The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1905-03-23

/ should like to speak next, apropoI
Of the inglorious good, OF a class thaI
today 1t is thought quite fitting t.
treat with the utmost one sidedness.
mean the rich. Some people think the
last word is said when they have stig
matlzed that lnfamy, capital. For
them, all who possess great fortunes
are monsters gorged with the blood of
the miserable. Others, not so declama-
tory, persist, however, In confounding
riches with egolsm and insensibility.
Justice should be visited on these err
rors, be they involuntary or calculated.
No doubt there are rich men who con-
Germ themselves with nobody else, and
others who do good only with osten-
tation. Indeed, we know 1t too we'll
But does their inhumanity or hypocrisy
take away the value Of the good that
others do and that they often hide with
a modesty so perfectT
knew a man to whom every mis-
fortune had come which can strike us
in our affections. He had lost be-
loved wife, had seen all his children
buried one after another But he had
n great fortune, the result Of his own
labor. Living In the utmost simple
ity, almost without personal wants, he
spent his time In searching for oppor-
tunlties to do good and pronting by
them. How many people he surprised
In fragrant poverty, what means he
combined for relieving distress and
lighting up dark lives, with what
kindly thoughtfulness he took his
friends unawares no one can imagine
He liked to do good to others and en-
Joy their surprise when they did not
know whence the relief came. 1t
pleased him to repair the injustices of
fortune to bring tears Of happiness in
families pursued by mlschance. He
was continually plotting, contrivIng,
machiRating In the dark, with child
ish fear of being caught with his hand
In the bag. The greater part of these
fine deeds were not known till after
his death; the whole OF them we shall
never know.
He was a socialist of the right sort,
for there are two kinds of them. Those
who aspire to appropriate to them
selves part of the goods Of others
are numerous and commonplace. To
belong to their order 1t suffices to have
a big appetite. Those who are hun
gerIng to divide their own goods with
men who have none are rare and pre-
cious, for to enter this choice company
there Ia need Of brave. and noble
heart free from selhshness and sensi-
tive to both the happiness and unhappi-
ness of its fellows. Fortunately tho race
of these socialists is not extinct, and
feel an unalloyed satisfaction in offer
ing them tribute they never claim.
! must be pardoned for dwelling up
on this. 1t does one good to offset the
bitterness Of 80 many infamies, 80
many calumniea, so much charlatan-
ism, by resting the eyes upon some
thing more beautiful, breathing the
perfume of these stray corners where
simple goodness flowers.
A lady, a foreigner, doubtless little
used to Partisan life, just now told me
with what horror the things she sees
here inspire her - these vile posters,
these yellow" journals, these women
with bleached hair, this crowd rushing
to the races, to dance halls, to roulette
tables, to corruption-the whole food
of superficial and mundane life. She
did not speak the word Babylon, but
doubtless 1t was out OF pity for one of
the Inhabitants Of this city Of per.
dition.
"Aias, yes, madam; theae things are
sad, but you have not seen all"
Heaven preserve me from that"
"0n the contrary. wish you could
see everything, for, If the dark side
is very ugly, there is 80 much to
atone for 1t. And, believe me, madam,
you have simply to change your quar-
ter or observe II at another hour. For
instance. take the Paris OF early morn
ing It will offer much to correct
your impressions Of the Paris of the
night Go see, among so many other
working people, the street sweepers,
who come out at the hour when the
revelers and malefactors go in. OBJ
serve beneath these rags those cary.
atid bodies, those austere facesl How
serious they are at their work Of
sweeping away the refuse OF the
nights revelryl One might llksn
them to the prophets at Ahasuerus'
gates There are women among them,
many old people. When the air Is cold
they stop to blow their fingers and then
go at 1t again. SO 1t is every day. And
they, too, are inhabitants OF Paris.
''Go next to the faubourgs, to the
factories, especially the smaller ones,
where the children or the employers
labor with the men. Watch the army
of workers marching to their tasks.
How ready and willing these young
girls seem as they come gayiy down
from their distant quarters to the
shops and stores and Offices OF the
ethyl Then visit the homes from which
they come, See the woman Of the
people at her work. Her husbands
wages are modest, their dwelling IL
cramped, the children are many, the
father is often harsh. Make collec-
tlon of the biographies Of lowly peo-
pie, budgets of modest family life;
loook at them attentively and long.
"After that go see the students. Those
who have scandalized you in the streets
are numerous but those who labor
hard are legion, only they stay at
home and are not talked about II
you knew the toll and dig Of the Latin
quarter! You find the papers full of
the rumpus made by a certain set of
youths who call themselves students.
The papers say enough of those who
break windows, but why do they make
no mention of those who spend their
nights toiling over problemsf Because
1t wouldn't interest the public. Yes,
when now and then one OF them,
medical student perhaps, dies victim
to professional duty the matter has
two lines In the dailles. A drunken
brawl gets half a column, with every
detail elaborated. Nothing is lacking
but the portraits of the heroes, and not
always that.