The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-11-17
An Everyday Homily.

world of the same size as Salt Lake,
where there are more Independent
real estate owners, or where prop
erty is more evenly distributed, and
the same assertion may be made of
most Of the settlements of this Ter
ritory, with but little fear Of max
inga mistake, a condition Of things
which we sincerely hope may be an
everlasting one, but our hopes are
not, however, without misgivings
Time is sure to effect changes by
which the poorer owners will dis
appear and their place be sup
planted by a weather. class of
landed proprietors, whose revenues
will be derived from rents eXacted
from our descendants. We have no
good reason for supposing that our
city and Territory will be eXcep-
tons, as We have examples enough
before us to point ont clearly what
is the usual course in similar cases
New England will afford us the
necessary examples, and, in fact,
every colony, State and Territory CT
the United States. But is such ii
condition of things deslrableI There
is only one answer to this On stion.
The grandest effort ever made TO
realize the general principle that
all men are created free and
equal, was looked upon by the
great laWgiVer, Lycurguss as
vain, unless grounded OF an equal
distribution Of wealth. And so
long as this condition OF things con-
tinCed, the student of history knows
what were the consequences. In the
dream OF the large-hearted poet
philosopher Plato, he considered at
least near approach to an equal
distribution Of wealth as the only
basis on which his perfect republic
could be esta blished. But is such a
condition of things possible? To
this question, likewise, but one
answer can be given, except by the
most rancorous communist, unless
the character of men shall be WON
| derfully changed from what it isl lat
the present time. Yet if there must
be rich and poo. can not something
be done, if not to make the ricn man
poorer, wherein no good result
" ould follow anyhow, if his means
be honestly gotten, at least to make
the poor man better off? It looks
like hopeless task on the face of
| it, when we remember that all the
schemes that have been tried thus
far have proved futile, and most
every theory advanced has some
weak point which renders it i'm
| practicable Or worthless. But still
We must conclude that the human
race has made some advancement
a d that civilization has done some
thing TO ameliorste the condition of
the FACE. In India, we hear in
story books and history of
the vast wealth o. that country,
but wheE we come to examine more
closely, perhaps we shall find with
all the advantages that nature could
| lavish, there are more poor people
in proportion to the population than
In any other civilized or semi. civil
lied country On the globe. What
wealth there is the few are in pos
session of, while the body of the
people own nothing. OF this condi>
ton, We see readily, that We are far
in advance. The majority of men
out in this western country own
their own homes, and are not by any
means the property of their employ
| ers.
The possession OF home should
be one of the chief objects of a mans
ambition, If his occupation will per-
NIT. Though we very frequently
hear people say that building is a
bad policy, when one can lend the
money necessary to build home,
and with the interest of it be able to
save something after paying the
rent of just as good q house as he
could build. From q point Of view
in which dollars and cents are con-
cerned, we also see it in the same
light. But there is a far higher
standpoint. Nothing tends to cul-
tivate in man that spirit of indie
pendence which is indispensable to
the nobility Of his character. as the
proud consciousness that where he
lives is his own home and there he
is master, just as much even as the
Gar of Russia on his throne. The
nomadic spirit which leads a man
to wander hither and thither and
makes him so restless wherever he
is. can be considered as nothing else
than relic of barbarous times, when
men from ignorance of the resources
of nature around them, were com.
PEELED to emigrate from place to
place in order to obtain q scanty
livelihood from her niggardly pro-
vision. This barbarism is fast dis
appearing from the race, and in its
place arises a love of home and all
its pleasant surroundings.
A home is not only place OF cons
venience and necessity, but the pos
session of it gratiies higher sense
than merely that of our animal ma
ture, just as much as the reading
of a good book or the harmony of
piece of beautiful music. One might
Just as we'll argue against music on
the ground that it is nothing more
than mere vibrations of the air