Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1904-12-08
CHAPTER I.
OUR COMPLEX LIFE.

Tuesday, and today IL Friday!
Callers loaded with gifts and trades
men bending under packages come and
go In endless procession. The servants
are ut the end of their endurance. Az
for the family and the bctrothed, they
no longer have life or n fixed abode.
Their mornings nre spent with dress
makers, milllners upholsterers, jewel
erg, decorators and caterers. After
that comes rush through Offices,
where one waits In line gazing vague
ly at busy clerks engufed In papers.
A fortunate thing II there be time
when this ID over to run home and
dress for the series OF ceremonial din
ners -- botrothal dinners, dinners Of
presentation, the settlement dinner-re-
captions, balls About midnight, home
again, harassed and weary, to find tho
latest accumulation Of parcels and II
deluge OF letters 49, congratulations, fe-
licitatlons, ncceptances and regrets
from bridesmaids and ushera, excuses
Of tnrdy tradesmen. And the contre-
temps OF the last minute--a sudden
death that disnrrnnges the bridal par
ty, wretched cold That prevents
favorIte cantotrlce from. singing, and
no forth, and 30 forth. Those poor
Blanchards They Will never be rcady
and they thought they had forcseon
everything
Such has been their existence for n
month No longer possible to breathe,
to rest half hour, to trnnquillzc ones
thoughts. No, this IN not livingl
Mercfully, there IL grnndmother's
room. Grandmother Is verging on
eighty, Through many tolls and much
suffering she has come to meet things
with the calm assurance which lifo
brings to men and women of high
thinking and large hearts. She sits
there In her armchair, enjoying the
silence of long medltntve hours. So
the food of alfairs surgng through the
house GIBBS ut her door. At the thresh-
old of this retreat voices IRE hushed
and footballs softoned, and when the
young flanccs want to hide away for
u moment they flee to grandmother
Poor chIldrenw IL her greeting.
"You are worn outl Rest little and
belong to ench other. All these things
count for nothing Don't let than alb.
sorb you; II isn't worth while"
They know II well these two young
people. How many times In the last
weeks has their love had to make way
for oil sorts of conventions and fulfill
tiea Fnte ut this decisive moment OF
their lives seems bent upon drawing
their minds away from the ono thing
essential, TO harry them with II host
of triyinlltcs, md heartily do they mp
prove the opinion of grandmnmma
when she says between n smile and II
caross, decidedly, my dear, the world
In growing too complex, and 1t does not
make people happier-auite the con.
traryr'
nlso am of grandnmmma's opinion.
From the cradle to the grave, In his
needs NJ In his pleasures, In his con
ception Of tho world and OF himself
the man of modern times struggles
through maze OF endless complicn-
ton. Nothing In simple any longer
neither thought nor action; not pleas
ure; not even dying. With our own
hands we have added TO existence n
train of hnrdshlps and Topped Off many
qualification. believe that thou.
sands Of our fellow men, suffering tho
consequences of n too artificial life,
will be grateful II we try to give OK
preston to their discomfort and 10 jus
tify the regret for nnturuhoas which
vaguely Expresses them,
Let ns first speak of series of'facts
that put into relief the truth we-wlsh
70 show.
The completely OF our life nppours'in
the number OF our material needs. IL
IN fact universally conceded that our
needs have grown with our RESOURCES.
This IN not mn evil In itself, for tho
birth of certain needs Is often the mark
OF progress. 10 feel the necessity of
bathing, OF wearing fresh linen, inhab,
itmg wholesome houses, eating health
full food and cultivating our minds IL
sign Of superiority. nut II certain
needs exist by right and are desirable,
there are others whose effects are fa-
tai which, like parasites, live Mt our OK
rense. Numerous and impcrlous, they
engross Us completely.
Could our fathers have forasccn that
we should some day have Mt our dis
posul the means and forces we now
use In sustaining and defending our
material life, they would have predict
al for us an increase Of independence,
and therefore of happiness and II de
crease In competition for worldly goods,
They might even have thought that
through the simprhcation of life thus
made possible higher degree of mo-
rality would be attained, None OF
these things has come TO pnss; neither
happiness nor hrotherly love nor power
for good has been Increased In the
first place, do you think your fellow
citizens. taken as whole, are more
contentcd Than their forofathcrs and
less anxious about the future? l do
not nsk IL they should find reason TO be
30, but II they really are SO, To see