Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1904-01-16

who do not know when II gun is
loaded.
~eA
In no other country has the local
postoflice filed so large place in the
life of the small community as In this. |
The hour of the arriving mail is often
the signal for u neighborhood gather
ing. while within a small enclosure the
letters and papers are slipping into the
different boxes with rapidity that
suggests the distribution of the fruit
of u Christmas tree. In Europe. where
population is more dense and labor
cheaper. housc-to-house delivery of the
mail has long been general. Ameri-
cans. besides going to the postOffice.'
have been large users of its privileges.
1t has been the national policy not to
look upon the service us Il source of
revenue. but rather. by low postal
rates. to encourage correspondence and
the widest diffusion of current publ
cations. The Fourth Assistant Post
master General suggests In his annual
report that the small postofiicc may
| cease to- he the neighborhood center.
Some signs point in that direction. The
number of postofiices rose steadily. bar
| ring the interruption of the Civil War,
from IS under Wushington's admins
| tration. to nearly 1900 two years ago.
| II has now fallen to $4,000. although
the larger. or presidential. offices are
still increasing ut the customary rate.
Coincident with the decline In the
number of country postofiice has come
an increase In the carrier service. both
urban and rural At present the dc.
partment needs us much money for
this branch of It's work as for the
whole postal establishment ~ years
ago. Yet city free delivery Is only ~
years old. Although millions of Amer.
leans no longer 20 to the postOffice for
their mail. the country is 80 large that
home delivery" will be years In COM
plotting its conquest. Nor can the post.
office rs Il business headquarters he
displaced.
In this free lanu Ot ours II Is the
blessed privilege Of every one to talk
nonsense publicly whenever he cnn
find people to listen to him. A great
many Of our citizens. says the Chicago
Chronicle, avail themselves Of this
privilege and II surprising number Of
them succeed In getting their utter.
nnces into print. Some Of these pur-
veyors Of conventional balbertiash have
even gained reputation for sapiency
because Of the impressive manner In
which they deliver themselves of time
worn humbug. One of these gentle
men. who makes Il specially Of depre-
ciating the worth of wealth. though he
himself II one of the worlds wealth..
est men. has lately reiterated the old.
stale and utterly untrue nonsense that
II child IL lucky to be born into poverty
instead Of into wealth. That the speak.
or does not believe any such thing IL
manifest In the fact that he has allow.
ed his own children to he born into
the enjoyment Of riches. though he
easily could have averted that misfOr.
tune by giving away Nil his posses.
siOns. He attempts to show how hap.
by the poor child II ana how miserable
the children Of wealth are. but he II
careful to guard his own offspring
from the blessings Of poverty. or
course this constitutes an obvious in.
consistency. but II IL an inconsistency
no more apparent than that which II
manifest when man continually talks
Of the disgrace Of dying rich. yet oh.
viously means to incur that OdiOus
| IL 10, lao, t,Sa
who talks from the lips outward. not
believing what he Is saylng--the con.
ventiOnnl cant Of II rich man who af-
fects to despise that which he In truth
! most highly prizes. 1t IL nbsurdly false
} to say that poverty IL Il blessing or
that riches are curse In themselves.
Wealth rightly used IL one Of the
greatest aids to human happiness;
poverty IL boon to nobody save PEG.
pie who would misuse riches. The
uses of adversely IRE sweet only when
sustained by somebody else. That pes.
simlstic philosopher SchOpenhauer was
accustomed to assure his disciples that
there was nothing In the world worth
living for ana that II was the duty of
every man upon attaining the age of
discretion to go out ana hang himself.
Yet Schopenhauer himself, 80 far from
acting upon his own advice. took pre-.
\ cIous good care to prOlOng his life az
long az possible. He lived to be more
than 20 years old ana he quilted the
world ut last with great reluctance.
And so It IL with the rich men who 70
about disparaging riches. They really
mean that riches are had for other PEG.
pie. but not for themselves. In truth.
riches are good and not evil to any
one who uses them Alright.
~SA
We notice every few days reports
of bankrupts who have applied to the
, court of insolvency for relief from
their Indebtedness. where II Is said
there are mo assets" Plenty of debts
hut nothing to pay them with, hence
the application to unload. The debts
are supposed to represent value 70
ceivcd--still. mo assets" not u dollar
IN sight. How IL II that man can &c
ON pillng up debts until his assets al
dIsappearg 1t Is not SO with the maj
who promptly pays his debts. Such q
man cannot long owe for anything; the
creditor calls for his pay with great
y l..