The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1905-02-23

cient for others of less exacting needs
and enviabe to men whose tastes are
modest.
On lofty mountains vegetation changes
with the altitude There is the regior
Of ordinary fora, that Of the forests
that of pastures, that of bare rocks and
glaciers. Above certain zone wheat
is no longer found but the vine still
prospers. The oak ceases in the low
regions; the pine flourishes at consid.
cradle heights. Human life, with its
needs, reminds one Of these phenomena
Of vegetation.
At certain altitude of fortune the
fnancier thrlves, the clubman, the 50.
ciety wOman-all those, In short, for
whom the strictly necessary includes a
certain number of domestics and
equlpages as well as several town and
country houses. Further on fourishes
the rich upper middle class, with its
own standards and life. In other re.
glons we find men Of ample, moderate
or small means and very unlike exi.
| geneies Then come the people, arti.
sans, day laborers, peasants in short,
the masscs-who live dense and serried
Ike the thick, sturdy gFowths on the
submits Of the mountains, where the
larger vegetation can no longer find
nourlshment In all these different re-
gions Of society men live and, no mat.
ter In which particular regions they
flourish, all are alike human beings,
bearing the same mark. How strange
that among fellows there should be
such d prodlgious difference In require
ments! And here the analogles Of our
comparison fail us. Plants and ami
mails Of the same families have iden-
teal wants In human life we observe
quite the contrary. What conclusion
shall we draw from this If not that
with us there Is Il considerable elastic
ity in the nature and number of needs?
Is 1t we'll Is it favorable to the de-
Velopment Of the individual and his
happiness and to the development and
happiness of society, that man should
have multitude of needs and bend his
energies to their satisfaction? Let us
return for a moment to our comparison
with inferior beings. Provided that
their essential wants are satisfied, they
live content. Is this true Of men? No.
In all classes Of society we find dis
content.
| leave completely out of the ques-
ton those who lack the necessities of
life. One cannot with justice count in
the number Of malcontents those from
whom hunger, cold and misery wiring
complaints. am considering now that
multitude Of people who live under con.
ditions at least supportable. Whence
comes their heartbuning? Why is It
found not only among those Of modest
though sufficient means, but also under
shades of ever increasing refinement
all along the ascending scale, even to
opulence and the SUBMITS of social
place? They talk of the contented mid
die classes. Who talk Of them? Peo-
pie who, judging from without, think
that as soon as one begins to enjoy
ease he ought TO be satisfied. But the
middle classes themselves-do they
consider themselves satisfied? Not the
least in the world. If there are people
at once rich and content, be assured
that they are content because they
know how to be SO, not because they
arc rich An animal is satisfied when
1t has eaten; It lies down and sleeps
A man also can lie down and sleep for
time, but 1t never lasts. When he be-
comes accustomed to this contentment
he tires of 1t and demands a greater
Mans appetite is not appeased by
food; 1t increases with eating. This
may seem absurd, but 1t is strictly
true.
And the fact that those who make
the most outcry are almost always
those who should find the best reasons
for contentment proves unquestlonably
that happiness Is not allied to the num-
ber OF our needs and the zeal we put
into their cultivation. 1t Is for every
ones interest to let this truth sink deep
into his mind. If it does not, If he does
not by decisive action succeed In limit.
Ing his needs, he risks a descent, insen-
slDle and beyond retreat, along the de
clivity of desire.
He who lives to eat, drink, sleep,
dress take his walk-in short pamper
himself all that he can--be 1t the court
Ter basking IN the sun, the drunken
laborer, the cOmmoner serving his bel
ly, the woman absorbed in her toilets,
the prOtligate Of low estate or high, or
simply the ordinary pleasure lover,
good fellow" but too obedlent to ma
terial neqds-that man or woman Is on
the downward way of desire, and the
descent is fatal. Those who follow 1t
obey the same laws as body ON an
Inclined plane. Dupes Of an Illusion
forever repeated, they think, 'Just O
few steps more, the last, toward the |
thing down there that we covet; then |
we win halt" But the velocity they
gain sweeps them on, and the farther
they so the less able they are to resist
It.
= Here is the secret of the unrest, the
madness, of many Of our contempora-
rles. Having condemned their will to
the service Of their appetites, they suf-
fer the penalty, They are delivered up
to violent passions which devour their
flesh, crush their bones, suck their
blood and cannot be sated. This is not
a lofty moral denmclatlon. have been
listening to what life says, and have
recorded as l heard them some of the
truths that resound In every square.
Has drunkenness, inventive as 1t 10
of new drinks, found the means Of
quenching thirst2 Not at ALL 1t might
rather be called the art OF making
thirst inextingulshable, Frank llber-
tlnage. does It deaden the sting Of the
senses? No, 1t enyenoms 1t, converts
natural desire into morbid obsession
and makes il the dominant passion.