Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-05-09
ABOUT TRYING TO LIVE.
THE FOLLY OF TALKING ABOUT
HAGTE TO GROW RICH.
The Great DInicuIty of Obtaining Fm-
pIoyment-Our Hardness to Those who
Honestly Seek 1.-THE Need of SYM
pathy-A Plea for Kindness

written, IN this country about the haste to
grow rich. No doubt tn. great ma iority Of
men here. and throughout civilization in
deed, would lie delighted to get rich and
would Use their utmost endeavOr to that end
If they had the slightest prospect Of becom-
ing 80. But they have no more expectation
or thought of acquiring wealth than they
have Of sealing the skies Those who are
aiming at f large fortune, or have any def
mite object ot the kind, are not one in "A hun
drd-p"rhaps not one in thousand The
great mass of people, even in this new and
promising land, where every one has a
chance, are absorbed in earning their daily
bread, and are content when they earn it
Any number of these are unable. through TEN
perament, circumstances mnteIligence or
misconduct, To keep on a financial level with
the world. They are always slipping down,
and many Of them never get fairly and square
Iv up They manage to live by shifts and
turns. chiefly by credit, that they are
actually supported by the community. al
though they would angrilv deny this. and re
sent the most delicate offer of aught like
charity. They never do we'll; but they always
think they shall. negiecting to-day and
leaning on tomorrow
host of persons subsist on what thev
W. nv '''' IL, dlll utISnl on tle earnings OF
their fellows without any consciousness OF
their dependence. They who have any in
tent TO pay their debts are apt to consider
them as paid, for their anticipatiOns wholly
0utrun performance. But most Of those who
hahtualy incur debt become indifferent to
it. often forgetting it altogether, and have
M scruples about increasing it to anv ex-
tent. But both classes Of debtors are likely
. IN die bpa vii in -, r
raseS usually ends all Obligation So far is
wealth, or any approach to it, be
Iond the multitude that facts and
igures would unquestionably show that
he majority of men go out Of
ife not monetarily even with it No one
an get rich, save by manifest fraud with
'ut settling his accounts The rich may b.
sordid, rapacious, oppressive, INSCRIPTIONS,
hut they cannot escape ordinary indebted
hess, nor do they try To. for they know that it
would I've contrary to their interest Ii is
impossible to build up n big fortune and hold
it without establishing credit, and the first
step toward its establishment is liquidation
Tn" poor, that is the very poor. are obliged
t" h' honest Their circumstances are 50
desperate as to prevent credit, except of a
petty kinl When they have no money they
are likely to suffer; their hands are ever
fighting the hattie against starvation They
must not only depend on their lab.r. but on
their opportunity 10 labor: and it is this
which makes the deepest tragedy of exist
rnCe 1t is constantly said, and generally
believed, that the man who is willing To
work can always get work 10 do 4 greater
or m"re miSchievouS error can scarcely be-
imagined But tn mass of people
give it Credence in the face Of in
ceSSant contradiction When man
applies for work. which is the best
evidence Of his desire AMI determination to
work, he is generally turned away. and his
words regarded a. an assumption. The fact
that he is unemployed is construed against
him If he were INDUSTRIOUS sober. honest,
competent, II is reasoned he would not lie
idle. ldleneSs is inferntialy a crime in the
minds of the community, as it is on the
statute books Men are sent to prison as
vagrants because they have no visible means
of support Frequently, perhaps generally.
it may be their fault; but there must BE-
many cases where 1t Is Sheir misfortune.
Think of the inconsistency. man tries
hard TO obtain employment suffering in body
and in mind because he fails in his attempt:
and then Is liable to punishment for his
failure. In other words, the law demands Of
him what is beyond his control and in ad-
ditiOn TO all that he Is obliged TO endure from
refusal. makes him pay penalty for which
the injustice of his fellows is answerabIe
This is Singularly like knocking a man down
without provOcation and kicking him for
falling. | have heard great deal
of men who would not work when
wages were offered them. But have never
seen such in any parts Of the world have
visited ! can hardly doubt that some pro
fesSional mendicantS and tramps scorn labor
50 long as they can beg or steal; but | sus-
pect that they have been driven to this un-
natural condition, in the first place, bv
inability TO get work. Their applications
and entreaties were, probably, So long and
uniformly rejected that they grew morose
and mSanthropic. Nothing will make a man
more bitter and inhuman than the continued
Withholding from him Of his right to work
which is equivalent to i'll iSting on his duty
to starve. Men who have not been wronged
by the world are unlikely to turn away from
a chance to earn their bread They will
persevere in being men until their manhood
has b'en crushed by steady opposition to
their instincts, and the overthrow of their
proper pride and selfesteem The LATEST
class in the world are reputed to he the Nea
politan lazzaronL They will make no exer-
ton for any peCuniary inducement, it Is
often said, unless they are hungry. 1t is not
true They are full of tricks and fasehoods
but they will not decline an oppor. unity 10
earn a Ira when the opportunity is pre-
sent.d to them have put them 10 the test
repeatedly: they We're always ready and
glad to exchange labor for coin
The general proposition Is sOund-all men
will work for the reward Of work. But To
how many of them is it deniedt There are
in this city. and in every big city thousands,
to-day and every day, who can not find ell !
ployment, urge and seek as they NAV The |
marvel is that hundreds do not die from
famine, despair, suicide, every twenty-four
hours The fact that they do not Is proof |
that the human family is not SO hard and |
cruel as it seems. The world does not need |
feeling half much as it needs understand |
ing, reflection, freedom from false theories |
and untenabe beliefs. If some of those who |
think any decent, worthy man can get EN-
ployment by diligent seeking should try the |
experiment they would learn how bitterly |
false their opinion is. Their experience |
would insure some degree Of compassion if !
not of sympathy, with the standing army of |
tnforced idlerS, most Of whom are SO anxious /
or any sort of remunerative occupation |
that they count the giver of it a bene- |
factor They might then cease TO c ,nsider |
the applicant for labor in the light of |
a transgressor, if not a criminal 1t /
may be that such an applicant is suspected of
haste to grow rich, and excites prejudice ac-
We are ever beratins the class |
that won't work. and when confronted by |
any representative of the class that asks for |
work we are prone to turn upon him upon |
an enemy of our peace and purse. How in
fintely are they to be pitied whose hard lot
compels them to beg tina privilege of TOLL I
Ana VIVA host OF them there Is every /