Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1894-07-12
THE QUESTION OF THE HOUR.
CONTINUED from first page.l

" US B'sN
race of life. Every man who is born into
the world has the right to support himself
and his family or those dependent upon
him. This is not the right to be supported
at the expense of another That is an en-
tirely different proposition. But the right
to gain ones support by honorable work
is the natural birth-right OF every one. Has
every one that right secured to him under
existing conditions? We all know that this
question must be answered in the negative.
II is the reproach and the disgrace of our
civilization that he has not. 1t may well
fill us with a sense of despair and "a certain
Just anger to know that it is true, but true
it is. nevertheless. We may blind ourselves
to the fact part of the time, but not all the
time. To every thinking man come mo
nents when he clearly sees this wrong,
although ne may not see the remedy. Who
will arise wise enough to find the remedy
for us? What Moses will lead us out Of the
Wilderness There are millions awaiting
his coming. For it is "A question of life or
death. Our enemies are not abroad, but
at home. The sayages OF the desert and
wilderness no longer threaten US. 1t is the
sHVages oil our own breeding that threaten
civilization. And it is our own fault that
we breed them. The d~estroyers Of ciyiliza-
ton, If it is written in the book OF Fate
that it shall be- destroyed, are the inmates
III the slums Of our great cit ICES; the tramp
and vagrant, perhaps made what he is by
causes that were and are beyond his con
troll; the honest man Ia finds every ave
nue. al livelihood closed, while his hungry
children cry for bread. These are they
whom we need fear. For ages the strong
have oppressed the weak. The time will
come when those who hav We heen considered
weak will grind to powder those who now
think themselves strong, unless what is
wrong with us is righted, We must repu-
diate the nhuman doctrine of the survival
Of the iittest. as applied to our fellowmen,
and discard the iron law OF wages, so called,
and adopt in their stead the divine precept,
Whatsoever yc would that men should
do unto you, do We even so unto them
We must remember that no man lives or
lies solely to himself, but that all are con-
cerned in the well being of all, and that the
wrong oil one is the wrong OF all. For this
is not a maudlin or exaggerated sentiment.
but a matter OF the exactest truth. In the
absorption of our daily lives we are likely
to become materialized; to forget that man
does not and cannot live by bread alone.
The feeling that each one has, or mayhave,
justice will go farther toward ensuring the
stability of our institutions than the high
est degree OF material prosperity. And it
is the duty OF each of us to do our part to-
ward bringing this to be IA reality instead
Of the dream that it now is. 1t is "A duty
which we owe to ourselves as well as to
Others, 1t is a duty which we will neglect
at our deadly peril. II the consequences do
not fall upon us, they may fall upon our
children. Under existing conditions, your
children or mine may be ground under the
wheels Of our social and industrial systems,
and we or they be powerless to avert their
fate. Many a man has thus been ground
to destruction through no fault of his own.
do not seek to excuse those whose ruin
comes through their own fault. but the in-
nocent too often suffer with the guilty.
This should not be. And we should not
rest content 80 long as it is thus. In view
of these great questions which always are
with us, it is natural and right to ask our
selves what we can do. No one can do
much; every one can do something. Let
us be true to our own convictions and to
the best qualities OF our race. Our blood
is drawn from the veins of men who met
and ovcrcame every obstacle in their paths.
We are the descendant OF the men Of Run
nymcde. of the Commonwealth, of Bunker
Hill, Of Gettysburg. The iron wills which
braved every danger by field and flood, the
~sagaeity which averted or overcime every
obstacle, the wisdom and forethought
which established an empire in the wilder
ness, the spirit of liberty which preferred
all privations and distress to ensla vement,
are or should be ours by inheritance. Let
us quit ourselves like men. and be strong.
Through untold toll and pain our fnthers
gained for us the right to participate in orr
own government by the ballot. This right
is also n duty. And in the exercise of it we
may find IA remedy for many things which
we know are wrong. We must choose
for our rulers men whom We can trust. The
selection Of such rulers will go far to solve
our problems. Let such be found. | will
close with words of one of our poets:
God give us men; a time like this demands
Strong minds, or at hearts, true faith. and ready
hands;
Men whom the lust of office does not kill:
Men whom the SPOTS of office can not buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will;
Men who have honor; men who will not lie;
Men who can stand before the demagogue,
And damn his treaeherous batteries without wink
ing;
Tall man, sun crowned. who live above the fog,
In public duty and in private thinking.
For when the rabble. with its time worn creeds,
Its large professions and its lit lie deeds,
Mingles in selfish strife-lo Freedom weeps,
Wrong rules the land, and waiting justice sleeps"