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Show The Boy In School Earns $92.50 A Day Hero la tho Answer to tho Lad Who Wants to Quit to Go j to Work. yr HAT IS HIS DUTY? " .(Stif Makes It Clear That a Tiling I Dono With Patriotic Motlvo ! May Bo Unpatriotic. ' "Nearly all boys who quit school ' before graduation give as their rea- ' con that they want to 'go to work,' " writes a sohool principal. "They are impelled not so much by necessity ' as by tho deslro to earn something for themselves, to begin working Jhead by tho feeling that they ara ga losing money' to stay In school. And E too frequently paronts aro as wrong IS as tho boys themselves In figuring 3 tho comparatives financial advantages J of taking a Job or finishing school. J But It's hard to make them undor- 7 stand that." I A novel and Impressive way of get- S ting this Information to boys has boon found by Tho American Boy. In its October number thero Is a story entitled en-titled "02.60 a day," by C. H. Claudy. Thero are two boys In tho story. One, named Bud, has Just decided to quit school and tako an $8 a week Job In an office of tho II. & P. Railway company. He has talked It over with his mother and convinced her that It Is his duty that with men bolng drafted right and left, tho country's got to havo men In Its shops and offices, and, moreover, with so many men gone, his chances of advancement advance-ment aro better. Harney, tho other boy, Is envious; ho wants to get out and work, too. They talk It over with Harney's uncle, tho chief claim adjuster of tho railroad. If Edison Enlisted as a Private. Tho undo surprises tho boys by saying that Bud Is taking a good economic asset away from Uncle Sam and giving him a weak ono In placo of It, and adds: "Even If you did It with patriotic motives, tho act Itself Is unpatriotic." "How can a thing bo unpatriotic If you do It for patriotism?" Harney lost the trail of tho argument in this matter of ethics. "If Edison enlisted as a prlvato in tho army, would ho bo patriotic? The most patriotic man Is tho man who ,does tho thing that Is best for tho I country, not tho thing ho thinks is best. But that's not tho main point. It's tho financial sacrifice) Bud Is making for his Idea of patriotism which Interests mo. How did you .bring yourself to give up so much money for so little?" "I I don't understand you, sir. I am not giving up an money. I'm going to mako eight dollars a week " Bud was plainly puzzled. "Oh, yes, you are giving up money a lot of money. Almost a hundred dollars a day. Of course, you don't believe It, or you wouldn't do It, But look hero!" Making Figures Talk lor tho Boys. Undo Grant drow a pencil and notebook from his pocket. Both boys crowded against his shoulder to look. "Tho first year you will make eight dollars a week. You will got ten tho second year, twelve tho third, fifteen a week tho fourth and fifth, olghteen a week tho sixth, seventh, and eighth, twenty n week for tho following four years, then In your thirteenth year out of school, you will advance to twenty-five dollars n week. And there you will probably stick. This is tho average course of ono who lacks a high school education. edu-cation. You are seventeen now you will bo thirty then. And tho man at thirty who can't earn more than twenty-flvo dollars a week rarely learns to make more afterwards. So I'll carry you up to forty years old at twenty-flvo a week and hero is what you will earn altogether In that time " Uncle Grant showed tho boys the figures he had been setting down and tho total. Bud will earn: 1st year at ? 8 week....? 41C.00 2nd year at ?10 week.... C20.00 3rd year at $12 week.... G2L00 4th year nt ?1G weok.... 780.00 Eth year at $15 week.... 780.00 6th year at $18 week.... 936.00 7th year nt $18 week.... 936.00 8th year at $18 week.... 93C.00 9th year at $20 week.... 1,040.00 10th year nt $20 week.... 1,040.00 11th year at $20 week.... 1040.00 12th year at $20 week.... 1,040.00 13th year at $25 wek.... 1,300.00 14-23rd year at $25 woek....l3,000.00 Total earning, 23 yrs $21,388.00 "Wow! That's a lot of money. Why, everything you tay, sir, makes mo think better of tho move I'm : making!" exclaimed Bud, startled at I tho figures. Tho Boy Who Stayed In School. "Well, wait a minute." Uncle Grant smiled a trlflo wistfully, Bud thought. "Harney, .here, Is going Into In-to tho same offico threo years