The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1903-03-27

minded simply because he concentrates
is selfish when he does not include all
mankind in at least the general plans
for his family. And he is narrow
minded when his Judgment does not
men and women below the plane he
chooses for his children, there are just
as good chances for his children to go
down as for them to remain where he
strong; and it extends to human beings.
The man who tries to improve condi-
tions for his children and leaves other
children under conditions that degrade,
degradation and want. Degraded men
and women drag down all within their
reach: and they can reach long way.
| Being in a part of the city by them
selves does not confine their influence
to that part.
Do you say, let them get out OF their
conditions. let them improve their own
conditions? Do you net find it very
hard to improve your conditions? But
you have incentives to struggle, to
persevere. You have assistance and
encouragement. Take your successful
business men, your successful profess
sional men. They are men of courage
and brains and determination and en-
durance. Yet in most cases, struggle
as they may, success is not assured be-
fore they have spent half their courage
and endurance. And many struggle on
till nearly all of life is gone before they
really succeed. True, some of them
tions, yet succeeded. But such men in
herited, from some source, near or re-
mote, genius.-the one element In hui
man nature that knows no conditions.
successful men had favorable condi-
tions in whole or in part. Most men
and women, born under unfavorable
conditions, do not have half a chance.
ton, bad air, poor food. ignorance. dirt,
vile companions, lack of incentive,
narrow horizon! The best of us need
constant encouragement and constant |
help.
But what can be done. Change the |
conditions. For whom. For the chill |
dren. But the men and women. Let |
them go. You can't change them. For |
years, for ages, for-I don't know how
long. reformers have spent their
strength trying to reform men and |
women; and have left the conditions to /
degrade the children into a new crop of |
the same kind of men and women for
later reformers to spend their strength
upon. Individuals have reformed. The
masses have remained where they were.
Saloons and slums are strong schools.
Debauched men and women are strong
teachers. And as long as these schools
are open and the teachers illustrate ev-
cry step they teach, children will de-
velop as they are taught.
have been strongly influenced In
this matter by reading a little book.
called ''Merrie England" by Mr..
Blatchford. Here are some of the
thoughts he gives us on Environment:
Give the people healthful homes.
human lives, due leisure and amuse-
ment. pure meat and drink. and drunk
enness will disappear. While there are
slums, while men have SO few pure
pleasures. while they are undertaught,
and while the wealthy brewer can open
his poison dens at every corner, it is
useless to preach temperance. The late
Dean of Manchester spoke like a man
in the slums, he too would take to
drink. Put number of well disposed
people into bad surroundings and COM
pei them to stop there. In a century
you will have the kind of people you
now find in the slums. Take now lot
Of people from the slums and put them
IN a new country where they must work
to live, and in a generation you will have
a prosperous and creditable colony.
What is the reason. Men are made by
their environment To tell the people
they shall have help and love when
they quit their vices. is like telling a
sick man he shall go to the sea-shore
as soon as he gets well.
why do the middle and upper classes
AXE so much trouble with the nursing
and education of their children? Why
10 they instil into their young minds
principles OF honesty. of industry, of
virtue, of culture. Of cleanliness, of
'obriety? Is it not to insure their men
al and moral and physical welfare?
1T seems, then, that even the chill
iren Of the educated. honest, indus