The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-12-05
B O % K s
BY w. p. K.

a RAILROAD, LAWYERS PLEA FOB
/ The HIGHER EIFE-f one were set
ting out to find the way to. 4ife's serene
I heights, on general principles he would
/ not be likely to seek advice from a rail-
road lawyer, or. for that matter from
anyone else engaged IN every day dispu-
| tat1ous affairs. But the things we do
or do not. with general principles" for
guide are often just the things we
| ought not, or ought, to do. There is at
| least one railroad lawyer-his official
| title is General Counsel" howeyer-who
has written a guide to the higher life.
The way he points out is not a new one.
| lie has s not played the part of a civil en-
gineer, running new lines to apnroa ch
the heights by easier grades than have
been used before. But lie has empha-
sized the value of the old, old way that
mas given great satisfaction to all who
nave tried it, a way that in the present
carnival Of, invention and construc-
ton" Is too often overlooked. This gen
eral counsel Is George r. Peck OF the
Milwaukee road, who recently retired
from the presidency Of the American Bar
association Mr.. Peck did not write his
gu1de for publication. but for presentation
70 the. Phantom club, a club of Milwau
kee gentlemen who gather annually at
Phantom Lake, Wis. But among other
addresses before the same club it wa,
! printed In a small book for private dis
| trlbut1on, and Putnam's Monthly and The
Critic for December has given It to the
general public, for which the public ought
TO be duly thankful to Putnam's, It
pears the title '"The Kingdom Of Light, "
oy which the author means chat realm
| Oh Wnlcn a. quaint old poet sang those
quaint old lines: 49,. =
My mind to me kingdom is
| such perfect joy therein I find
AS far exceeds all earthly bliss
Some will ask, ''Why call attention to
that; everyone knows its value?" Per-
maps familiarity has bred a neglect for
1t, then, for Mr.. Peck says:
But that is where the danger lies All odu,+
| It; Dnt how few act upon 1t. How many men
| ana women do you know who, after they have
a as tne phrase goes, finished their education,
ever give serious thought to their menta
but only to exist :. We 'it mns - i've ive,
bread: but how inexpressibly foolish If is te
suppose we can live by bread alone.
Ihen he goes on to emphasize, in die
ton that Is as forceful as it is beautiful
ana poetic, the value Of that part of our
human heritage that we so foolishly neg
iect or else take for granted will be i'm
proved by mere contact with what we
call AFFAIRS" He SAYS:
St. Francis Of Assist, as Renan has said was
he3t to Jesus the sweetest soul that ever
walked this earth, and he condemned himself
to hunger and rags. do not advise you to
follow him thru the lonely forest and into the
shaded glen where the birds used to welcome
MIN to be their friend and companion, but I
DO most assuredly think it better to live as he
did on bread and wafer and the crosses that
grow ny the mountain spring than to give mn
the glory and the joys Of the higher life. =
And again: "
Indeed, If we but knew It, the citadel that
crowns the mountains brow-nay, the monn-
talns themselves ancient rugged motfonless-
are but toys compared with the silent. ,inyisible
but eternal structure Of Gods greatest handi-
work, the mind.
l., In this, day Of the battle Of the people
against the giant corporation, of the
| clangor Of machinery, and the clamor of
the literature of exposure, such a, voice
as that Mr.. Peck lifts in this address is
thrice welcome, and it is likewise GOOD
to know that men in his position think
such thoughts and are guides on! such a
| way. ~
| 1t: ought to be added that the spirit at
| the address strikes US as the key to Pun
| MANS Magazine. It is a magazine that
makes its special appeal to dwellers in
The Kingdom Of Light.