among the classes of men for whom the advice was intended.

With the rapid growth of population in the older States, the smaller divisions of lands among the farming classes, the great and even disproportionate increase in populations of towns; the modern applications of mechanism, and the systematizing of great industries and business houses, whereby large numbers of persons must always be mere employees, without individuality and under the control of a few heads; and above all, the accumulations of vast wealth in the older communities, and the consequent power in the hand of the few to distance or crush competition-with all these drawbacks, the opportunity to young men in the East without any or with small capital, though possessed of ability, integrity and an earnest desire for self-improvement and advancement, is not what it was within the easy recollection of our readers. It is not a great opportunity, and the outlook to many such men is discouraging. A new field must be sought, with less competition, without such advantages to the few over the many, and where the forces and gifts of nature are yet to some extent unappropriated by men, and where all start in their careers on a somewhat more equal footing. In such a field only is there much encouragement.

West of the Mississippi river the present generation has seen a vast empire spring up as by magic, in a

part of the United States largely or wholly unknown to even the preceding generation. Its extent is so vast, its possibilities so great and dazzling, its present growth so marvelous, that already it has fixed the attention of capital and commerce, and it is even now challenging the attention of the political thought and action of the nation.

Considerations such as these are now turning the eyes of the young men of the country to this great West, and with grand results already and promises of grander results in the future, embodied in the careers of these men. We have in mind those young men who possess the traits. spoken of, and who leave the associations of friends and home, not because of any mere spirit of adventure or recklessness, but with the commendable desire of improving their condition in life, and who act only upon the sound judgment and conviction that such improvement is possible only at the sacrifice, temporary at least, of the comforts and congenial associations of friends and home. With such basis for the character of maturer years, what great stature of manhood is possible?

Freed from all restraints of home, at liberty to form good or bad associations, with the license, the indulgent tone of morals and moral criticism of a new community, and the dangers and pitfalls of mixed society-the young man who can withstand all temptation and hold.

himself erect and worthy, unaided by the kindly admonitions and the daily examples incident to the life in his old home, is not only deserving of great credit, but receives that credit and personally reaps the benefit in the added strength of character, the self-reliance and moral strength which can only come after trial and experience.

Among the young men in Colorado of the class heretofore spoken of generally, the subject of this sketch, Ralph Voorhees, of Denver, Colorado, stands in the front rank, highly deserving of notice because of his possession in such marked degree individually, of the traits described before, and conspicuous among these young men by reason of his great and early success in business.

Mr. Voorhees was born November 16th, 1855, in the city of New York. He had only the advantages of a common school education. Owing to his feeble health in his boyhood days, his parents removed from New York to a farm near New Brunswick, New Jersey, where, in time, he was restored to perfect health. Indeed, upon arriving at maturity, his strength permitted and his disposition inclined him to amateur athletic sports, at which he acquired considerable celebrity among amateurs, and he has now in his possession many prizes which he values as mementoes of those years; among others a gold medal presented to him by James Gordon Bennett, at Newport, Rhode Island, for a celebrated

victory in a running race, in which Mr. Voorhees beat the champion of the United States and Canada at 600 yards.

After his return to New York, Mr. Voorhees was employed for eight years in the wholesale grocery house of H. K. & F. B. Thurber, and during those years acquired strict business habits. But while he had reason to be satisfied with his progress in that employment, as he grew in years and experience he foresaw fully the drawbacks to any considerable success in that field, and had faith in the possibilities of his future in the West; so in 1880, he came to Denver, a young man of twenty-five years of age, single, alone, without any money capital. whatever, and without relatives or friends in his new home. His sole capital, on which his present success has been reared, was his energy, industry and integrity.

After several different mercantile employments, Mr. Voorhees was engaged in a real estate and abstract office until the year 1885. With the knowledge of values of Denver realty thus acquired, he was prepared to embark for himself in that business when real estate came into active demand, with consequent rapid increase in value, and accordingly in 1885 opened an office and engaged in that business in his own name and behalf. This was truly, in his case, "the tide which taken at its flood, leads on to fortune," and in a striking manner illustrates the truth of the

general remarks with which this sketch is prefaced.

