New-York tribune., 1900-03-19
i OTESTION OE DETI-
The following interesting and unique letter
has been received by The Tribune:

The following interesting and unique letter
has been received by The Tribune:
am man of independent means. left by
my parents, and after repeated and persistent
effort convinced that / am fitted for no
occupation above labor of a low grade This
statement is in no degree due to either modesty
or self-depreciation; it is literally true. proven
so over and over again by honest, pertinacious,
but with scarcely an exception uniformly unsuc-
cessful efforts. Now, ought / to give up my
social connection and go into the only field for
which l am obviously suited, ought / to con-
slider the wishes and prejudces of family and
friends and continue to live drone in the hive?
In other words, If / have been created for no
higher purpose than digging and delving. ought
l to dig or delVe despite the chagrn my doing
so might give relatives and friends, and more
over, despite the fact that thus l might occupy
the place Of some one needing the work for his
support? In good faith | earnestly request your
opinion in the matter CONSCIENCE.
NeW-York, March H. 1900
1t would be easy TO give a number of offhand
answers TO the question here presented, vet in
the absence of more information concerning the
writer of this letter and the special circum-
stances in which he is placed il might easily
happen that none of these answers would be
correct He says he is fitted for no occupation
above labor of a low grade. But is he abso-
lutely sure of that: Does he, a matter of
fact, really know himself? Is it not possible
that there are latent faculties and possibilities
in his nature which the pummet of his self
knowledge has never sounded and needing only
a fitting opportunity TO bring them to light?
The pages OF history full of such instances
where ''some mute, inglorious Milton surprised
not only the world but most of all himself by
the doing of some great deed for humanity But
the opportunity, there's the rub, Our CORE
spondent may ask how he shall find it. as
Luther Cromwell or Lincoln or Grant found
it. And we shall have to answer him frankly
Inv t-irNcy thnf I.n G,,I
more-that his duty may be to hold his soul in
patience until the opportunity finds him, con-
tent in the mean while to go to grave of OBJ
llvion, consoled only by the thought that they
also serve who only stand and wait
We must not be understood as proposing this
quiescent attitude TO correspondent as a
duty. But at least he may take it into the ac-
count while holding himself in readiness to do
any work that may come to his hands. AS to
the specific question whether, feeling himself
untitled for anything else, he should engage in
manual labor in order to make himself useful
member of society. there is something to be
said in favor of 1t theoretically. But in the case
Of most men so crcumstanced we should doubt
its wisdom. AS our correspondent himself sug-
gests. by so doing he would be displacing some
other laborer who needed the work for The sup
port of himself and his family. Ought he to do
this merely in order to crafty a sentimental
desire to be useful? There is no scarcity Of
manual labOrers in the world. On the contrary,
their Overabundance Is one of the most serious
problems of modern civilization. The army of
labor is constantly being recruited by multi
tudes of men who are untitled to do ANYTHING
else. Such being the case, they cannot COM
plain if other work is not given to them TO do.
But they may ask, not as favor but as a
matter of iuSticp that no obstacle shall he
placed in the way of their getting ii fair days
wages for fair days work. And when one Of
their number as our correspondent believes
himself to be, is raised by fortune above the
need Of living by labor. it would seem to be his
duty TO yield his place In the ranks TO some
brother less fortunate. Perhaps he thinks it
small thing just to help one man in that indirect
way, pitiful outcome of his potential powers
for good. But it is given to few in this world
to any really large achievement in their
lives and, besides, If his wealth is invested in
the ordinary ways its earning power is indi-
rectly helping many workers and advancing the
cause of civilization.
There remains the suggestion that our CORE
spondent enter the field of philanthropy. But
there he will find that il is much more easy to
do harm than good. The men who have been
the most successful in that field would be the
first TO tell him TO go slow. They would
acknowledge that in spite of all their care and
knowledge they not that their bene-
factions have always been wise And they
would not hesitate TO say that some of the best
inteniOned philanthropies have turned ont to
be curse rather than blessing. Nevertheless
there are not lacking channels through which
man possessing wealth may help his fellow
men, even though he have no great dover OF
intellect. But after all. the least valuable part
of benefactlon is the benefacton itself He
who would do the most good must with his gift
give himself also. In other words, he who