Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1904-12-22
CHAPTER VI.
SIMPLE NEEDS.

l1AC w iiOlC iit e51CAhNy AoOSA di1N sAiS
rests comprehended in dozen words.
Likewise, TO sum up the necessities of
most men, 4 few concise lines would
answer Their regime is i'll general of
supreme simplicity, and SO long as they
follow it all is well with them, as with
every obedient child of Mother Nature.
Let them depart from it. complications
arise, health fails, gayety vanishes.
Only simple and natural living can
keep body in full vigor. Instead of
remembering this basic principle we
fail into the strangest alterations.
What material things does a man
need to live under the best conditions
A healthful diet, simple clothing, a
sanitary dwelling place air and exer-
else. | am not going to enter into by
gienic details, compose menus or dis
cuss model tenements and dress re-
form Ny aim is to point out Il direc-
ton and tell what advantage would
come TO each of us from ordering his
life in 4 spirit of simplicity. To know
that this spirit does not rule in our
society we need but watch the lives
of men of all classes. Ask different
people Of very unlike surroundings this
question: What do you need to live?
You will see how they respond. Moth
ing is more instructive. For some alb
originals of the Partisan asphalt there
is no life possible outside a region
bounded by certain boulevards. There
one finds the respirable air, the illumi-
mating light, normal heat. classic cook
cry, and, in moderation, so many other
things without which it would not be
worth the while to promenade this
round ball.
On the various rungs of The bour
geois ladder people reply to the ques
lion, What is necessary to live? by
figures varying with the degree of
their ambition or education, and by
education is oftenest understood the
outward customs of life, the style of
house. dress, table-an education pre-
ciseIy skin deep. Upward from a GER
tain income. fee or salary life becomes
possible; below that it is impossible.
We have seen men commit suicide be-
NstooC lltCil 1tiCeiAiS ilSttl ittlttll QiIucl d
certain minimum They preferred to
disappear rather than retrench. OBJ
serve that this minimum. the cause of
their despair, would have been suffi-
cient for others of less exacting needs
and enviable to men whose tastes are
modest
On lofty mountains vegetation changes
with the altitude There is the region
of ordinary flora. that of the forests,
that of pastures, that of bare rocks and
glaciers. Above certain zone wheat
is no longer found. but the vine still
prospers. The oak ceases in the low
regions; the pine f1ourishes at consid-
cradle heights. Human life, with its
needs. reminds one of these phenomena
Of vegetation
AT IA certain altitude of fortune the
financier thrives, the clubman, the So
ciety woman-all those in short. for
whom the strictly necessary includes
eduipages as well as several town and
country houses. Further on fourishes
the rich upper middle class, with its
own standards and life. In other re-
gions we find men of ample. moderate
or small means and very unlike ext
gencies. Then come the people, arti-
sans. day laborers, peasants-in short,
the masses-who live dense and serried
like the thick, sturdy growths on the
SUBMITS of the mountains, where the
larger vegetation can no longer find
nourishment In all these different re-
gions of society men live. and. no mat
ter in which particular regions they
flourish. all are alike human beings.
bearing the same mark How strange
that among fellows there should be
such a prodigious difference in require
ments. And here the analoges of our
comparison fail us. Plants and ami
mails of the same families have iden-
teal wants. In human life we observe
quite the contrary. What conclusion
shall we draw from this if not that
with us there is considerable elastic
ity in the nature and number of needs?
Is it well. is it favorable to the de-
velopment of the individual and his
happiness of society, that man should
have multitude of needs and bend his
energies to their satisfaction? Let us
return for moment to our comparison
with inferior beings Provided that
their essential wants are satisfied, they
live content. Is this true of men? No.
In all classes of society we find dis
content
l leave completely out of the ques-
ton those who lack the necessities of
life One cannot with justice count in
the number of maleontents those from
whom hunger, cold and misery wiring
complaints. l am considering now that
multitude of people who live under con-
ditions at least supportable. Whence
comes their heartburning? Why is it
found not only among those of modest
though sufficient means, but also under
shades of ever increasing refinement,
all along fhp ASCENDING scale even fa