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2 TI1E GEORGIAN’S NEWS BRIEFS WHAT IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A YOUNG MAN? - We have received many letters from young men recently complaining of lack of opportunities. One in particular asked this question: “Are the opportunities for the young man in the present day and generation equal to what they were twenty-five or fifty years ago—the days of his father and grandfather?’’ It is a question that is probably asked in this country thou sands of times every day. It is an important question to the in dividual. It is especially important to the nation. For the na tion declines in which opportunities for the young diminish. We feel that we can conscientiously and positively say that REAL opportunities are better to-day, both for young men and young women, than they ever have been. Opportunities are greater BECAUSE POSSIBILITIES ARE GREATER. Science, machinery, organisation of all kinds, especially widespread publicity, have put into men’s hands in less than fifty years a power undreamed of in the boyhood of our grand fathers. Humanity and the individual are powerful, and their oppor tunities are great, in proportion to the machinery at their com mand. Our opportunities were never so great as now, but this state ment is made assuming that our correspondent means real and worthy opportunities. Unfortunately, in this country, where sudden prosperity, great extravagance and uneasiness as to the future make money all-important, the word “opportunity” is apt to be a synonym for money. Money and opportunity are taken to mean the same thing. But we purpose to answer this question quite apart from money. Undoubtedly, the very able money-getter, no matter how humble his start, can build up to-day such a fortune an was un known fifty years ago—or twenty-five years ago. There are young men without a penny that will earn (or, rather, more or less honestly ACCUMULATE) their hundreds of millions in the next few years, before the common sense of the country shall have realized the importance of regulating accumulation through increased distribution. There will be, perhaps, fewer small, middle-class fortunes piled up, for there will be fewer men in business on their own account, thanks to the trusts. Many men will earn very large salaries, ranging from $150,- 000 a year downward, and there will probably be very many MILLIONS OF AMERICANS NEED TO In this country millions of industrious, careful human be ings, anxious to provide for the future, are willing to save—and it is practically impossible for them to get a decent rate of inter est on their savings and NOT risk being robbed at the same time. In this country, where the millions are anxious to save, you have millions of farmers and small business men who are compelled to borrow—as their operations for the year exceed necessarily at one time or another the amount,of money that they have on hand. You have the savers on the one hand getting only 2 per cent if they put their money in the United States Postal Bank. And even then they are limited as to the amount they can put in. They get 3 per cent if they put their money in private savings banks—and take the usual risk of having the money lost through dishonesty or withheld from them in time of panic. You have the farmers, upon whose labor and intelligence the nation depends, compelled to borrow for the purchase of seeds, of machinery. And, while the SAVING, careful American who accumulates %is earnings can get only 2 per cent or 3 per cent interest, THE FARMER MUST PAY, ON THE AVER AGE, EIGHT AND A HALF PER CENT FOR THE MONEY THAT HE BORROWS. Isn’t there some way of getting the AMERICAN WHO SAVES and the AMERICAN WHO BORROWS closer together? Is it not an outrage that the hundreds of millions that the careful American saves should be lent to the hard-working farmer with SOME BANKING ORGANIZATION BETWEEN THE TWO GETTING A “RAKE OFF” OF FIVE AND A HALF PER CENT ON THE MONEY? That is exactly what happens. The money that the bankers are lending is simply the money that others have SAVED. And the money that the fanners are borrowing is simply the money that the savers have deposited in the banks. The people who save in this country get 3 per cent at most on their savings. And the farmers who borrow pay 8y s per cent. And in the process 5y 2 per cent goes to build up a non-pro ducing class THAT IS NOT NECESSARY. Why should not the Government of the United States pay a decent rate of interest to the American citizen for his savings, and lend to the farmers at a fair rate of interest when the farmers need to borrow? It doesn't cost 5y 2 per cent to handle money, to take it in with one hand and lend it with the other. The United States Government might well afford to pay the careful, saving American 3 per cent on his money and LEND THAT SAME MONEY TO THE FARMER AT 4 PER CENT. This would give the Government a margin of 1 per cent to cover expenses. more large INCOMES in the land