Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-05-09

benefit tn receiver True charity demands
an equivalent in return. WIth"ut such r..
turn th" poor degenerate INTO puuI-.rS, and
paup'rlSm, once fxtrl hccumrs inrurab.
lndiscrimInate giving produces evil rather
than good. because il defeats the very end
which charity seeks to attain But when a
man asks for work it i unfair tp infer that
he is inSincere. 1t Is very easy 10 ascertain
whether he is or not. and the presumption
should be in his favor. In nineteen cases
out of twenty. at the least. he or she who
says he wants employment means exactly
what he saws. and should hc taken at his
word To b" anNious for work and TO so
liCit it in vain, day after dav. week after
week, must have a demoralizing effect on
anybeiy Is it strange that such experience
SO very common, turns industry and integ
rity into idencSS and dcpravitv, Is it not
likely that many mendcants vagabOnds
tramp> and thieves are made in this wavi
Nobody can be blamed fOr not employing
any one of the hundreds and thousands Of
the unemployed to I've seen in every citv II
is only now and then that employment can
/ he found But auvhOdy and evervboiv
should be blamed for treating har>hIy tho>.,
who are struggling 10 z I an honest livelihood
by any means whatever II We would re-
member that the men. women and children
who may annoy or bore us by AN application
for work. or a request to buv something Il
except, Of course. those who offer triht-S rs
an excuse for h"ggarvl are only irving to
live and that the hard task imposed on them
Is made much harder by rude expulsion We
would be morc careful Of their feelings than
We often are. We are apt to think they have
no Feelings or that they have no right
thereto. II would he better for them if they
had not, and they are surely treated in a way
to render them callous. But penurv. strug-
gle and suffering do not destroy humanity as
wealth, ease and power do. The kindness Of
the poor to the poor. their readiness to assist
one anothNr with the very little that they
can command, is touching, and might he a
lesson to their superiors in circumstances, il
not in the homelv virtues
Only trying to live, Most Of us are simi-
larly engaged Comparatively few have
gained any surplus. or have reason to look
for rccuniary independence Why should
we lie impatient or angry with the many
who, on a lower plane or in a humber man
ner. are actuated by the same motives as
ourselvesf Book agents peddlers. insurance.
agents and the like are idiCuIed and defama.i
by cheap hum"ristS and nut on a level with
heggars and bidders They NAV BE- unpleaS
ant, disturbing, importunata: hut If We will
pause To think. before we denounCa and in
suit them, that they ar. merely irving to
live, something akin to COmraSSion NAV
check the phrases on our lips Trying to
live! The words are Significantly sal .ulI
Of dreamy, tragic suggestion II all that
they embrace We're clearly understood they
ought tn move heart Of stone doubt if
their spiritual meaning was completely
realized, whether the hardest or duleSi
nature would not IA" somewhat novel hv il.
TRYING tn live How stern, savage and drS-
perate life always Is nnd ALWAYS must be- to
those obi 20 to do AMI suffer merely to keen
breath in their wr"tched brd.s, Life. at it,
best, can scarcely L.. accounted n boon: nfe
at or near, its worst. is an immitigabl..
curse. l.lvin; secured. So far as money
goes, Is not secure against constant disap-
pointmen's, dire universities. crushing sor-
rows. Living unsrCur ii financially added
to the train Of potential woes and actual mis-
haps, is a mockerv Of content
So mauv have tried to live, and tried long
before they have succeeded, that it might be
thought that their remembrance, Of what
they hal endured would make them SYM
pathetic with those still on trial But dos
II WI 'lI'i, dliIt 10 S{iN. human nature
is a puzzle. 1t is sometimes 50 good, and
frequently SO bad. that one never knows
whether to eulogize or execrate it MANY
persons seem 80 hardened by protraCted
struggle and the StingS of misery As to l0s.. /
when these have passed all power and dispo-
sitiOn to C0mmiSerate in others what they
themselves have borne. They seem even to
take harbarouS satisfaction in seeing their
fellows in tile tolls from which thev have
escaIsl But there are many Others thanks
10 nature. Whose senSihiitieS are stirred wher
their perceptions act These by the simple
thought that anybody who approaches them J
is only trying to live. forget interruption and
annoyance in a sense Of what is due to hu- .
manity more unfortunate than their own
Trying to live He who will impress these
words on his memory will H. cruel, indeed
if they do not evoke some generosity in his
heart. Life is so terrible responsibility to
the bulk of us that the man who willingly .
increases it commits a crime against his
race for which, if he were illuminated. he
would find it hard to forgive himself
JUNIUS HENRI BROwNR