Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1897-08-03

wv N " thing is surcharged
~ with grief and COM
plant, we call it a
by sudden jolt, wakens us to thank
full spirit
Our blessings are so much more nu-
merous than our deserts that he is sur
prised that anybody should ever find
1 fault. Having life, and with it thou
sand blessings, it ought to hush into
perpetual silence everything like criti-
cism Of the dealings Of God. Where
fore doth living man complain?
There are three prescriptions by
which believe that our individual and
national finances may be cured of their
present depression. The first is cheer
full conversation and behavior. l have
noticed that the people who are most
vociferous against the day in which we
live are those who are in comfortable
circumstances. l have made inquiry
of those persons who are violent in
their jeremiads against these times, and
| have asked them, Nov, after all, are
you not making a living?" After some
hesitation and coughing and clearing
their throat three or four times. they
say stammeringly, Yes" So that
with a great multitude OF people it is
not question of getting livelihood.
but they are dissatisfied because they
cannot make as much money as they
would like TO make. They have only
two thousand dollars in the bank, where
they would like to have four thousand.
They can clear in a year only five
thousand dollars. when they would like
to clear ten thousand, or things come
out just even. Or, in their trade they
get three dollars day when they wish
they could make four or five. "Oh!"
says some one, ARE you not aware OF
the fact that there is great popula-
ton out of employment, and there are
hundreds of good families of this coun-
try who are at their wits end. not
knowing which way to turn Yes,
I know it better than any man in pri-
vate life can know that sad fact. fo-
1t comes constantly to my eye and ear.
But who is responsible for this state CT
things?
Much of that responsibility put up
on men, in comfortable circumstances.
who, by an everlasting growing, keep
public confidence depressed and new en-
terprises from starting out and new
houses from being built. You know
| very we'll that one respondent man can
talk fifty men into dependency, while
one cheerful physician can wake up in
to exhilaration whole asylum of hy-
pochondriacs. 1t is no kindness to the
poor or the unemployed for you to join
In this deportation. If you
have not the wit and the
cheerful to say, then keep silent. There
is no man that can be independent of
depressed conversation. The medical
journals are ever illustrating it. I was
reading of five men who resolved that
they would make an experiment and see
what they could do in the way of de-
pressing stout, healthy man, and they
resolved to meet him at different points
in his journey; and as he stepped out
from his house in the morning in ro-
bust health. one of the five men met
him and said, why, you look very sick
today. What is the matter?" He said,
81 am in excellent health; there is
nothing the matter" But passing
down the street, he began to examine
his symptoms, and the second of the
five men met him and said, "Why. how
bad you do look" WELL" he replied,
81 don't feel very we'll" After while
the third man met him, and the fourth
man met him. and the fifth man came
up and said, why, you look as if you
had had the typhoid fever for six
weeks. What is the matter with you?"
And the man against whom the strata
gem had been laid went home and died.
And If you meet man with perpetual
talk about hard times. and bankruptcy
and dreadful winters that are to come,
you break down his courage. A few
autumns ago, as the winter was COM
ing on, people said, 1--WE shall have
| terrible winter. The poor will be fro
zen out this winter" There was some
thing in the large store of acorns that
the squirrels had gathered, and some
thing in the phases OF the moon, and
something in other portends, that made
you certain we were going to have
hard winter. Winter came 1t was
the mildest one within my memory and
within yours. All that winter long I
do not think there was an icicle that
hung through the day from the caves
of the house. So you prophesied false
". Last winter was coming, and the
people said, I'VE shall have unparal-
leled suffering among the poor. 1t will
be a dreadful winter" Sure enough 1t
was cold winter; but there was more
large hearted charities than ever be-
fore poured out on the country better
provision made for the poor, SO that
there have been scores of winters when
the poor had harder time than they
did last winter. Weather prophets say
we will have frosts this summer which
will kill the harvests. Now, let me tell
you, you have lied twice about the
weather. and believe you are lying
this time.
The second prescription for the ale
Walton of financial dstresses is proper