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Show Opportunities For Young Men. IN THE STRIFE for opportunity, the young man who blindly follows advice ad-vice is apt to go astray as often as the one moved by impulsive ambition. The first may succeed by following in' the footsteps of such as acquired wealth through laying by a penny for every penny spent; if sickness does not take away the hoarded penny and he lives long enough, it is certain the man will not die poor. In any event, he will never set the world afire. The other young man does not know himself, him-self, although he thinks he does. In his mind he will be another Webster, for did he not carry off the prize for declamation at the college commencement? commence-ment? To the person intruding advice and admonishing him that the profession profes-sion of law is overcrowded, he will quote in answer that inspiring delu-sion, delu-sion, "There is always room at the top." The opportunities for young men is a subject upon which various persons prominent in the world's affairs have given opinions in Sunday newspapers and magazines. Some of these opinions opin-ions expose the egotism of those w-ho give them, and if they have any value whatever it is only through the observance ob-servance of those rules of conduct which go for success established from time immemorial. What is there of wisdom in the code laid . down by Charles M.. Schwab and Russel B. Sage"? These two have given their views to young men ambitious to be "captains of industry" and "Napoleons of finance", like themselves. They hold i out a vicious hope. Both millionaires j got to the top not by the exercise of brain and energy altogether, but main- ly " through circumstance something i turning up at a certain time which gave them an advantage, as it turns up once in every man's life. If this fad of offering "advice to young men" existed during General Grant's lifetime life-time and he were asked to make an academic contribution to such literature, litera-ture, Grant would not deny that circumstance circum-stance placed him in the position he occupied. Were it not for the civil war the chances are that Ulysses S. Grant would be working in a tannery at Galena, Ga-lena, Ills., if he were alive today. Marcus Kavanagh, judge of the superior su-perior court of Chicago, writes on the "opportunities for young men in the law" in a recent issue of the Tribune of that city. From his elevated position po-sition on the bench, and "a daily observer ob-server of the strife of litigation, a person in Judge Kavanagh's place should be, and undoubtedly is, well equipped for giving advice to ambitious law students. Judge Kavanagh does not say that judges are picked from the ranks of successful lawyers, because it is a well known fact that high-priced high-priced attorneys nearly always refuse to exchange their practice for the honors hon-ors of the bench. Judge Kavanagh has a better judicial mind, perhaps, than half the lawyers appearing before him, whose fees in a single case sometimes exceed the yearly salary of the judge; but what these attorneys lack in ana- forensic talent, which, adroitly applied, has more weight on a jury than abstract ab-stract reasoning. Reading Judge Kavanagh's Kav-anagh's "opportunities for young men," we conclude he is a man who knows himself, and knowing himself, he is better pleased to sit on the bench than he would be pleading at the bar. Judge Kavanagh begins his literary contribution thus: The profession of the law in every part of the country is more crowded than any other of the learned callings. call-ings. However, this has always been the case, and the opportunities for the able lawyer are today quite as good, if not better, than ever. At the same time the chances for a lawyar of poor or even of mediocre ability have never been nearly so bad. There you are. The ambitious young man might as well be told that if the cat does not jump one way it will jiimp another. But he is sure of catching catch-ing on to the "opportunities for the able lawyer," so the young man proceeds pro-ceeds in his reading of Judge Kavanaugh until he strikes this: "A successful lawyer works hard, lives well and dies poor," Daniel Webster Web-ster said, and the situation has not changed since his time. But if the searcher have a fine disdain dis-dain for wealth, if he believes with Dean Swift that "God shows what he thinks of riches by the kind of men he gives them to," then let him look into himself and take inventory. Honesty, courage, intelligence and health- are necessary to marked success suc-cess even in commercial pursuits, where the attainment of money is the only thing desired. In the learned professions there must be added to these learning, tact in the management of people, and skill along the lines to be pursued. Perhaps the young man thinks he is fully equipped with all these qualifications qual-ifications to meet and overcome difficulties, dif-ficulties, and his ardor is not dampened damp-ened as Judge Kavanagh continues: There is still room at the top, but it is a weary climb, and the struggling strug-gling crowd about the base grows larger every year. There are ten years of waiting for a practice before the most promising neophyte. It is many times better to be a good blacksmith than a poor lawyer. The blacksmith is respected, can earn enough money to easily supply his needs, and has to keep up no desperate struggle with appearances. There's the rub! What ambitious college youth after declaiming "At midnight in his guarded tent" - would elect to become a biacKsmitn r mere-fore mere-fore it is that the boy of 13 or 14, obliged to earn his living or help support sup-port the juniors of the family, is better bet-ter off in the meridian of manhood than the youth aiming for but never "reaching the top." Oft times the mechanical me-chanical young man, if his inclinations are studious, makes better use of the knowledge acquired at the forge than the other obtains from Black-stone, Black-stone, What a blessing it is to be born poor! Judge Kavanagh concludes his article on opportunities by asserting that "the only difference in the legal profession between what it was before the present industrial and social condition con-dition arose and what it has become since is that the requirements now are more severe, and that rewards for the few are greater. But one must be able to swim on the tide, for the undertow un-dertow was never so strong. The best j chance following the trend of all j modern affairs lies in choosing a specialty." spe-cialty." This is true of the profession of law, in our intermountain country as it is in the congested districts of the east. Those who have selected specialties and have established a reputation in such lines are the really successful lawyers. ' The heads of such concerns employ assistants, hard working drudges, to conduct their business before be-fore courts. Among such is the youth who won the prize for declaiming at the college commencement. He now works for $10 a week a blacksmith receives re-ceives not less than $3 per day. Salt Lake has too many lawyers. So has Butte and Denver. The real business in the three cities, perhaps, is concentrated concen-trated in twenty-five law firms. The others live froYn hand to mouth by bringing actions to court on contingent fees, or acting as collection agents. Before selecting a vocation in life the Catholic young man of education should seriously enter into himself. The flattery of friends and well wishers is more harmful to future than any obstacle ob-stacle he may meet on the way. If he is of the right stuff he will overcome over-come difficulties. If he is not of the right stuff, education has been thrown away. . We notice in the" leaflet presented monthly to members of the Sacred Heart league mention of petitions for vocations. For example, in this month of October, opposite the 19th day, 71,-597 71,-597 members of the league ask the prayers of the Apostleship of Prayer for such intention. It is a sure way of obtaining grace to know God's will in our life undertaking. Our college students should avail themselves of the means proposed by the league. While it may not direct them to become be-come blacksmiths, it should persuade them from selecting" a vocation so unfitted un-fitted to meritorious ambition as that of the poor lawyer. |