Big Wages | AdventAI

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Dec 18, 1879

Big Wages.

ONE of the worst things that can happen to a young person, is to be employed in some easy business with large wages. Strength is impaired by inaction, money is spent without consideration, expensive habits are contracted, principles of economy are forgotten or disregarded, and when hard times come, the victim of big wages, spoiled for hard work, and impoverished by extravagance, has a very sad prospect before him.

A Boston merchant writes to the Commercial Bulletin that the highest salesman's salary that he ever knew of, was $30,000, which was in the height of war time. He also says: "I know a man who for years annually received $17,000 for his labors as salesman. I think it would puzzle him to-day to pay his board bill regularly. Within a few days I saw a man who at one time received a salary of $10,000. He was well up in his trade, but to day he is simply a beer drinker. I have known parties who were in the receipt of from five to twelve thousand dollars annually. I have known many such as salesmen, and small indeed is the proportion of those who profited by their talents permanently. They aped in their living the class who possess solid and accumulated wealth, or grew indolent in gathering their laurels, only to see those they possessed fall to the ground beyond power of replacement. The slower, more moderate, less brilliant fellows generally fortify themselves better against fate, and make their exits from their accustomed spheres with more fortitude and dignity."

Many a girl, after earning hundreds of dollars, much of which is spent for ornaments, trifles, sweetmeats and tawdry finery, finds herself at womanhood with broken health, and less clothing and less money than her mother had laid by while doing house work at fifty cents a week.

Good hard work, and low wages, which make economy a necessity, teach the young to earn and save, and turn out at last those grand men and women who live and prosper when the butterfly tribe of spendthrifts have vanished like a dream.