printing Company. Address , THE CONSERVATIVE , Nebraska City , Nebraska. Advertising rates made known npon appli cation. Entered at the post office at Nebraska City , Neb. , as Second Class matter , July 29 , 1898. The last half- THE YOUNG MAN dozen years have AND HIS OPPOR witnessed some TUNITIES. remarkable revo lutions in business methods all over the world , and es pecially so in the United States. Th § combination of gigantic corporations with hundreds of millions of dollars capitalization , extending even into the railway field , has brought the question of the future of the young men of to day prominently before the public. There are many who see in the present state of industrial affairs only darkness and gloom , but there are others who re gard it as a natural result of improved , enlarged and progressive business ideas , and a distinct advantage to the people generally. THE CONSERVATIVE presents with this issue the opinions of several gentlemen prominent in the legal , railroad , indus trial and educational fields , on one of the most absorbing topics of the day "The Young Man's Chances. " Most of these articles are optimistic in tone , and THE CONSERVATIVE shares in their general conclusion , that the young man's opportunities in the busi ness world were never more numerous , attractive or conspicuous. It is true that recent speculative ventures on the part of a comparatively few men and their False Notions. success in that line , have given many of our young men the false notion that success can be attained without hard work that something can bo made out of nothing. There are thousands of other men who are finan cially , and even morally , ruined each year , because they have followed the same plan of speculation ; but the sad story of this latter class is seldom writ ten. Comparatively few speculators succeed where thousands fail , and this rat proves that economic laws are as inexorable in their operation as are the aws of nature. THE CONSERVATIVE Delieves , as it has always believed , ; hat the success of any man is determined by his ability , industry and honesty. This brings us to the discussion of a matter of heredity , for , although in this great free country every contest , His defeat would not bo because of lack of opportunity or fair conditions , but simply because ho lacked ability inherent ability. And thus it is with present business conditions ; the opportunities are better than ever before in this country- and the demand for men of ability is greater than the supply. Combinations in the industrial world bring many changes and in some cases they work hardships ; but the pathway of the world's industrial development is strewn with indi vidual wrecks. Railroads have ruined the business of over land freighters ; self- binders , reapers and mowers have sup planted the man with the scythe and cradle ; sewing-machines have thrown many tailors out of work ; dress re form has wiped out hoopskirt manufactor ies ; typewriting ma chines and typesetting machines no doubt displaced many em ployes ; and steam and electricity have super seded hand-power and multiplied the pro ductive capacity of one man in some coses twenty-fold. But al though these trans formations have been accompanied by indi vidual losses and mis fortunes , it cannot be denied that they have been in the interest of the whole people and represent more than anything else their industrial develop ment and progress. Nearly all of the J. STERLING MORTON , EDITOR THE CONSERVATIVE. successful men of the rich and the poor alike are on a nearly equal footing in the matter of acquiring an education , it will be found an impossibility to provide everybody with an equal amount of ability , in either business , professional , or mechan ical lines. Ability is largely a matter of blood and breeding , like the fleetness of a race-horse. A Clydesdale could be given equal "opportunity" or "ohauco" in a race with a well-bred trotting or running horse , and yet be distanced in today are what may be termed self- made men ; that is , they have won their way to prominence and wealth by reason of their own efforts and merits. So , we predict for the future the successful man will be he who has brains , to begin with , and who works honestly , indus 4 triously and intelligently. Wo call our readers' particular atten tion to the splendid contributions on "The Young Man's Chances" in this is sue of THE CONSERVATIVE , and hope the articles may-be carefully read by all and widely circulated. N.