New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1876-08-04
NOT RPEID HONE.

"
There is something little diycrting in the
lofty and somewhat supercilious way IN Wlch
The London Times comments upon our Cehteh-
NAL celebration. We come very near to bclng
consigned to the category OF the beasts thau
perish. We are n great people peacefully
.produclng food and clothing" We have "aS
vet done little for the world beyond Increas-
ing the aflucnce of the means OF animal ex-
"istcnceo Bread" The Times kindly admits,
sis one of the ncccsSarieS of llte.' Bread we
have, bat "thc raTer development OF the
United States, as a member OF the eject
"nations that contribute something more thqh
material wealth to the treasures OF the
world. il vet before it, II is admitted that
"a hundred years hence we may do some
thing besides produce food and clothing.
But our achievements in that way are reserved
for the future. Thus far, in that way, our
poor rich country has done little or nothing!
We recognize in this something of Mr.. Car
lyl.'s cynical talk without the many,angled
words which make it amusing But we must
say To begin with that bread and meat are
cood things. and that starvation is an I'M
pleasant thing, however contemplate these
siomachs of ours may be. We do not Tcmem-
Der any nation subjected To frequent periods
Of famine. and living in state OF seni-Star-
walton at the best, which has done much Ill
the way OF "rarer Development Mr.. Carlyle
was once exceedingly angry with the freed
men of Jamaica for living upon pumpkins, but
be failed To convince us that they would have
been intellectually or morally greater if IN de-
fault of pumpkins they had usually gone nun
CIV. Besides. in spite of tie dignitied gener-
alitirs of the London newspaper, we do not
recall at this moment any people the majority
OF which Is not engaged IN the extremely Ful-
car business of making a living. Philosophy
is good art is good learning Is good; and so
il a belly full. If Ireland in the old hard
times could have increased the ailiucncc of
the means of animal existence" would She
not have been better Of even if she had made
fewer speeches and produced less poetry
" Bread is one of the necessaries of life -
The Times never said n truer thing than that;
and really a nation which has solved the prob
lem of fairly feeding It's population ought not
10 be taken 20 task for merely " increasing the
"anucnce of the means of animal existence"
which after all is thing without which we
cannot imagine nation at all, except III his
tory and tradition.
We do not see anywhere IN the world, IN
these material days, that any people is con-
tributng very much to specific intellectual or
moral progress. while of such work We are
doing our own share. If there are machines
in profuSion at the Centennial Exhibition, we
submit that there are also model School-houSeS
aud galleries of pictures and alcoyeS lined with
books. This is matter in which quantity
must go for something rs well rs quality. The
Importance which We attach to learning ana
the arts ought To be considered. Bat we do
not offer this by way of an eNtenuatiOn, of
which we stand in little need; and when we
point to u great aud increasing population not
only we'll ted hut well informed. We feel that
we offer sufficient reply 10 vague faUlt-tnu-
inc and to gcucmlizations which are profound
only in phrase and have very little real mean
ing.