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Show MERCANTILE VS. AGRICULTURAL AND MANUFACTURING PURSUITS. The convention of Israelites in session ses-sion at Washington discussed a recommendation re-commendation of their president directing the attention of parents to the importance of their sons learning mercantile or engaging in agricultural agricul-tural pursuit. A committeereported that they were of the opinion that it would add to the prosperity of the rising generation if they would engage en-gage in mechanical or agricultural pursuits, because a mercantile career ii too hazardous. The report was auoptea. ihe suggestion is a valuable val-uable one, especially in view of the late eiperiencea of the mercantile interests in nearly all countries ot the civilized world. Stimulated by ex-1 ceptional periods of mercantile success, suc-cess, too large a proportion ol young men nave rushed into trading as a Bpeedier means of gaining wealth than the productive occupations. occupa-tions. The result is an over-crowding of the mercantile ranks and the failure of a large proportion of those who have entered them. The same tendency is observable in the so-called so-called learned professions. In America agriculture, manufactures and the mechanical arts hava been mainly kept up by recruits from foreign countries, and thoae branches of industry, have not suffered to a great extent, though much has been lost to tbem by the desertion of the farm and the work shop by ambitious and bright young Americana. The present commercial collapse wiil do something to restore the proper relations rela-tions between the various employments employ-ments necessary to carry on the diversified diver-sified business of a nation like this. |