The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1904-08-06


yer. you said last week that rapid
transit was the remedy. I've been
thinking about It ever since. and blam-
ell II l can hgure 1t out. asked
Flanagan. the brakeman"
What did Flanagan sayY' asked
Colonel Monroe. with a twinkle in his
eye.
He said 1t was easy" replied Jeu-
kins. He said that with rapid transit
people could get to the divorce courts
quicker. Is that the answerY' The
postmaster looked doubtfully at the
colonel
Flanagan is facetious," laughed
Colonel Monroe. The problem is TO
get our young folks before a preacher
and not before divorce judge. Let
me light u cigar and I'll attempt to
explain"
Colonel Monroe rendered u well worn
case TO Judge Sawyer. and both
smoked for a few minutes in contented
silence.
I presume I'm i confirmed optI-
mist" the colonel said. Il cannot con-
vince myself that everything Is going
to the bad, or that this old earth OF
ours IS whirling in the wrong dlrec-
ton. Given Il fair show, the average
man or woman will do the right rather
than the wrong thing Despite all the
crOakers TO the contrary. this Is a fact.
Justice and kindness are normal In
stincts, and crimes are bred only amid
artificial surroundings. Therefore,
whenever l see any considerable fac
ton tranSgressing 4 natural or moral
law | hesitate 10 blame them as In.
divtduals, but look about for the con
dltion or institution which Is to blame.
Show me a general tendency toward
mlsdoing, and I'll name to you a faulty
condition or an imperfect social insti-
tuition"
Am I 70 infer that you consider
marriage i faulty Institution asked
the judge. looking searchingly at Colo
mel Monroe
''On the contrary. I'm its stanch de-
fender and certainly should be-" was
the reply. L viii come directly az the
point desire to make. In my opinion,
the stupend0us growth OF our cities at
the expense 81 the country districts Is
responsible for the decadeucs Of mar
rage and the decrease n the American
birth rate In 1870 out OF each thou
sand OF the population only thirty four
lived In cities, A hundred years later
29l out Of each thousand were crowd
ed II cities, and today the number Is at
least 32D. There was no cry OF race
suicide a hundred years ago. No
statesman foresaw that a time would
come when nearly oue-thlrd Of the peO-
pie would be massed around factories.
All this has happened because OF the
perfection OF the machine. Like huge
magnets, the massed factories have
drawn thousands from the farm, stack
ing them into tenement houses and
apartment buildings until one small
block contains the population OF a ru-
raj county. And as the factories In
creased In size and number the tene-
tnent houses have lowered higher. The
modest dwelling. with It's lawn and
flowers. has disappeared. In such an
environment. where the sky Is seen
only as a rift between solid walls OF
masonry, crime. ignorance. disease and
pauperism have increased, and mar
rage. between Americans at least, has
decreased The poorer class Of emit
grants is content 10 raise u family Ia
such an environment. but not so with
the young man who was raised on d
farm Or who once knew the delights
OF life where one can observe the beau
ties OF nature"
Foreigners don't care where they
live or what they eat" declared Post
master Jenkins There ought n be
Law passed keeping out all foreigners
aud sending back what's over here"
Your remedy Is rather drastic" re-
marked Colonel Monroe. I've observ.
ed before this that the more eonserya-
tive a man imARines himself to be the
more radical Is his remedy when be
deems one necessary. The emlgrant
has little 10 do with this problem. The
machine evolved It, and the machine
will solve IT, Some day a poet will
write an epic on the machine aud i'm
mortallzs his name"
"He win probably compose II on
typewriter" said Judge Sawyer. smil.
ing. Can you imagine a typewriter
epic, colonelY'
Hardly" laughed Colonel Monroe
That's very bad joke. and I'm sur.
prised at you. Judge But let me con.
tlnue The people have massed in the
2itles and near the factories becaus
they had to Consider the strides that
TRANSPORTATION has made in this conn
fsy Fifteen years ago there we're no
means Of urban transit other than
horse cars available to the working
man. and these conveyed him TO no
point where be could secure cheap
rents. He therefore had 10 live with.
IN walking distance Of his factory, or.
q q clerk. within easy reach Of bis