Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1878-10-03


IN harvesting them and late IA ,..csI,-
ing them, canlot believe We have too
much machinery.
" hen see money seeking invest
ment IN per cent. bonds. cannot
think that any addition to the volume
OF the currency is needed. And it so
happens that when | fail to thinking
about these matters [ almost invaria-
bly, come to the conclusion that there
Is no physical reason FIR the business
depression of which We complain
that II We would once stop croaking
put on cheerful visagc, with thankful
hearts take the GOOD a h1umtifll Prov
| idence spreads lefore US every day:
stop running in debt for things which
we can very comfortably do without;
1--we, IL becomes sensible men and wo-
men according to our means, and n
according to tile style of Il neighbor;
We should gain confidence in ourselves
and in our n,igh3ors, money would
seek the accustomed channels of legit
innate business, and song Of cheerful
industry from the farm uniting with
the ring of the blacksmith 5 anvil and
the rattle of the carpenters saw would
rssound from every hamlet and float
onward and upward to join the grand
chorus swelling out from every shop
and acto y in the land.
We are too much trying to reverse
the order of nature The state or So
ciety is made by individuals not in
diyIdual by tho State The individual
is the unit and It is folly to expect
prosperity to come from legislation
iie most that you have right to de
mand of society is protection, the
right to enjoy That which y earn.
Civilization is and must be progress
sive. Only barbarism preserves the
statue quo. The proprietors of the
stage coach and the steamboat may OPP
pose the building of the railway, but
nevertheless civilization girdles C ,nti-
nents with bands of iron and PAGES
thereon the tirele-ss IRON h, rse 1T the
comfortable coach. The stage driver
blows his horn and the steamboat cap
tain rings his bell, We hear the sounds
thereof, but we heed them not. Are
we right or are we wrong? If man
Will drive stage and do nothing else he
must 50 where stages are in demand,
where his services are needed. He
must adapt himself to circumstances.
and cannot insist upon retaining his
old route from Portage city to Grand
Rapids and Stevens Point If he
does he will starve and deserves to-
Society does not owe any man a living,
except the helpless, the sick and the |
intirm. 1t is ruiDous to accept gratui
ties. 1t begets pauperism. Shall we
be mendicants or shall we be men |
This is indeed the ever present and
momentous question.
1t is said that in ollen times a noted |
PHILOSOPHER was seen for many conscc-
utive days marrying through the
streets of populous cities and hurrying
along the public thOroughfares, carry
ing, at morning, noon and night, Il !
lighted torch. There were poets and
doctors, priests and lawyers, merchants
and farmers then as now in great num-
bers, and the singular spectacle of this
we'll known teacher thus diligently and |
curiously pursuing his anomalous
search attracted not little attention. |
Crowds gathered about and followed |
him from street to street and place
to place. The question passed from
TO ],
What does he seek Curiosity grew,
numbers were added to the crowd, I'M
til they pressed upon the old man from
every side. He requested. entreated,
demanded a passage; but as if with
one voice the crowd responded, ''No |
Not until you satisfactorily explain the
reason for this unusual conduct" The
white haired veteran raising himself
to his full height, swinging his torch
as if impatient at the interruption,
turns full upon his interrogators. and
replies Il seek a man"
The question repeats itself in every
age to every community, 81 seek
man"
To raise corn and wheat and cram
berries, to make butter and cheese, to
add acre to acre, and dollar to dollar,
is not the true goal of our ambition.
Those are but means to the accom-
plishmont of the great end, and bear
no more relation to it than does the
scatfolding to the completed building.
If it we're all Of life to live, or all Of
death to die, there might be some ex-
cuse for the theory that success is to
be measured by the number of bushels
of grain man can raise, the extent
of his focks and herds. the number of
acres Of land he owns or the number
of dollars he can command. On the
contrary if it is not all Of life to live
nor all Of death to die, we ought to
show by our professions of faith, by
our public teachings, in our daily in
tercourse with our fellows, and by our
works generally that to attain unto the
full measure of true manhood and
true womanhood is the end and aim Of
all our toiling and striving; that oar
ambition is to be men-noble, helpful,
trustful, self-denying and self-relying
men.