The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1877-05-25
Superhuous Men.

claim no originality for my caption.
1t was suggested, of course, by Mrs.
Livermore's "Superfuous Women"
but aside from the qualifying adjective,
her "Superfluous Women" and my "Su-
perf1uous Men" have nothing in COM
mon.
The world would be the loser if those
superf1uous women, mostly earnest,
helpful workers in the quiet walks of
life, should suddenly drop out of it,
while the men 1 have in mind are su-
perf1uous, not on account of their num-
ber, but their character; they are super
fluOus in the sense that they are useless,
hindrance rather than a help to So
ciety, and the world would be better off
without them.
l. Of these 1 will mention first the
loafers. This is large class compris-
ing many grades, from the tramp to the
genteel loafer, who belongs to club and
smokes the best Havanas, but they all
have the same general characteristics.
They are lazy, they have no visible
means of support, and like the man
who, being brought before the police
court and interrOgated as to his busi-
ness, replied that his wife was a dress
maker, large number are dependent
on hard-working, self-sacrifieing wives,
mothers and sisters. They twirl their
canes and their mustaches, they gossip,
they f1irt, they expectorate, they stand
on the street corners, they frequent
drinking saloons, and all places of high
and low resort, they gamble, they bet,
they talk politics, they vote (oh, yes,
early and often), but their one distin-
gushing characteristic is, their aver
sion to any kind of honest industry.
According to all rules of political econ
omy, this large class of non-producers
are entirely superfluous. They add
nothing to the wealth or well-being OF
the nation, but stand outside all its
great needs and interests.
2. Habitual liquor-drinkers and con-
firmed drunkards. While there is life
there is. hope, is doubtless true of drunk
ards as of invalids, but it seems to re-
quire almost a miracle to eradicate the
appetite for strong drink when once
firmly established. Think of the de-
mOralizing influence of this loathsome
mass of humanity, the misery of wives
and families, the poverty, the destitu-
ton, the crime, the little children con-
tinually brought into being by these
wretched fathers to inheret their NOR
bid appetites and diseased constitutions.
! 8. Closely allied to these are the IL
centious, the debauchees, the moral
lepers of community, whose touch is
pollution, whose breath is pestilential,
and who, besides their every day perni-
cious influence, are entailing upon fu-
ture generations the horrible results OF
their vicious lives.
If the first class mentioned are SUPER
fiuous, these are far worse. The first
may be compared to barnacles on the
ship of state-the last two are Ieeches
drawing the life-bloO from the social
body and poisoning the whole circuIa-
tiOni taken together, they are the drags
and dregs of our civilization. Could
they all be suddenly blotted out of ex-
istence by a series of discriminating
earthquakes or accidents, what an in.
cubus would be removed from society
how would the atmosphere be purified
and progress and reform make giani
strides towards milIennial age!
4. Again, there is a multitude o
blatant pOt-hOuse politicians, dema.
gOgues and office-seekers, filibusters and
the like who are a superfiuity in the
body polite. Could we be rid of them
also, we should speedily have united
and prosperous people, an unexceptiona
civil service, model Republic, and 6
modern Utopia with all the moderI
improvements, including Impartia
Sufrage!-Cor. Womdn'S Journal.