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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 1901)
t * 'Cbe Conservative. 5 was bad , was the rnlo , and acccptnnco of service iu the operating department of a railroad was regarded as a pretty definite stop on the downward road. Today , the Young Men's Christian Association with its commodious , quiet reading-rooms , well-kept bath-rooms and comfortable sleeping-rooms , has taken the place of the saloon , and fre quently the train and engine men from various divisions gather iu union religi ous meetings at the headquarters of this association. A candidate for the presidency , dur ing the last campaign , propounded the scriptural interrogatory , "Is it well with the young man ? " and in reply , drew a very dark picture of the future of the youth of our country unless ho ( the candidate ) should bo elected. No person who knows anything of the past or of the present , can agree with his reply to his own question ; had he commenced as a laborer on a section thirty-two years ago , as did the writer , and kept in touch with labor and labor ing men through all these years , ho must , with a heart full of gratitude , acknowledge that it is "well with the young man" bettor than it has jeeu in all the years of the past , and instead of preaching the heresy of discontent and discouragement , bid the young man turn his face cheerfully and hopefully to catch and welcome the rising sun of the new century , so full of promise for the youth of this great uatiou. Cleveland , O. , Juno 14 , 1901. ROBERT C. CLOWRY. V ice-President of the Western Union Tele graph Company. I have received your letter asking for my views in reference to the young man's chances of success in commercial life and do not hesitate to say , that , in my opinion , the chances of success iu commercial business , for the right sort of young men , have never been so good as at the present time ; provided that the young men are well educated , hon est , industrious and faithful , and not handicapped by mental or physical de fects , or by * a full iiniversity course of education , and enter business early in life so that they may be molded to their work , and in line for promotion when opportunities present themselves. * . To be successful , the young mtur should be not only iudustriou y faithful but always willing aiKJJ ious to perform more service than is allotted to him ; to guard and watch his ' interests at all times employer's , regard less of stipulated hours whether the employer is the United States Govern ment , a large corporation , a firm , or an individual , and the service should be performed not only intelligently , but modestly and unostentatiously , so as not * I think that a full university' course has a tendency to unlit young men for the rougli Htruggles , incident to the Bmall beginnings of u commercial business career. to excite the ill-will of other employees. Ho should , if possible , acquire the habit of performing extra work for his em ployer , visiting his place of occupation at night or on Sunday if consistent with his religious convictions. He should take a largo view of the whole business of his employer , and become familiar with the details of the different departments. Ho should be a constant student and reader , when not at work , giving special attention to biography , travels , history and geography. . He should know what grout and success ful men have really accomplished , rath er than what some imaginative novelist would have them do. H ould such works as the joimials Xvis and Clark on their expedition across the continent to the Pacific coast of the United States , in ISOtf , and when dis couraged or disheartened , remember the sufferings and vicissitudes encountered by them. Ho should read "John Hali fax , Gentleman , " and not only never KOBE11T C. OLOWHY. forget to be a gentleman , without being prudish , but endeavor to associate with gentlemen and ladies in social life , and cultivate the acquaintance of persons of more experience and culture than himself. It is a great mistake for a young man to think that his efforts to be efficient and to perform more work than is set aparfc'for Jym will not be noticed by his employers or sujferjor officers. The ap preciation of such service may seem lardy,1 butms almost sure to come , and then it wilToihy-b a. qitestton of time when his services will become indis pensable , and his success certain. Chicago , July 10 , 1901. ALBERT WATKINS. Journalist. The amount of capital , enterprise and skilled human effort engaged in the pub lication of newspapers and other period ical literature is not only absolutely enormous but it is rapidly increasing. The demand for efficient workers in this vast industry has also been rapidly in creasing , both absolutely and relatively to the supply. To put it another way , the yoimg man who is reasonably well fitted for the kind of work iu question is pretty sure to bo able to find employ ment , and for at least a fair compensa tion. If his equipment is unusual , his opportunity is sure and the reward liberal - oral ; if it is extraordinary , rich prizes are within his reabnX It follows that in general tho. opportunity for young men in the- general field of journalism and magazine work is very good , and much better at the present time than ever be fore. Furthermore , the remarkable outer- prise which has lately characterized the publication of periodical litera ture quickly discovers and seizes upon any unusual aptitude or talent pos sessed by workers in this field. Competition is so keen that employers cannot afford to favor incompotency , and to quite a remarkable degree , I think , the worker is rewarded "accord ing to his works. " I make these state ments mindful of the fact that competi tion among such workers is very strong , that their work is very arduous , and that , duly considering their ability and intelligence , they are relatively some what underpaid , But I think that the advantages incident to this kind of work tend to offset the disadvantages in ques tion. As for the misrepresentation and dishonesty , and the production of a pro digious amount of trash in which the worker in the field of journalism must participate , a like objection lies against other occupations. In speaking thus of the opportunities for young men in journalism I am not unmindful of the disadvantages and hardships which are incident to the enormous capitalization and the ma chine-like character of the vast news paper and other publishing establish ments. We nuist hope that in the process of development and adjustment to comparatively new conditions real and serious evils will be eliminated , and that others , which now seem real , will bo found to be only apparent. A very important advantage to young men en tering this field of industry , and which has resulted from the prodigality of the production of the great publishing es tablishments , and their finely developed organization and systematic operation , is the great demand for good work and the even chance for its recognition and d\ie reward. . In other words the day of the "self-made" man , who more often than otherwise , is a fellow who by sheer luck or through the force of some single abnormal quality , has boon able to pre empt some important property or place , has given way to the day of the all-round , well-equipped man. Those larger estab-