Mr. Voorhees had come to the West, believing in his own ability to take advantage of any proper opportunity, and with faith that such opportunity would present itself to him even without capital. In 1885, he had just married, yet with the increased responsibilities and expenses of living staring him in the face, he knew his opportunity when it came, and resigned a clerkship, while without any other income or funds whatever, and seized the opportunity which offered or seemed then to offer, in the advancing prices of real estate for a competence instead of a meagre salary. How well he judged will be believed when it is known that he has accumulated a fortune of about two hundred thousand dollars in the five years which have elapsed since that step.

Mr. Voorhees himself would probably, in his modesty, largely attribute his financial success to good fortune, but that it is not wholly so, may be illustrated by the business sagacity displayed in one of his operations. Being interested in real property lying upon a high plateau in West Colfax avenue, commanding a magnificent view of the mountains and delightfully situated for residence. purposes, but the value of which was greatly depreciated by the necessity of crossing the numerous railroad tracks in the bottom lands between the neighborhood referred to and the city property, Mr. Voorhees person

ally conceived the scheme of extending the Larimer street cable line of the City Cable Company, then about being constructed, as far as Seventh street, where its western terminus had been fixed-westward over a viaduct to be constructed above those tracks, and thence out upon West Colfax avenue. The cable company undertook to construct the viaduct and make these extensions for a subsidy of $150,000. Not daunted by this. large sum, Mr. Voorhees at once entered upon the task of raising the money. Within three months, he had secured $122,000, himself subscribing $10,000. This amount was found to be sufficient, and the company accepted it and the work was put through at once. Larimer street viaduct, a structure about five thousand feet long, was thereupon constructed, and over it the cars are now running to the neighborhood spoken of, greatly increasing in value all contiguous property.

Since his accumulations from real estate operations Mr. Voorhees has engaged in other business enterprises. He is the president and the largest owner of stock of the Cash Gold Mining and Milling Company, one of the oldest gold producing properties in Boulder county, Colorado. This company owns a stamp mill in connection with the Cash mine, and Mr. Voorhees is now giving a considerable portion of his time to the operation of this property.

Mr. Voorhees, while not having

been long in public life, takes an active interest in matters affecting public interests. In 1888, he was the nominee of the Democratic party for city treasurer-an unsolicited mark of confidence-but, with his party, was defeated. In the election of November, 1890, he was chosen by the Democrats of Arapahoe county as their representative in the eighth general assembly of Colorado by a good, liberal majority.

Mr. Voorhees is generous in charitable works, and has quite recently made liberal gifts to the Woman's College and First Baptist Church of Denver.

His home life is very happy. In 1885 he was married to Miss Fannie Bomberger, of Denver. Two children have been born of this union, both of whom are now living-Mary Louise and Ralph Chester. Mr. Voorhees and his family will soon move into an elegant new home which he is now building in West Colfax avenue.

The family name, Voorhees, has recently been traced to an interesting origin, and the history of that branch of the family which came to America has been studied out and embodied in book form by a member of the family, with great fidelity to details and accuracy. The book is published by G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1888, entitled, "A Geneology of the Van Voorhees Family in America," by Elias W. Van Voorhees, of New York City.

The name springs from the location

of the home of the first member of the family. Hees, in 1660, was small town in Holland, comprising nine houses and sixty persons, this town being distant but a few miles from Ruinen, a town of some importance then and now. "Van" meant "from" "Voor" meant "before," and the ancestor who lived in front of the town was the man "from before Hees," or the man "Van Voorhees."

Steven Coerte Van Voorhees, a descendant of this man, settled in Flatlands, Long Island, and from him have descended a large number of persons who variously spell their name Voorhis, Voorheis, Voorhies and Voorhees, either with or without the "Van." A large number of these descendants live in New York and New Jersey. The motto of the family for generations was "Virtue is our castle," so that Mr. Ralph Voorhees comes rightfully and naturally into the possession of the commendable traits mentioned.

Yet it must not be thought from this mention of ancestry that Mr. Voorhees is in any wise undemocratic. On the contrary, he is staunchly democratic and believes that a man is and ought to be regarded as what he makes out of himself by his course of living and conduct.

Personally, he is genial, social and courteous, and has hosts of friends. He stands high in the estimation of his business associates, embracing many of the leading men of Denver,