—“The Siren Voice,” Editorial from the August 12, 1922, issue of The Saturday Evening Post
The impulse of youth to fly cityward is followed too often by disillusionment. Most of those who follow the bright lights will lead only mediocre lives, no happier nor more successful than they’d be in the country. Poorly paid clerical positions await them. A few will reach the top and win the prizes that dazzle the rest. But ability and initiative have their reward in small places more often and more fully, if not to the same spectacular extent.
As a cold business proposition, the small-town goal is more likely to be reached than the dazzling city heights. If the young man must have his fling he will take it. But if he really wants success, let him weigh carefully where it is most likely to be found.
This article is featured in the July/August 2022 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Subscribe to the magazine for more art, inspiring stories, fiction, humor, and features from our archives.
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