8 he Conservative *
" Self-trust is the
SELF RELIANCE first secret of suc-
ESSENTIAL TO cess. " And with-
USEFUL SUCCESS , out this self-trust
no permanent suc
cess can come in this contentious
world to any human being.
Parents invariably teach little chil
dren to rely upon themselves when
they first begin to walk. Small tots
are placed on their little feet and told
to stand up straight and to come to
us , all alone on their own small legs.
Thus begins the first education for a
child. Muscles unskilled in stepping
are taught to rely upon themselves
and not to depend upon the support
ing hand of parents. Up to the age of
three or four years most American
children are taught rndimentiary re
liance upon themselves. But after
they have been sufficiently educated
to demand and secure the food and
comforts of a merely animal existence
the training in self-helpfulness , as a
rule , ceases. One would suppose
that , naturally enough , every think
ing parent would parallel instruction
in physical self-reliance with instruc
tion as to intellectual self-reliance.
But observation teaches that this is
not the case and that the great lesson
is , as a rule , inculcated only as to the
animal man and that it too generally
ceases before it reaches and improves
the man intellectual.
Self-reliance trust in one's own
physical abilities even can hardly
be evolved out of one's own inner in
dividuality. If you wish your child
to show confidence in his own physi
cal or intellectual capacity , you must
demonstrate to him that you yourself
repose confidence in that undeveloped
force of capability. Parental confi
dence in the ability , aptitude and in
tegrity of a child is an inexorable con
dition precedent to self-reliance on
the part of that child. There is no
incentive or stimulant so efficacious
in developing the better phases of hu
manity , intellectually and morally ,
as the candid confidence of a father or
mother or teacher bestowed without
limitation or reservation.
Even the Indians whom we have
succeeded on these plains were flat
tered by being
Indians Flattered , treated in a man
ner indicating that
we believed them to bo an honest , de
cent and generous people. During
the winter of 1854 and ' 55 the entire
Omaha tribe was encamped on the
Missouri river bottom , at Bellevue ,
just a little distance to the southeast
of the present site of the B. & M. de
pot. They numbered 1,200 people.
They were mostly barbarians who
had seldom or never come into contact
with civilization. They then had no
Blankets. They dressed entirely in
buckskin and buffalo robes. They
lived in"tepees made of parflesh. The
white settlers numbered less than fifty
in all of what is now Sarpy and was
then the south half of Douglas coun
ty. Most pioneers wore afraid of
Indians and regarded them as certainly
thieves , and possibly murderers.
Nearly every day the settlers indicat
ed by their actions , and oven by their
talk , through interpreters , that they
very much suspected the Omaha and
all other Indians to be thieves. This
suspicion and treatment begot thiev
ery. Small articles were taken nearly
every day from the cabins of the
squatters.
But some had different relations
with the Omahas. From the begin
ning they gave
Omaha Fidelity , them all to under
stand that they
believed in them and thought them
friendly , faithful , and honest. There
fore , whenever they desired to borrow
a gun , or a saddle horse or any other
loanable thing , with great alacrity
and expressed satisfaction the loan
was granted. In a very short time this
sort of cordial neighborliness bore
logical and satisfactory fruit. No In
dian ever took any property away from
those confiding in them. Every In
dian became to them a friend because
of confidence shown in his capability
for honorable friendship and neighbor
ly kindnesses. At that time there
was no postoffice on this side of the
Missouri river in the state of Nebras
ka. Our mail came to Iowa post-
offices. But there is no letter-carrier
today in the uniform of the United
Staes postal service more expeditious ,
more faithful in the discharge of dut
ies , than wore those aboriginal letter-
carriers who would go from Bellevue
to Council Bluffs and return , or to St.
Marys ( in Mills county ) and return ,
taking letters to mail and bringing
back those from the old homes in the
east.
The result , therefore , of having
placed confidence in those rude , unlet
tered savages , was the development
in them of a self-reliance to do and
perform innumerable services entire
ly unknown to them in a state of sav
agery. More than this , from the'con
fidence thus reposed , there grew up ,
in addition to the sturdy self-reliance ,
the beautiful flower of Fidelity.
Faithfulness is only readily evolved
out of natures fertilized by bestowed
confidence. The unfortunates in hu
man life those whom we call crim
inals and paupers have , as a rule ,
never experienced generously re
posed . confidence. How can any hu
man nature improve itself , be stimul
ated to endeavor to attain a higher
place in the social and political fab
ric , without being trusted by his fel
lows ? If any youth feels that ho or
she is distrusted by parents and
friends , how can that youth "have
courage to seize opportunity for ad
vancement , or have the determined
dependence upon himself or herself
to attempt high and honorable
achievements ?
4
Of course , there will bo isolated
cases of intense individuality which
obstacles and op-
Exceptions. position render all
the more strenu
ous and strong in their efforts for
success. But these combative charac
ters are not in the majority. They
are only a small percent of the'un
counted myriads of humanity. It is
consequently incumbent upon parents
and grandparents and teachers to in
struct children and youth as to the
best methods of commanding the con
fidence , esteem and encouragement of
those by whom they are surrounded.
Nothing is so facile and1 expert in
making friends as frankness , openheartedness -
heartedness and frequent acts which
indicate a desire to be generally
useful. Constant consideration , ex
pressed in deeds , for the comfort
and happiness of those with whom
you are associated will give you pro
found pleasure ; it will also secure to
you the esteem and good will of your
acquaintances. They will place trust
in you. That makes you self-reliant.
The more you help others the better
you understand how able you are to
help yourself.
In these modern times it is the mis
fortune of children born into opulence.
and all the circum-
Wealth a Misfor- stances of wealth
tune. and luxury which
a c c o m p a uy it ,
that they are generally brought up
and trained in helplessness. The
child who is constantly waited upon
by servants , whose meat and bread
are prepared for it at the table , whose
shoes and stockings are put on and
off , and whose raiment is adjusted
by serving people , is in imminent
peril of entering upon maturer years
an utterly helpless and therefore
worthless member of society.
Under the customs and fashions of
these modern days of showy extrava
gance it is a disaster to any human
being , having only ordinary intellec
tual and moral tendencies , to be born
into wealth and its surroundings. It-
is vulgarly considered by many of the
newly-rich quite improper and dis
graceful for their children to be use
ful or even to wait upon themselves.
There is an idiotic contest among the
incompetent , ignorant and silly
wealthy of the United States to see
in what extreme and accentuated idle
ness they can bring up their children.
In the estimation of this near
sighted snobbery absolute helplessness
on the part of
Near-Sighted either a boy or a
Snobbery. girl is a harming
accomplish m e n t.
Children of such parentage and en-
