The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-01-06
HIGHER HUMANITY
DIR. t.. B. Andrews of Chicago
Suggests Reforms.
Humanity Must Be Lifted to a
Loftier Plane.
GREATEST ELEMENT
AT Present Fostering the Move
ment Are Women's Clubs.
Teaching Parasitic Mankind
Better Ideal of Living.

Denver Jan, st consider women's
clubs the greatest force at present IN
existence for the uplifting of mankind"
was the remark of Professor E. BenJa-
min Andrews last night after the lee
ture at the high school. LAS 1 said on
the platform last night, any great rev.
: olutiOn of the condition OF humanity
must not be confined to the upper crust
of the social fabric, but must begin at
the very bottom and extend through
the whole social fabric. and women, not
men, will be the leaders in the move
ment as is demonstrated in the great
work they are accomplishing at present
by means OF concerted action in club
dom.
Women as Social Factors.
SET have made a somewhat careful
study of this question:" continued DR..
Andrews, 'for you know Chicago has
the best system of women's clubs of any
large city in the country-yes, in the
world. have come to one prime con-
clusion, and that is that women are
quicker to see the finer sides and points
of the social question than men, and
they are better able to grasp them by
reason of their steadfastness. The main
reason of the value of organizations of
women is this: A greater number of
intelligent women than men have leiS-
ure to devote to the lettering of fellow
humanity, and the women are coming to
realize this and are beginning to feel
ashamed OF wasting that leisure time
by which so much can be accomplished.
read the other day that the North
western road had issued an order dis
charging all the women employees and
filling their places with men. did not
pay much attention to the item at the
time, but now that come to think of it
7 consider it a monstrous proceeding. 1t
is really singular, too, for in many pla-
ces in railroad work women are much
more capable than men by reason of
their Quickness as well as their stead
mess. You know q general
class, do not begin to equal their sisters
An the matter of steady application, and
for that reason think the officials of q
road would carefully consider making
any such change and mourning the dis
pleasure of the vast number of women's
clubs throughout the country"
He referred to the writings of Huxley,
John Stewart Mill and Henry George on
the great growth of pauperism, and
said: ut is that aspect of life that I
wish to bring forward, sad as it is. This
fact of poverty is very closely associa-
ted with the lowness of mems standard
of life People are suffering in general
because they are not putting forth the
proper effort to rise in the world. The
masses suffer because they have no de-
termination to put forth the long-wind-
ed effort to push themselves forward.
If there Is any way of changing that
phenomenon 1t must mean everything
TO the future of mankind. If there is no
way to elevate. mankind then there is
no use of pressing any social, moral or
even religious reform. The top of hui
1nanity may lift a little but the bottom
will never arise any unless you can in
ject in the rank and file of mankind
what it means to live. Take the condi-
tion of the Chinese in San Francisco
where they live like rats; yet so deft, so
artful are they that if they were permit
ted to come into America without re-
striction one of two things would hap
pen; either the Americans would be
crowded out or they would be compelled
to get down to the level of the Chinese
themselves
Abolition of Poverty.
'T believe that the abolition of power
ey is not a dream. The idea of an anti
poverty specific Is not visionary If we
high and proper idea of life among the
lower classes 1T would nightly tend to
the suppression of parenthood upon the
parent They would not undertake the
work OF propagation when there was
danger of their offspring sinking to a
lower level than they themselves now
enjoy. I believe we could take hold of
the abolition OF poverty by suppressing
the propagation of the meaningless
boor. Very few people are aware how
much is doing in this line at the present
time. But we are reforming the upper
crust and forgetting that there is an
other crust far down below. You must
go on so that there will be no reproduc-
ton of that lower crust. The general
line of humanity is not being reformed
Unless you can build up higher idea
of life in the lower crust-the entire
structure-there will be no forward
movement in all humanity.
ct do not suppose that General Booth
has ever read John Stuart Mill. / wish
ne might read him, for it would do him
good. It is remarkable that both men
thought out the solution on the same