Frostburg mining journal., 1889-05-04

y Nj H-H~NE< II m e L o II :
Y SS$x- than the tran.
saction Justl
fes. When Pericles began to speak
at the fu leral of an infant he expressed
regrets that such n throng should have
rushed in to the last rites Of so small
human being Natlre-a harbor, n
lake, a sea, q rivcr-asks trade and
manufacturing to come to par icllar
SPOT, and folks all arounl begin to ac.
cept of the invitation; and for each ten
that had a real reason for going, there
arr at least three per on5 who repair
thither to see Yhat was the matter
with the other ten. Thus the move
ment of animated beings goes IN unit
there are perhaps one-fourhh more
persons in every city than that city
wants. 1t has n use for them. 1t
cannot give them work Of good kind
nor in an adequate quantity. When n
dinner is offered free to all, the appli.
cants have generally been to- many
for the size OF the dinner.
Allured by the central "dog-iight, J"
Greek tutors migrated by the hundred
from Athens, because they had heard
seeking Greek tutors for their chill
dren. Thus wide invitation had gone
forth on the wind, and it was so gem
orally accepted that it soon became Il
proverb in Rome that man was not
as poor as a church mouse. but as poor
as a Greek schoolmastcr. The gut sts
surpassed the dinner.
In the long history of cities tn re
has been one continuous fact-that Of
more persons being drawn by the CEN
trail attraction than the attra ,tion could
justify. 1t is commendable in man
to desire to pitch his tent where he
can live well his life, viii h at is
but brief; to live within easy reach of
libraries. music in its greatest forms
drama, painting, sculpture, an nea.
the many kinds and qualities of re-
ligion; but many thousands OF city
dwellers are unmoved by any Of these
things, ard other thousands can not
find in these attractions good reason
for attempting to live in the midst of
them. SO far as all the arts ard ra-
tiOnal pleasures are thought OF, there
are thousands Of persons who are sulli-
ciently near a great city when they are
twenty miles away from its heart.
That our cities have become giganti.
forms of popular delusion the railways
can bear swift witness They have
paralleled each other until there is
little freight and few passengers for
ca h. They now report losses of two
or three millions each per annum.
They are like the Greek tutors that
rushed into Rome until there was not
n pupil apiece, and some of those
teachers had to sit down on Il curb
stone and wait for high-toncd Children
to be born. Thus our railways must
wait for passengers to be born. -Four
new States have been born in til West ;
freight and passengers will increase; !;
but so will the railways, for the world
is now 50 old that it will fulfill in its
own new way the maxim that there is
mo fool like an old fool" At folly we
are all old hands. rich in experience
but not in wisdom. Each city is a
great Apollo. but with the golt in one
foot, or is n beautiful Venus, with the
mumps ra ging in one jaw.
1t would be a good thing if pme of
our railW avs could become more az
lively suburban roads, and would car
ry all working peo le of all kinds ten
or twenty miles for five cents. Now
the rich can live in the suburbs, lut it
ought to be that 30, 00O of the laboring
classej could go out of town every
night.