The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-12-31

terment which usually brings material
betterment in its train
UNION OF FORCES NECESSARY.
1T is only in this way by all Of us
working together in q. spirit of brother
hood, by each doing his part for the
betternent of himself and of others,
that it is possible for us to solve the tre-
naendous problems with which, as a ma
tion, we are now confronted. Our in
dustriaI life has become so complex, its
rate of movement 50 very rapid and
specialization and differentiation so III
tense that we find ourselves face to face
with conditions that were practically
unknown in this 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 toward this end. No one OF us
do something. and if We work together
the aggregate OF these something's VIII
be very considerable.
There are of course, a thousand dll-
ferent ways in which the work can pc
done, and each man must choose as his
tastes and his powers bid him, II ne IS
to do the best of which he is capable
But all the kinds of work must be car
ried along on certain definite lines II
good is to come. All the work must be
attempted as on the whole this Young
Mems Christian Association work has
been done; that is, in a spirit OF good
will toward all and not of hatred
toward some; in a spirit in which TO
broad charity for mankind there IS
added a 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.
WARNING AGAINST SENTlMEN-
TALITY-
"It ought not to be necessary for me
to warn you against mere sentimental
ty, against the philanthropy and charity
which are not merely lnsuInclelt .t put
harmful. It is eminently desirable that
we should none Of US be hard hearted,
but it is no less desirable that we shoulu
not be soft headed. really 90 not
know which q'ality is most productive
Of evil to mankind in the long run, hard
ness of heart or softness of head Naked
charity is not what we permanently
want. There are, of course, certain
with large families or crippled or very
aged people, or even strong men tenn
pOrarily crushed by stunning misfortune
on whose behalf we may have to make
a frank and direct appeal to charity,
and who can be the recipients OF II
without any loss of self-respect- Bue
taking US as whole, taking the mass OF
Americans, we do not want chdrltys We
do not want sentimentality; we mercy
want to learn how to act both 1ndlVlu-
ually and together in such fashion as
to enable US to hold our own IN s!ns- tne
world to do good to others according
to the measure of our opportunities, ana
to receive good from others in ways
which Will not entail on our part any
loss of self-respect.
ssIt ought to be no less unnecessary for
me to say that any man who tries 70
solve the great problems that confront US
by an appeal to anger and passion, 10 lg-
norance and folly, to malice ana envy,
is not, and never can be, aught put an
enemy of the very people he processes 70
befriend In the words of Lowell il IS
far safer to adopt for a motto, All All men men
up than Some men down. SpssallIlss
broadly, we cannot in the long run benefit
one man by the downfall OF anotner. Our W
energies can as rule De erployeo 70
much better advantage in uplntlng some
than in pulling down others. OF course
there must sometimes be puinng uoWn'
foo We have no business to blink evils.
and where it is necessary that the knlte
nut let il be used inuelligently. When
there is need OF a drastic remedy apply
it. but do not apply 1t IN the mere spirit
of hate. Normally, a pound of construc-
ton is worth a ton of destruction;
MONEY NOT THE ONLY GOOD THING
There IS degradation to us If We feel
envy and malice and hatred OF ones
neighbor. for any cause, and if we envy
we have ourselves low ideals. Money IS a
ggood thing M # # IS IS not fFSs P 6ny seo thinE
and after a certain amount mas been
amassed it ceases to be the chief even Of
for instance. to do well a bit 70 work
which is well worth doing. l do not care
on great railroad or captain of a fishing
boat. or foreman in a factory. or machine
assistant astronomer in an observatory.
or second lieutenant somewhere in China
an important piece of work and If he is
realliny interested in it and has the right
stuff in him he will be altogether too
proud of what he is doing and too intent
on doing it well, to waste his time in en-
From the days when the chosen people /
received this decalogue. to our own, envy
and malice have been recognized as evils,
and woe to those who appeal to them. 10
break the Tenth commandment Is no more
moral now than it has been for the past
thirty centuries. me vice OF envy IS not
only a dangerous but also mean vice.
for it is always a confession Of inferiority-
1t may provoke conduct which VIII be
fruitful Of wrongdoing to others: and II
must cause misery to the man who feels |
wrong and misery if. as is often the case
with evil motives, it adopts some high
sounding alias. The truth is, gentlemen.
that each one Of us has in him certain
passions and instincts which, if they gain |
the upper hand in his soul would mean !
that the wild beast had come uppermost
in him. Envy, malice and hatred are such |
passions. and they are just as had if di-
as if directed against an individual What |
We need IN our leaders ana leacnefs rs
arousing and directing the feelings that |
are their extreme opposites Woe to Us
men who seek not to smother but to in |
flame the wild beast qualities of the hu- |
less than in political reform can do |
healthy work, work fit for a free country, |
ut IOT a SelI-SONtEflllS O6IlJElatNf only
by treading in the footsteps of Washing
ton and Franklin and Adams and Patrick |
Henry. and not in the steps of Marat and
A'0''7A HOME IS THE BASIS.
$50 far what 1 have had to say has I
dealt mainly with our relations with one
another in what may be called the serv-
ice of the state. But the basis of good |
is in the home. A man must |
be a good son. husband and father.
woman good daughter, wife and mother, |
first and foremost. There must be no !
shirE1ing of duties in big things or little |
things. The man who will not work hard !
for his wife and little ones; the woman l
who shrinks from bearing and rearing |
many healthy children; these have no !
place among the men and WOmeR who are |
striving upward and onward. OF course. !
the family is the foundation Of
all the things in the state. Sins
against pure and healthy family life are
those which of all iniquities are sure in
the end to be visited most heavily upon !
he in rrhich they folra r1ln.a |