The Washington times., 1905-06-25
Civic Renaissance.

people grow through tendencies to
which, in the progress of events, they
become subject. National growth,
public opinion, individual habits are
the normal or abnormal manifesto
lions of presence or lack of limita-
tons. They are often the visible re-
suits Of invisible causes.
Recently the visible results have
been painfully apparent in cases of
individuals. There have been in
stances of unexampled faithlessness
on the part of men trusted by their
1elloW-men, by whom the least sus-4
gestion OF implied suspicion OF the
other fellow would have been resent
ed as unworthy and impossible. Yet
trusting and honorable men have had
these shocks in the disclosures at
tending the Equitable affair in New
York, the municipal corruption in
Philadelphia, the grating underlying
the transfers strike in Chicago, the
land frauds in Oregon and elsewhere.
and the suspicion that a degenerate
may have wrecked the eighteen-hour
f1ier at Mentor, Ohio. In such cases
as any of these. except the last, rare
indeed would be the individual who
would be willing to admit the prob
ability that men who had attained any
position above the average of their
kind would be found to be malefactors
under the law. Yet after the first
suspicion comes apparent corrobora-
uon, more or less convincing, and
then-how short a step to the whole
exposure
1t is enough to know that such
things are happening with unwonted
frequency in these days. 1t is not
enough for apologists to say the pres
ent days are no worse than the OLD
times, and that the newspapers spread
the news of scandals more than be-
fore. The excuse matches the crime.
With the touch of individual moral
omitted. it is of the same
cloth. Nowadays, with absolute nom
chalance, greater number of persons
take greater risks, with less thought
for the consequences, than in former
days. Instead of Thou shalt not
steal" Or murder, or traduce, there is
the new, twentieth century, alien
yeloping commandment: Thou shalt
not be found out. Avoid discovery
and all is well. Depend on sym
pathy," that much-abused tribute
which innocence pays to the enmesh-
ed wrongdoer, and let conscience take
care of itself.
This is one of the unavoidable con-
sequences Of unbounded prosperity in
the nations growth. The golden
quest occupies attention to the prac-
teal exclusion Of such ethical ideas
as would, If practiced, stimulate
public opinion. The
lethargic disregard of the latter leaves
the field free to individual whimsicali-
ties, which rapidly run riot in the
idCC tONdIu uSGtiOSuft ana ul5pIdcP.
Then comes the play for sympathy"
and the stage is reset for a new
Bat there is an interesting and in
structive side to more than match
such an array of bad conditions.
While evil is always at work, reform
appears only in spasms. Because of
this intermittent way Of making it's
presence felt, the fact is overlooked
that ii, too. is always more or less"
at work, lacking only the energy that
bad people invariably put into their
dishonest schemes and that good peo-
pie as invariably think too little OF in
their respective measures. When the
same energy is employed in hunting
down the transgressor as the latter
has shown in preparing the way for
his escape, the country is facing
renaissance which promises an un-
usual measure OF results. When in
public emergencies the helm is taken