The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-12-31

| 1t is only in this way by all of us
| working In spirit of brotherhood, by
each doing his part for the betterment
of himself and of others that it is pos
sible for us to solve the tremendous
problems with which as a nation we are
now confronted. Our industrial life has
become so complex its rate of move
ment so very rapid and specialization
and differentiation so intense that we
find ourselves face to face with condi-
tons that were practically unknown In
the nation half a century ago The
power of the forces of evil has been
greatly increased, and it is necessary
for our self-preservation that we should
similarly strengthen the forces for good.
We are all of us bound to work towards
this end. No one of us can do every
thing, but each of us can do something,
and if we work together the aggregate
of these something's will be very consid-
| cradle.
There are of course q thousand differ
ent ways in which the work can be
done, and each man must choose as his
tastes and his powers bid him, if he is
to do the best of which he is capable.
| LUZ az LiiG MINE VI Nplh must VIC teil
ried along on certain definite lines if
good is to come. All the work must be
attempted as on the whole this Young
| Mems Christian association work has
| been done; that ~, in a spirit of good
| will towards all and not of hatred to-
wards some; in a spirit in which to
| broad charity for mankind there Is add
ed keen and healthy sanity of mind.
We must retain our self-respect each
and all Of us and we must beware alike
of mushy sentimentality and of envy
and hatred.
1t ought not to be necessary for me to
warn you against mere sentimentalty,
against the philanthropy and charity
which are not merely insufficient but
harmful 1t is eminently desirable that
we should not be soft-hearted, but it is
no less desirable that we should not be
soft-headed. l really do not know
switch quality Is most productive of
evil to mankind in the long run, hard
ness of heart or softness of head Ma
ked chaity is not what we permanently
want There are of course certain
classes such as young children, widows
with large families or crippled or very
aged people, or even strong men tenn
porarily curshed by stunning misfor-
tune, on whose behalf we may have to
make a frank and direct appeal to char
ity, and who can be the recipients of it
without any loss of self Prospect. But
taking us as a whole, taking the mass
of Americans, we do not want charity
we do not want sentimentality; we
merely want to learn how to act both
individually and together in such fash
ion as to enable us to hold our own In
the world, to do good to others accord
ing to the measure of our opportunities,
and to receive good from others in ways
which win not entail on our part any
loss of self-respect.
1t ought to be no less unnecessary to
say that any man who tries to solve the
great problems that confront us by an
appeal to anger and passion, to ignor-
ance and folly, to malice and envy, is
not, and never can be aught but an
enemy of the very people he processes
to befriend. In the words of Lowell it |
Is far safer to adopt for a motto "All |
men up" than Some men down" |
Speaking broadly we cannot in the long |
run benefit one man by the downfall of |
another. Our energies can as a rule be |
employed to much better advantage in |
uplifting some than in pulling down |
others. OF course there must sometimes |
be pulling down, too. We have no bus |
mess to blink evils, and where it is ne |
cessary that the knife should be used, |
let 1t be used unsparingly, but let it be |
used intelligently. When there is need |
of drastic remedy, apply it, but do not
apply it in the mere spirit of hate
Normally a pound of construction Is
worth ton of destruction.
There is degradation to us If we feel |
envy and malice and hatred of ones
neighbor, for any cause, and if we envy
him merely because of his riches we
show we have ourselves low ideals
Money is a good thing 1t is a foolish
affectation to deny it, But it is not the
only good thing, and after a certain
amount has been amassed it ceases to
be the chief even of material good
things. 1t is far better for instance, to
de well a bit of work which is we'll
worth doing. / do not care whether this
work is that of an engineer on a great
railroad or captain of a fishing boat or
foreman in a factory or machine shop,
Or section boss, or division chief or as
sistant astronomer in an observatory, or
a second lieutenant somewhere in Chi
ma or the Philippines each man of
these has an important piece of work.
and If he Is really interested in it and
has the right stuff in him, he will be
altogether too proud of what he is doing
ind too intent on doing it we'll to waste
lis time in envying others.
From the days when the chosen peo-
pie received the decalogue to our own
,nvy and malice have been recognized !
as evils, and woe to those who appeal ,
o them. To break the Tenth Com ,
nandment is no more moral now than
t has been for the past thirty centu- ,
les The vice of envy is not only a | ,
dangerous but also mean vice, for it ,
S always confession of inferiority. j.,
t may provoke conduct which will be :
fruitful of wrong doing to others; and :,
t must cause misery to the man who :.
eelsit 1t will not be any the less
fruitful of wrong and misery, if as is so :
ften the case with evil motives it
Idopts some high sounding alias. The :,
ruth is gentlemen, that each one of us :
las in him certain passions and in =
= lit