The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1904-09-11

content. I leave completely out Of the
question those who lack the necessaries
OF life. One cannot with justice count
in the number Of malcontents those from
whom hunger, cold, and misery wiring
complaints. Upward from a certain in
come, fee, or salary. life becomes posi-
BILE: below that. it is impossible We
have seen men commit suicide because
their means had fallen under a certain
minimum. They preferred to disappear
rather than retrench. Observe that this
minimum, the cause of their despair,
would have been sufficient for others
of less exacting needs, and enviabie TO
men whose tastes are modest. And the
fact that those who make the most
outcry are always those who should find
the best reasons for contentment. proves
Unquestionably that happiness is not al
lied 10 the number q our needs.
HAS drunkenness. inventive as Il IS, Of
new drinks, found the means OF quench-
ing thirst? Not at all. It might rather
be called the art Of making thirst in
extinguishable. Frank libertinage. does
it deaden the sting or the senses2 No;
il envenoms 1t, converts natural desire
into q morbid obsession, and makes It
the dominant passion. Let your needs
rule you, pamper them-you will see
them uluply like insects IN the sun. The
more you give them, the more they de-
mand. He is senseless who seeks for
! happiness in material prosperity alone
AS well undertake TO fiji the cask Of the
Danaides. To those who have millions
millions are wanting; to those who have
thousands. thousands. Others lack a
2O-franc piece or 100 SOUS.
Depression of Life
do you find life amusing in these
/ days?" asks Wagner For my part,
on the whole. It seems rather depress-
ing. and I fear that my opinion is not
altogether personal. As / observe the
lives OF my contemporaries, and listen
to their talk, I find myself unhappIly
confirmed In the opinion that they do
not get much pleasure out Of things,
And certainly It is not from lack OF
/ trying; but II must be acknowledged
that their success is meager. Where
can the fault be2''
I From morning till night. wherever we
| go, the people we meet are hurried, wor-
| RED, preoccupied. Some have split their
good blood In the miserable conflicts of
petty politics; others are disheartened
/ by the meanness and jealousy they have
! encountered in the world OF literature
or art. Commercial! competition troubles
/ the sleep OF not few The crowded
carricula OF study and the exigencies
! Of their opening careers spoil life for
young men. The working classes suffer
the consequences Of a ceaseless indus
trial struggle. It is becoming disagree
able to govern, because authority is d.
minishing; to teach, because respect is
vanishing. Wherever one turns there
IS matter for discomfort
THE diversity, and more than that,
the contrasts. in social conditions. give
rise inevitably to all sorts OF conflicts.
II Is not primarily differences Of class
and occupations. differences In the out
ward manifestations Of their destinies.
which embrOil men. But that which.
above all things else, binders men from
good understanding is pride Let US
| speak OF the pride OF the great
offense of the Rich.
What offends me In this rich man
passing in his carriage is not his equi-
page, his dress, or the number and
spiendor OF his retinue-it Is his con-
tempt That he possesses a great for
tune does not disturb me. unless 1 am
badly disposed; but that he splashes
me with mud. drives over my body,
shows by his whole attitude that 1
count Tor nothing IN MS eyes because
am not rich like himself-this IS what
disturbs me. and righteously. He heaps
suffering upon me needlessly. He hu-
initiates and insults me gratuitously. II
is not what Is vulgar within me, but
what Is noblest that asserts itself In
the face of this offensive pride. DO not
accuse me Of envy; / feel none; IL is
my manhood that IS wounded.
" And what about the necessary dis
tinctions I'm life?" some one may ask
AS a result OF your simplifications. are
you not going to destroy that sense OF
the difference between men which must
be maintained II society exists at alp
I have no mind to suppress distinctions
and differences. But 1 think that which
distinguishes a man Is not found in his
social rank, his occupation. his dress,
or his fortune. but solely in himself.
More than any other our age has
prlcked the main bubble Of purely out
ward greatness. To be somebody al
present il does not suffice TO wear the
mantle OF emperor or a royal crown;
what honor IS there in welding power
through gold lace, a coat-Of-arms, or a
RIBBON?
Not that visible signs are to be
despised; they have their meaning and
use, but on condition that they cover
something. and not "A vacuum. The mo-
ment they cease 20 stand for realities