Rock Island Argus., 1905-01-21

/, tools at his disposal? BY their very
excellence to make more evident thet
faults OF him who uses them without
discernment or without conscience-
f, The wheelwork OF the great modern
machine Is infinitely delicate. Care
lessness. Incompetence or corruption
! may produce here disturbances OF far
! greater gravity than would have
! threatened the more or less rudimen-
! tary organism of the society OF the
! past. There is need, then. OF looking to
the quality OF the individual called
upon to contribute In any measure to-
the workings OF this mechanism. This
| individual should be at once solid and
pliable. inspired with the central law
! of life 10 be oneself and fraternal. Ev-
erything within us and without US be-
comes simplified and unified under the
| influence of this law. which Is the
same for everybody and by which each
one should guide his actions, for our
essential interests are not opposing:
| they are identical. In cultivating the
spirit OF simplicity we should arrive.
then. ut giving TO public life a stronger
cohesion.
The phenomena of decomposition and
| destruction that we see there may all
be attributed To the same cause-lack
OF soldity and cohesion. 1t will never
| he possible to say how contrary to So
cial good are the trifling interests OF
| caste. OF coterie. OF church. the bitter
strife for personal welfare. and. by a
| fatal consequence. how destructive
| these things are OF Individual happf-
ness A society In which each member
| is preoccupied with his own well being
is organized disorder. This is all that
we learn from the irreconcilable con-
| hicts of our uncompromising egoism.
We too much resemble those people
| who claim the rights of family only
to gain advantage from them, not to do
honor to the connection. On all rounds
of the social ladder we are forever put
ting forth claims. We all take the
ground that we are creditors; no one
| recognizes the fact that he is a debtor.
and our dealings with our fellows con-
sist in inviting them. in tones some
times amiable sometimes arrogant to
discharge their Indebtedness to us. No
good thing is attained In this spirit.
For. in fact, it Is the spirit OF privilege,
that eternal enemy of universal law, thar
obstacle TO brotherly understanding.
which is ever presenting itself anew.
In Il lecture delivered in 1882 NJ. Re
nan said that a nation is "a spiritual
family" and he added. The essential
of nation is that all the individuals
should have many things In common,
and also that all should have forgotten
much" 1t is important TO know what
to forget and what to remember, not
only in the past. but also In our daily
life. Our memories are numbered with
the things that divide us; the things
which ui.ite us slip away. Each Of US
keeps at the most luminous point OF hio
souvenirs lively sense OF his second
airy quality. his part OF agriculturist,
day laborer, man of letters, public OFF,
Ger. proletary. bourgeois. or political or
religious sectarian. but his essential
quality, which IL to he son Of his
country and a man, IL relegated to the
shade Scarcely does he keep even a
theoretic notion OF II. So that what oc-
cupies us and determines our actions is
precisely the thing that separates US
from others. and there IL hardly place
for that spirit of unity which Is as the
soul of people.
So, too. do we foster bad feeling I'm
our brothers. Men animated by
spirit of particularism, exclusiveness
and pride are continually clnshing.
They cannot meet without rousinR
afresh the sentiment OF division and
rivalry. And so there slowly heaps
up I'm their remembrance a stock Of
reciprocal Ill Will. OF mistrust, Of ran
cor All this is bad feeling with It's
consequences.
1t must be rooted out OF our midst.
Remember. forget This we should
say to ourselves every morning. in all
our relations and affairs. Remember
the essential. forget the accessory!
How much better should we discharge
our duties as citizens II high and low
were nourished from this spirit! How
easy to cultivate pleasant remern-
brances I'm the mind OF ones neighbor
lv sowing il with kind deeds and re-
framing from procedures OF which In
spite OF himself he is forced to say,
with hatred in his heart. "Never I'm the
world will / forget"
The spirit of simplicity IL a great
magician. II sOftens asperities, bridges
chasms, draws together bsDds ana
hearts. The forms which IL takes I'm
the world are infinite in number. but
never does II seem to us more admira-
bic than when IL shows itself across
the fatal barrier OF position, interest
or prejudice, overcoming the greatest
permitting those whom ev-
crything seems to separate 20 under
stand one another esteem one another.
love one another This is the true so
cial cement that goes into the building
Of a people.
THE END.