Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-02-03


huah." underworld of society i, 10,
Low I" discover great misery, physical
and moral And the closer he looks
I'll" greater number of unfortunates
does Il" discover. till In the end this
assembly of the wretchcd appears 10
E.!n like n great black world. in whose
presence the individual and his means
IF relief are reduced 10 helplcSsness
1t Is true that he fees impellcd TO run
10 the succor of these unfortunateS.
hut at the saline time he asks himself,
What Is the usc:' The case Is Ger.
tainly heartrending. Some. In despair,
end by doing nothing They lack
neither pity nor good intention, but
tlr'e bear no fruit. They are wrong.
Often man has not the means to do
good on n large scale but thut is not
n reason for failing to do 1t ut all So
many people absolve themselves from
any action on the ground that there IS
too much To do. They should be re-
called to simple duty. and this duty
each one. according to his resources.
leisure and capacity. should create re-
lations for himself among the worlds
disinherited. There are people who by
the exercise of little good Will have
succeeded III enrolling themselves
among the followers Of ministers and
have ingratiated themselves with
princes. Why should you not succeed
In forming relations with the poor and
In making acquaintance among the
workers who lack somewhat the ne
cesslties of life? When few families
are known, with their histories, their
antecedents and their difficulties, you
may be Of the greatest use to them By
acting the part OF brother with
the moral and material aid that Is
yours to give. 1t Is true you will have
attacked only one little corner, but
you will have done what you could
and perhaps have led another on to
follow you. Instead OF stopping at
the knowledge that much wretched-
ness. hatred, disunion and vice exist
in society you will have introduced n
little good among these evils. And by
however slow degrees such kindness rs
yours is emulated the good will sensi-
bly, increase and the evil diminish.
Even were you to remain alone in this
undertaEn2 1ou would have the as
surance that In fulfilling the duty,
plain as child's, which offered itself
you were doing the only reasonable
thing. II you have felt 1t SO. you have
found out one Of the secrets Of right
living
In its dreams mans ambition en-
braces vast limits. but 1t is rarely CIV
en- US to achieve great things. and even
then quick and sure success always
rests on a groundwork Of patient prep
aration. Fidelity In small things is at
the base Of every great achievement.
We too often forget this, and yet no
truth needs more to be kept in mind,
particularly in the troubled eras Of his
tory and in the crises Of individual life.
In shipwreck a splintered beam, m
or, any scrap Of wreckage, saves us.
On the tumbling waves Of life, when
everything seems shattered to frag-
ments. let US not forget that a single
one Of these poor bits may become our
plank Of safety. To despise tho rem
nants Is decentralization.
You are a ruined man, or you are
stricken by great bereavement, or,
again. you see the fruit Of tollsome
years perish before your eyes. You
cannot rebuild your fortune, raise the
dead, recover your lost toll, and In the
face Of the inevitable your arms drop.
Then you neglect to care for your per-
son, to keep your house, to guide your
children. All this is pardonable, and
how easy to understand! But it is ex-
ceedingly dangerous. To fold ones
hands and let things take their course
Is to transform one evil into worse.
You who think that you have nothing
left to lose will by that very thought
lose what you have. Gather up the
fragments that remain to you and keep
them with scrupulous care. In good
time this little that is yours will be
sour consolation. The effort made will
come to your relief. as the effort miss
ed will turn against you. II nothing
but a branch is left for you to cling
to. cling to that branch, and II you
stand alone in defense Of losing cause
DO not throw down your arms to Join
the rout After the deluge q few sur
Nivors repeopled the earth. The fu-
ture sometimes rests in q single life
as truly as life sometimes hangs By a
thread. For strength go to history and
nature. From the long travail Of both
you will learn that failure and fortune
alike may come from the slightest
cause, that it is not wise to neglect
detail and, above all, that we must
know how to wait and to begin again.
In speaking Of simple duty 1 cannot
help thinking Of military life and the
examples it offers to combatants In this
great strdggle. He would little under
stand his soldiers duty who, the army
once beaten, should cease to brush his
garments, polish his rifle and observe
discipline. But what would be the
user perhaps you ask. Are there not
various fashions Of being vanQuished?
Is It an Indifferent matter to add to de-
feat Encouragement. disorder and de-
moralization2 No: it should never be
forgotten that the least display Of en-
ergy in these terrible moments Is a
sign OF life and hope. At once every
body feels that all Is not lost
During the disastrous retreat Of 1873
IA, in the heart Of the winter. when 1t
had become almost impossible to pre-
sent any sort Of appearance. q general.
know not who. one morning present
ed himself to Napoleon in full dress
and freshly shaved. Seeing him thus.
in the midst Of the general demoraliza-
ton. as deliberately attired as II for
parade, the emperor said, my general.
you are a brave man."
Again, the plain duty is the near
duty. A very common weakness keeps
many people from finding what IS near
them interesting: they see that only on
its paltry side. The distant, on the
contrary. draws and fascinates them.
In this way fabulous amount OF good
will is wasted. People burn with ar
dor for humanity, for the public good,
for righting distant wrongs: they walk
through life, their eyes fixed on mar
Vicious sights along the horizon, tread
ing meanwhile on the feet of passers-
nv or iocflfnr them without being