Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1882-09-21
Good that is "Catching."

From the Philadelphia Ledger.
Among the murders and suicides and
railway accidents, robberies and dc
falcations which have peppered the
American breakfast table lately witia
their bad-tasting sauce, the public is
grateful for any credit on the other side
of the account, anything which relieves
humanity from the weight these items
leave on it, of being bad lot; any sweet
and fragrant morsel that refreshes its
faith in men and women. Col. Inger-
soil overstated his case when he said, il
he could have had the ordering of this
world, he would have made health
Catching" instead of disease. A GER
tain sort of health is very catching.
The healthy sympathy of Americans for
any form of distress that comes before
their eyes and ears, when they can see
or feel the way to help it, is remarkable
this summer as usual. 1t does not all,
or hundredth part of it, get into the
papers, but whenit does whata stir there
is. Only let men and women know of
movement that is helping some distress,
let the distress be real, and 1t draws thei'
affections and dollars as lightening-rod
draws electricity. On the morning train
up from Cape May, yesterday, was a
touching spectacle, Il mother bringingup
her dead b.,by, in her arms. She had
taken it down, at deaths door, the day
before, as sits last chance for ife," the
doctor told her; but it was too late
tiny body in her arms to the railway
train. Her sad freight and the hopeless
errand she had taken became
known to some Of the passen-
gers. The smoking car" that is
usually supposed to be deep in its
newspapers and its business day ahead,
and its nicotian inditference-th ''smok-
ing carr got word of the pitiful story,
and instinctively, in 4 few minutes, the
little family were taken from the open
thoroughfare car to the parlor car, the
passengers in the enclosed compart-
ment gave up their cozy places and took
others less comfortable wherever they
could find them, the afflicted living were
placed in seclusion with their stricken
dead, the stalwart conductor became as
tender as a woman, the porter of the car
made them as comfortable as the sir
cumstances permitted, and then, so
quietly that very few persons outside of
those who partici gated knew anything
about it, another substantial token of
human sympathy was made in way
that we need not mention more par
ticularly here. The smoking car" did
what in all probability needed to be done
but, it was done without anything but
the eloquence of that sorrowful burden
to invite tit did itself. That tinv
dead baby made all the passengers akin;
every man there took personal inter-
est in the helpless, hopeless trouble the
silent mother was bearing. Every faith
er saw IN his grief what might come to
be his own.
Other things-and good things-are as
catching as disease. When broker or
business man charters a steamboat and
picks up from the densest alleys of
dirty city boat load of pale women and
babies. sewing girls or other friendless
folks, how good it is to hear. When the
Country Weekly tells one story out of
it's hundreds that brings it's good work
to light, how everybody wants to to take
hand. If S. will give two starved
city children each ten days feeding
and freedom on farm. it only needs to
state the sum and peoples hands 90
into their pockets. How everybody
sympathizes with this conductor, by
whose road a small boy waited for a
train to come along. He had caught a
squirrel, he was a returning country
week boy, small boy. He was bring
ing it home in triumph as usufruct.
At the station it bit his finger and got
away. Just then the market train
came along. He made a dive, caught
it, lost it again. Every man on that
train who looked out of the windows
saw the chase. Everybody who reads
knows what it will be to that boy to
60 home minus squirrel. What is to
be supposed-the natural thing to hap
pen did happen. The train waited.
The passengers were as absorbed in
the chase as the boy himself. The con-
ductOr held that train like man.
Squirrel was caught for the third time
and proudly carried aboard.
With all the hot weather that seems
to ''blaze" the days news in red hot
passions, tornadoes of carelessness, rage
and treachery, social earthquakes when
trusted man goes wrong, all of them
heaned up these August days, right in
the heart of ali these disgraces are grow
ing the beautiful, the refreshing events
of humanity's good side There is no
calamity or helplessness but brings re-
spouse, if people can but come to know
it. The public does not often know
what is relieved, what is done on the
good side of the account. 1t doesn't re-
CUSTER as crime does, seldom telegraphs
itself about the country, and has to be
detected almost in its good deed, But it
IS everybody's business to take these
helpful doings out Of quarantine,
out of secrecy. They are most
catching.