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

most men, few concise lines WOulu
answer. Their regime IS In general OF
supreme simplicity. and so long rs they
follow 1t MI IS well with them, as with
every oledicnt Child OF Mother Nature.
Let them dcpnrt from 1t. complications
arise, health fails. Gnycty vanishes.
only simple and natural living can
keep body In full vigor. Instead Of
remembering this basic principle we
fall into the strangest alterations.
What material things does 4 man
need to live under the best conditions?
4 healthful diet. simple clothing, Il
sanitary dwelling place. air and eXer-
else. l am not going to enter into by
glenic details, compose menus or dis
cuSs model tenements and dress re-
form. My aim is to point out direc-
ton and tell what advantage would
come to each Of us from ordering his
life In a spirit Of simplicity. To know
that this spirit does not rule in our
society we need but watch the lives
of men of all classes. Ask different
people Of very unlike surroundings this
question: What do you need to live?
You Will see how they respond. Moth
ing Is more Instructive. For some alb
originals Of the Partisan asphalt there
Is no life possible outside a region
bounded 10y certain bOulevards. There
one finds the respira5le air. tho illumi-
mating light. normal heat classic cook
cry, and, in moderation, so many other
things without which 1t would not be
worth the while to promenade this
round ball.
On tho various rungs Of the bOur-
geois ladder people reply to the ques-
ton. What Is necessary to liveY by
figures varying with the degree Of
their ambition or education. and by
education Is oftenest understood the
outward customs Of life, the style OF
house, dress, table-an education pro-
cisely skin deep. Upward from GER
tain income, fee or salary life becomes
possible; below that 1t Is impossible
We have seen men commit suicide be
cause their means had fallen under a
certain minimum. They preferred to
disappear rather than retrench. OBJ
serve that this minimum, the cause Of
their despair, would have been suff1-
Client for others of less exacting needs
and enviable to men whose tastes are
modest.
On lofty mountains vegetation changee
with the altitude. There Is the region
Of ordinary fora. that Of the forests
that Of pastures, that Of bare rocks and
glaciers. Above II certain zone wheat
is no longer found. but the vine still
prOspers. The Ouk ceases In the low
regions; the pine tlourishes ut consid.
cradle heights. Human life, with its
needs, reminds one OF these phenomena
Of vegetation.
at certain altitude of fortune the
flnancier thrives, the clubman. the so
ciety woman--all those. In short, for
whom the strictly necessary includes q
cerlain number OF domestics and
eQuipageS 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-
giOns we find men Of ample. moderate
or small means and very unlike ext.
gencies. Then come the people, arti-
sans, day laborers, peasants-in short,
the masses-who live dense and serried
like the thick, sturdy growths on the
submits Of the mountains, where the
larger vegetation can no longer find
nourishment. In oil 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 prOdigiOus difference In require
mentsl And here the analogies 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 II not that
with us there Is a considerable elastic
Is 1t well. Is 1t 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
I leave completely out OF the Ques-
ton those who lack the necessities of
life. One cannot with justice count In
the number Of indictments 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 heartburning7 Why Is 1t
found not only among those of modest
shades Of ever increasing refinement,
I'll along the ascending scale. even to
..,Hicnce 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 lie ought to be satisfied But the
ulluulc CldSScS tueISclNeS-QO tley
consider themselves satisfied? Not the
least in the world. II there are people
at once rich and content, be assured
that they are content because they
know how to be so, not because they
are rich. An animal is satisfied when
It has eaten: 1t lies down and sleeps.
A man also can lie down and sleep for
a time, but 1t never lasts When he be-
comes accustomed to this contentment
he tires Of it and demands a greater.
Mans appetite is not appeased by
food; it 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 unquestionably
that happiness Is not allied to the num-
Der of our needs and the zeal we nut
into their cultivation. 1t is for every
ones interest to let this truth sink deem