OCR Text |
Show Zoo ttlucb fiask to Gain Wealth. W. J. Onahan Says That Saving and Investincr Ts "Rpst Watt- to Get Rich. Are the experiences and methods of the man who began building his present pres-ent fortune fifty years ago likely to be regarded by the city youth of today as of any practical benefit? "In their details and as affecting young men at large no," says the veteran William J. Onahan, who has been an observer of men and things for two generations. "The sane, sober, careful methods of fifty years ago are as applicable today to the founding of I fortunes as ever they were in history. But they read too tamely for the young men of this strenuous age. The spirit of speculation has gone too far. The excitements of gaming, from the penny-tossing by the newsboys to the 'margining' in the bucket shops, has led the young men of today to look upon the methods of founding fortunes fifty years ago just as they would look upon the methods used at that time in sending merchandise from New York to San Francisco. "You can't reach the masses of the young men of Chicago, for instance, by saying to them that the only way to build, a safe, desirable, and lasting fortune is by slow accretion, and that ; this accretion should begin with the first salary that they draw. Tell a young man who may be taking up business life that even on a salary of $10 a week 'he should be laying some of it aside, and the chances are that he will laugh at you. Why? Simply because the temptation to spend never j was bo frrent as it i now "Vet this I habit of saving is easier to acquire on $10 a week than It will be afterward at I J23 a week, and you may be sure that ; it is the one dominant trait that must be at the foundation of fortune build-! build-! ing. CALLS MATERIALISM OUT OF j DATE. I "In the nervous energy of the present pres-ent there is a general disposition abroad to shelve almost any philosophy of materialism fifty years old as being out of date. It has been so easy to say, 'Yes, you could do so and so once, but you can't do it now.' "But a truth is a truth, and that permanent fortune must be the product prod-uct of sound, conservative building is truer today, almost, than it ever was before. Most of the wealthy men of today began fortune building from the ground up. They began when habits of thrift and frugality were far more general in both old and young than they are now, and, while they worked longer hours for less pay, they saved more money. "I have looked to the civil war, always, al-ways, as being the line of demarcation between the young man of yesterday and the young man of today. I don't know but what war is productive of the spirit of extravagance. It represents repre-sents waste and ruin. It creates a feel- ins OI UllSiauifllcnn. Luiaiui great civil war in this country changed the traits and characteristics of the people. Excitement took the place of repose. Speculation supplanted steady trade, and this has led to. the spirit of gambling, which in one or another form has become dangerously widespread. wide-spread. "Too many young men today have become infected with this passion. There is a haste to prow rich. Conservative Conser-vative methods in business are too slow. The hope of gaining fortune without labor has become w idely alluring. allur-ing. "This is a fatal delusion. Even where wealth is thus gained, it is more often a curse than a. blessing. The fortune for-tune r-uickly gained and without labor general'v is as sneei'y dissipated. Yet just to the extent that we see flattering opportunities held out to young men for th making of fortunes by some short cut. just to that extent one may gnes that these propositions are accented. ac-cented. "No doubt there is now more restless rest-less enerev dinlaved bv young men in a'l pursuits than formerly, but there were more steadiness, greater perseverance, perse-verance, and, as a consequence, more lasting results fifty years ago. Then habits of life were simpler, temptations tempta-tions were less common, and extravagance extrava-gance of living comparatively unknown. un-known. Now it requires great strength of character in the young man to stand out against the temptations of environment. No doubt there is a certain cer-tain fascination in these modern activitiesin activ-itiesin the whirl and excitement of latter-day trading and speculation. Amusements, too, are more common and costly, and dissipations are more alluring. "That there are 52,500,000,000 in the savings banks of the United States and that the totals are increasing every year shows promise. At the same time. I am not sure that it would not be shown by analysis that adopted citizens cit-izens from continental Europe lead as these depositors. At one time 'Yankee thrift' was proverbial. To some extent it may be true of the direct descendants descend-ants of that old stock, but it has lost its significance when applied to the typical American. "In these observations it should not be lost to mind that in general a vice is more apparent than a virtue. And on the surface Ave often see traits to be deplored lack of reverence and respect for parents and iarental authority, loss of the deference due to age, aud a falling fall-ing off in the chivalrous respect due to women. "But as for opportunity for young men today, it is -greater than it ever was before, only it is not to be sought in the bucket shops or on the race course. Steadiness, sobriety and perseverance per-severance will assuredly bring their reward to the young men of today as in the past, and more swiftly. The enormous activities of the present age; the universal expansion of American trade, which now as never before, pushes its giant ramifications all over uie coumiy, iuim iu me gal-" boundless possibilities to the energy and capacity of American enterprise. And the young men of today hold the keys." |