within the next twenty-five years than there were in the last twenty-five years. But when men earn SALARIES, they do not keep their money, and of the middle-class fortunes we shall have fewer. But we trust that our correspondent will agree with us that money is a pretty mean measurement for opportunity. What do the merely rich men really amount to? When they have been dead two or three years they are as unknown and forgotten as the pigs and chickens that they ate, the horses that they drove, or the flunkies whose time they wasted. Opportunity means A CHANCE TO DO SOMETHING WORTH WHILE. And we assure our correspondent that the young man of to day has a greater chance to do something worth while than a young man has ever had in the history of this country. Our form of government is changing; the power has prac tically passed from the hands of the majority of the people into the hands of a majority of trust stockholders. The young man who has genius and force, the ability to lead, and the character to refuse his share of the spoils, has a great opportunity to-day. It is the opportunity to return the government to the hands of those who are governed. Working scientists are needed and sadly lacking in all the great departments of human thought. Every one of these new fields of intellectual activity, research and discovery offers un limited opportunities to young men. The newspapers, read by millions of human beings every day, enable the man who can think intelligently, the man who will be sincere and interesting at the same time to address (and, if he is able, to convince) a million or two millions of his fellow- citizens every day in the year. Was there ever a greater oppor tunity than this for influencing the thoughts of other men? Every page of a scientific newspaper will show to the young man a glorious opportunity. Every phase of our great industrial organization, every new development in the struggle of manhood against money, offers to the young man a great opportunity for public service. The horrible poverty and wretchedness in the great cities, contrasting with ignorant and ostentatious wealth, offer oppor tunities unlimited to him who would help the poor to help them selves, to him able to cajole or frighten the rich into doing their duty. This is the age of opportunity, but the young man must think for himself, strike out on his own line, make up his mind what to do, and stick at it, INSTEAD OF FOLLOWING ALONG THE USUAL LINES OF LEAST RESISTANCE, doing the same as everybody else does, keeping at nothing in particu lar, and then wondering what has become of the world’s oppor tunities. BORROW-FARMERS ESPECIALLY Why isn’t it possible to do this? It isn’t possible for various reasons. The first reason is that the finances of the United States are usually run by bankers for bankers. The second reason is that the banking class represents Gov ernment, which in this country means money. The little man who is saving his few hundred dollars and who must be content to get 3 per cent and risk losing it, and the farmer who is borrowing his few thousand dollars and who must go almost on his knees to get it, AND THEN PAY EIGHT AND a half per cent-those two classes are not the Government. The Government of this country is the banking class, the money class, the money itself. And therefore the man who saves must accept 3 per cent interest and worry about his money’s safety. And the farmer who borrows must pay 8 1 / 2 per cent and worry about his payments promptly on time, and pay a commis sion for extensions, and find himself sold out in time of panics. And those who profit are the middlemen, the NON-PRO DUCERS, the parasites, the blood-suckers of the community. When will the people find a leader big enough and able enough to hand the savings of the frugal workmen in the shape of a loan to the equally frugal and valuable farmer, and take from both of them ONLY ENOUGH TO PAY FOR THE TRANSACTION? They do these things in other countries. In Germany and France they lend thousands of millions to the farmers at 4 per cent a year and less. The farmers of this country borrow thousands of millions of dollars THROUGH A PRIVATE EXTORTIONATE BANK ING SYSTEM AND THE AVERAGE CHARGE IS EIGHT AND ONE HALF PER CENT. Eight and one-half per cent on one thousand millions is eighty-five millions of dollars. And this is, at the least, FIFTY MILLIONS MORE THAN THE FARMERS SHOULD PAY. Money is as much a TOOL in these days as any other. If you make money, the most important tool, expensive for the farmer, YOU MAKE LIVING AND THE COST OF LIV ING EXPENSIVE FOR ALL. This nation should let the farmers have cheap money, and at the same time give to the saving mechanic a fair rate of interest AND ABSOLUTE SAFETY WITH A GOVERNMENT GUARANTEE. That can be done, if MONEY will permit the people of this country to run the Government and the finances of the country for the benefit of the people—and not for the benefit of the blood sucking middleman, called the banking system.