Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1906-10-03
POVERTY A DISEASE.
The Result OF bad Living. had Think
INK and of SHINING.

The Result OF bad Living. Bad Think
INK and OF SHINING.
A large part OF the poverty OF tho
world is a disease. the result OF cen
turtles Of bad living. bad thinking and
Of SHINING. We know that poverty is
an abnormal condition because II does
not fit any human beings constitution.
1t contradicts the promise and the
prophecy OF the divine in man. There
are plenty OF evidences that album
dance OF all that Is good was mans
Inheritance. that If he claims Il stout
~ and struggles persistently toward It
he will gain II.
The fact Is that a large part OF the
poverty OF the world is due TO down
right laziness. shlftlesSneSs, an I'M
willingness 10 make the effort, TO fight
for competence. II does not matter
how much ability one may have, If he
does not have the inclination and the
energy TO use Il II Will atrophy. I.azi-
ness will ruin the greatest genius. 1t
would kill the ambition OF an Alexan-
der or n Napoleon. No gift or talent Is
great enough 10 withstand II. The
love OF ease has wrecked more careers
than anything else except dissipation.
and laziness and vice usually go to-
gether. They are twins.
There are certain traits OF n strong
character which are Incompatible with
preventable poverty. Self reliance and
a manly independence are foundation
stones in strong characters. We often
ind them largely developed In the
man who Is poor in spite of all his eff
forts 10 get away from his poverty.
who Is the victim OF misfortune and
disasters which he could not control.
But the man who Is poor because he
has lost his courage, his faith In him
self, or because he Is too lazy to pay
the price for n competence lacks these
qualities and Is so much less n man.
lie Is weak character compared with
the man who has developed powerful
mental and moral muscle in his ener-
getic, persistent efforts to gain COM
petence and 10 make the most of HIM
self.
When you make up your mind that
you are done with poverty forever. that
you will have nothing more to do with
1t, that you are going to erase every
trace of 1t from your dress, your talk.
your actions, your home. that You are
going TO show the world your real
mettie, that you are no longer going to
pass for failure, that you have set
your face persistently toward better
things, competence, an independence.
and that nothing on earth can turn You
from your resolution, you will be
amazed to see what reinforcing
power will come to you from this in
creased confidence and self respect.
The most dangerous thing about pov-
erty Is that its victims often become
reconciled to ii and take il for granted
that it is their fate Because they
cannot keep up Appearances and live in
the same style as their more wealthy
neighbors, poor people often become
discouraged and do not try to make
the best OF what they have. They do
not put their best foot forward" and
ehdeaVor with all their might to throw
OH the evidences OF poverty. III there
IS anything that paralyzes power II Is
the effort to reconcile ourselves to or
unfortunate environment Instead OF re-
garding 1t as abnormal and trying to
get away from it.-Success.