The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-02-10

On his return to England Mr.. Herbert
Spencer revised his now celebrated Amer.
lean iu,erview-wllich he calls "a CONVEX.
aationn-his New York aiter.dinnerspeCCh
in which he proclaimed the gospel Of re.
taxation, added note, md published the
whole in the Contemporary Rrrier. The
article reaches us through the familiar
pages Of LlteiFI Living Age.
In his New York address Mr.. Spencer
affirmed the tact Of our overactivity. In
his supplementary note he assigns the
causes. He declares I've do not use his
language that the great resources Of the
country offer vast opportunities for &c.
qulring wealth; that the successful efforts
Of those who give themselves up to
work is an incentive 10 competition, and
the success Of these becomes the ambi'
ton Of all. Class restrictions being "par.
tally removed or wholly absent" every
man feels that everything is open 10 him.
"Clearly," says Mr.. Spencer, "Ihe larger
the number who, under such conditions,
acquire property, or achieve higher posi-
tons, or both, the sharper is tho spur to
the rest. A raised standard Of activity
establishes itself and goes on rising" No
body Is willing to be "leiG"-Mr. Spencer
uses our American term and says 1t Is
significant; certainly it expresses what he
wants to say and what We want to say when
We use it.
II Mr.. Spencer had applied this same
Americanism Of speech to that other
Americanisn, ceaseless toll, he would
have found q broader reason for the
national characteristic which 50 i'm.
pressed him and which he 80 bluntly buy
kindly pointed out to us. In this country
civilization took fresh start. Resting on
novel political foundations It set up for
itself new ideal Of social life. Civil and
religious liberty, popular sovereignty, were
to open TO every citizen free way TO the
pursuit Of happiness; but these were to be
the means TO the end. Institutions do not
earn bread and the comfortable surround.
ings Of an advancing civilizations; no more
do bounteous natural resources. These are
opportunities; the individual must seize
upon them and use them to his ends. lie
must work.
At the start we had no great accumula.
tons Of capital to conduct vast enterprises.
An undeveloped country, given over to
agriculture partly because Of early natural
conditions aud partly because the mother
country, by selfish policy, repreSsed a
higher ambition, virtually prohibiting
manufacturing endeavoB, we found our.
selves a lulliledged government and vir.
tuslly primitive people. Every other
nation had the start Of US in all the arts
that make people great. We were in the
race with favorable material conditions;
We felt that our ideal WAS possible; we were
determined not TO be "lelt'-that We would
not forever be behind all the nations Of the
earth. Having launched with some
violence and many discouragements
into the business Of government,
we were at once thrown into competition,
in sense, with oil other nations. By
governmental policy audpersOnal endeavor
the American people showed their appre-
citation OF the situation. For more than
century We have been strivingtO work out
our problem. As a people We required
wealth, and VIC bad TO earn it. There is
no wealth without labor. The coal and
iron in our West Virginia hills arc con.
dltious OF wealth; but until we add labor to
them they profit us no more than they
did the Indian who left them undeyelOped.
1t Is doubtless true that some Of US work
too hard; that our industrial habits Of life
are such that we can not always "leave the
shop behind" when We put up the shutters;
that we do not divert and reCreato our
selves sufficiently. But where ali is stir
and hustle and fierce competition, who will
be the lirst 10 turn over the new leai?-who
will run the risk OF relaxing while other
men, jostling him at every turn, are strain.
ing every energy to achieve the largest
measure OF sucCtssG
After all the length Of life is not TO be
measured by Its years, but by what it does.
Some men live more in fifty years than
others in seventy-Americans confessedly
more than Mr.. spencer's countrymen.