The overcrowding of the professions by poorly equipped men arises from much the same source, and from the conviction that "an education" is wasted if a boy goes into a factory or shop.
A Chicago manufacturer tells a story of twin boys, whom he befriended and meant to give a start in life.

He sent them both to the Athenaeum for several winters as a preparatory business training, and then took them into his office, where they speedily became known as the bright one and the stupid one.

The stupid one was finally dismissed after repeated trials, when to the surprise of the entire establishment, he quickly betook himself into the shops, where he became a wide-awake and valuable workman.

His chagrined benefactor, in telling the story, admits that he himself had fallen a victim to his own business training and his early notion of rising in life.

In reality he had merely followed the lead of most benevolent people who help poor boys.