The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1893-12-14

TO project in the name of human progress
mere show TO last but six months
which could not be held without levying
tribute upon the whole world, civilized
and savage, and eSpending the enormous
sum Of $2OO,O0O,0O0
Society in its fundamental creed for
bids, under penalty of Punishment among
the common herd, faith in man.
"Society" does not know "man." He
has not been presented. Nobody can
speak for his ancestors. And those who
do whisper the horrible rumor that
folks say he is related by blood to a mon-
keyi Whereupon society" is shocked
and calls for smelling salts and tea for
400!
FAITH AND PROGRESS.
Now, faith in man is the secret Of all
human progress.
For this reason the philosopher thinks;
for this reason the scientist tolls, the
philanthropist sacrifices, and the inventor
never despairs.
Sweep from the human soul this sub
| lime thought. and civilization is dead.
It is this faith that has sailed unknown
seas, opened the forests, tunneled the
mountains and brought to the whole
world the inspiring conception of its
unity and brotherhood. The poorest in
vestment any man ever made is infidel-
ity--especially in man and of man. No
investment pays such returns as faith
especially in man, the image of God.
And no man can have faith in God who
has no faith in man.
read the other day a strange story Of
a gulch near Shasta City, Cal. The writer
said that it is deep ravine, with rocks
showing all the way up the sides. Gold
in paying quantities had been found
along the stream, bat it seemed to disap-
pear few feet from the channel. Ono
day, while gang of men were toiling in
the stream, stranger, evidently igno-
rant of mining, came along and leaned
on hisragged elbows to watch the results
of their labor.
The miner near him took out o IS mug
get, and anxiety overcame the ignorant
stranger.
"Say," he asked, where can go to
diggin to find it like thatr'
The hardy miner stopped his work,
and giving the wink TO all the boys, SO
that the joke should not be lost, pointed
up to the barren rocks, where no gold
had ever been found.
''You see that rough leokin placer
eyes" said the new hand.
"Well, thar it is rich. Jes' you stake
out a claim an go to work, an when we
finish here we'll come up too"
The new hand thanked the miner, and
: the boys all grinned their appreciation
of the Joke. That afternoon a solitary
figure was seen picking on the rocky
hillside, and every time the miners
looked up they roared with laughter.
, But the next day the new miner strucl
a pocket and took out several Thousand
of dollars in gold. Then he came ant
thanked the miner who had sent him NJ
there, and went down into the valley
, and bought farm, while the other min
ers dotted that same rocky hillside fcl
days without finding pocket. They
agreed that it was joke, but not ex
actly Of the kind they had intended.
So "society" lifts its nose in supercil
; ious surprise at the simplicity of a bound
less faith in man, and would roar Will
laughter at those who toll for that faitl
were not roaring vulgar" Born O
this measureless faith in man was tn
uniform good nature and kindliness tina
beamed on the faces of the hungry mil
: lions that crowded those palaces an(
beautiful grounds.
: NOWHERE Az ANGRY, sCOwLING FACE.
Everywhere good nature and fraterna
!, kindness! Who that saw it will eve
forget that crowd Of joy.lit human faces
No drunken revelry! No envious glances
No standing on privileges Fraternity
+, Humanity Verify, society" was no
! | there!
Third-The common people are hu
manity. By the common people NEAR
the aggregate, inclusive of the two grea'
classes continental writers would desig
nate as bourgeois and proletariat. II
America there is, strictly speaking, NJ
middle class as distinguished by hostile
. ideals from the working class. The mid
die class people with us are working
: people, and they are identified in the
main with the working people in life and
aims and hopes. Human progress il
bound up in the common people. Prog
ress that is not in them and of them is
: not progress. The little cliques of peo-
: pie that form themselves into petty un.
social mobs apart from the common peo-
pie may be grouped as intellectual and
spiritual paupers, and with other feeble
folk cared for by the state may be left
out of the account Of the history of hu-
manity.
The one lesson the vastness of the fair
taught, with overwhelming emphasis,
was the measureless grandeur of man
and the insignifcance Of men.
Individual interests were dwarfed and
lost in the immensity of the world idea.
Corporations whose name circle the
earth, and whose affairs are discussed in
book and pamphlet and magazine as
though they controlled the destinies Of
nations, had their little exhibits here
and were lost in the whole. The Stan
dard Oil company cuts an insignificant
figure as compared with the great indus
try of eggs and poultry.
The common people are humanity, be-
cause they fight its battles.
They do its thinking.
They do its suffering.
They do its work.
| Take out of the history of the race the
battles to be fought, the achievements
Of thought, the martyrdoms to be suf-
fered, the work to be done, and what is
there left2 Society" Nothing! Let
idle loafers, the froth and the dregs,
take note, the day of humanity dawnsl