Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-01-06
The Simple Life.

vii! te Disappointed in the substitu-
ton for y Few weeks, of Wagner's
Simple Lie which is from an en-
tlrt|y different realm OF thought, and
deals with the philosophical side of
lie instead o! the visionary and mag
lnativc. The eminence given Dr.
Wagn'r. however. ty our impcturus
President. who made his introduction
to p fishipnal'la Washington audience
tho mere imprt s>.ve and valuable as
an endorsement. by stating that he
..A'. Fever performed such sor> ice
tore and wonlI not again during his
term vi Office, Ia, caused many OF the
larger papers - print the lecture in
tail, ana We need, therefore, make no
further apology for according it space
at thi' time. >" strenuous has been
TIE d@mand that 1t is being presented
in several TRANSACTIONS, but that Of
Miss 1iendee is the only American
version recognized by the author, ever
his signature, and under the copyright
OF Mcclure, Phillips & Co.
The author who has so suddenly
burst forth with with go brilliant
radiance in the literary armament is
an A.satian, born in small commun-
ity, the son OF farmer, brought up in
communion with Nature, which doubt
less enables him to SO clearly see the
faults OF our modern complex exist
eoce and to point out the beauty and
wJrihiness Of life of normal pleas
ures, firm thoughts and sincere emo
tons.
The writer is not prepared to say
that this admiration, developed. pro.
NOTED and fostered by such eminent
authority, may not be like that of the
passion for Wagneran music, simply a
drift with a current not easy to stem.
Everybody may, if he chooses, as stat
ed by the talented author of Simple
Life, be "like the fevcrcd patient de.
voured by thirst, who dreams in his
sleep of cool brooks to battle in, of
clear fountains to drink long droughts
from, SO that in the modern existence
our feycred souls dream OF simplicity"
or he may wait patiently for the
brighter Gun CLINT that follows the
temporary observation OF the cloud, or
the more perfect harmony which al.
mits of discord introduced by the
master.hand to clothe it with greater
beauty and power. This we propose
to do, by substituting brilliant stop
when the Wagneran diapson closes.
1t is altogether unnecessary to
arouse an antagonism by comment
that would clash with the high opin-
ion OF the President, who says that he
would like to have "Simple Life" cir
culated. as a tract, all over the coun-
try. for the betterment OF social con.
nitions, or find fault with such papers
as the N. Y. World, the st. Louis Re-
pnblic, the Chicago Tribune or the
Portland Oregomian, for their vigorous
and apparently sincere plaudits, for we
have found that brilliant tumble of
sounds is often so classical as to pre-.
clude adverse comment, and that
sometimes speech OF the autocratic
politician, made up of commonplace
utterances, must not pass under the
same gauge OF reason as the address
Of man who comes unheralded by the
prestige of success in some field that
has distihg uished him from the plebe.
ian throng.
It is easier to drift than TO float
against the tide, 60 we intend that
our readers shall not get left" in op-
portunity to read the fad Of the hour
nor to merit blame for endorsing, ex.
cept in this perfuuctery, way treatise
on the Simple Life, that has passed
through q foreign tongue to create q
sensation in our own expressive Eng
lish language.