from now, when lir n",d"ntf"' But ho won't covri tho santo courso in tho office that you do. You see, Harnoy will havo gono through his algebra and geometry, and started trigonometry. trigonome-try. Ho will know Trench and Gorman Gor-man well enough to read a llttlo at sight. Ho will havo dono somo shop work, and, most lmportnnt of all, ho will havo a mind trained to think. So wo shall grab him for tho engineer's en-gineer's office, or m.aybo, for my own. And If ho does as well as I did and thero's no reason why ho should not becauso my high school courso wasn't so good or so complete as his this Is what ho can oxpect. "You see," ho talked as ho set down figures, "for threo years past, Harnoy will bo In school, not making a dollar. So I havo thoso blank. But whon ho starts In to work ho starts at fifteen dollars a week. Ho'll bo twenty then, a young man, with a trained mind. You will bo getting only twelve a weok, oven then, lad. i But Marnoy's promotions, If ho follows fol-lows a normal courso, will bo faster j than youri. Ills education will on- able him to grasp things you can't grasp. Ho will bo ablo to accomplish what you can't accomplish, and so ho will got paid what you can't got paid. Tor a corporation, a railroad, j , any business pays a man what the j man can command, not what ho j wants. If tho offico won't pay Har-j Har-j ney enough, ho'll got up and leavo. 1 So wo will pay him enough, becauso j wo want trained men who can think I and decide and learn to ho belter ox-I ox-I ecutlves. So this Is tho way his I salary will run. It may vary a llttlo In details but It's about tho way mlno ran." I Undo Grant turned over' to tho boys his paper, which showed that Marney will earn: Next year $ .00 2nd year .00 3rd year . .00 4th year at $15 week.. 780.00 Eth year at 18 week.. 936.00 Cth year at 22 weok..' 1,144.00 7th year at 2C weok.. 1,300.00 8th year at 30 week.. 1,560.00 9th year at 35 weok.. 1,820.00 10th year at 40 week.. 2,080.00 11th year at 50 week.. 2,600.00 12th year at 75 week.. 3,900.00 13th year at 100 week.. 5,200.00 1 l-23dr year at 150 week..78,000.00 Total earnings, 23 yrs...$99,320.00 "You see," ho explained, "tho moro valuable you get, tho moro easily you can yourself moro valuable. valu-able. And so, when Harnoy is forty, if ho did as well as I did, his earnings earn-ings will bo $99,320.00." "Who-o-o-e-o-w!" This was Harney. Har-ney. Bud was speechless. Tho Difference nml Why. "Now," wont on Uncle Grant, "let's subtract all that Bud will havo made by the tlmo ho Is forty from what you will havo made. Tho difference between $99,320 and $24,388 Is $74.-1932. $74.-1932. And now" Uncle Grant turned directly to Bud "listen carefully. High school requires your attendance nine months of a year of 270 days. Threo moro years Is 810 days. Divide Di-vide tho differenco between your probablo earnings and Harney's probable prob-able earnings by thoso 810 days an.l you get $92.50 a day as tho price of tho high school education you aro giving up to earn eight dollars a week." "But but " still it was Harnoy and not Bud who spoke, bewildered. "You needn't say It. I know it already." al-ready." Undo Grant smiled. "I am only guessing. Bud may bo a heavensent heaven-sent genius who will mako a million ou may havo a kink in your brain which will keep you a street car conductor con-ductor or a ribbon clerk nil your life. But tho averago lad who goes to work minus an education, stays a cheap man all his llfo. The plums of a fair earning capacity como to the man of education not because ho can translate Greek or knows tha dato whon Attlla was born, but becauso be-causo ho has learned to think, becauso be-causo his mind Is trained, alert, at Its best, Just as tho strongest untrained man can't competo with a much slighter, but well-trained, boxor or wrestler. It's training which counts and which Is worth money, big money, "And so, Harnoy, lad, I don't think I'll got you a Job. I think Uncle Sam will havo moro uso for you trained than untrained, moro uso for tho taxes you can pay than for thoso Bud can pay, moro uso for you as an economic asset as a trained and educated man than for ono who j must bo content to tako tho un- skilled laborer's reward, moro uso " i "Excuse mo, sir!" Bud interrupted, I his face rod. "I'm off to Mother to tell her I didn't know half as much as I thought I did $92.50 a day!" |