Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1906-04-30
A World of Goodness.

is utterly indisposed. disabled an'
made opposed unto all spiritual gooe
and wholly inclined to evil, and tha
| continually In these later days fnei
are inclined to have more faith IN the'i
| fellow men and in the goodness OF dou
as seen in human works ana pie'o'
| less and less the old doctrine OIL 'o'a'
| depravity. Perhaps people have Dettef
| digestions than they had III the oi'
| times when the doctrine quoted ABOVE
was framed and believed in, or perhaps
| rho world is really growing better as
all good Optimists believe.
Cartainly. during the past few days
the world has witnessed an inspiring
demonstration Of the glorious truth
that the hearts Of men are inclined 10
good,ess and not evil, and that their
eou,s are filled with compassion, mercy
brotherly love and the spirit of help
fuIness. The prompt and practical
sympathy which has been manifested
toward the stricken city of San Fran
cisco is well calculated to stagger the
pessimsts and to restore faith in
humanity wherever that faith is
wavering. IT is not alone the I'M
precedenred size of the relief fund
which has been raised. millions upon
millions of money rolling in daily from
every part of the land to be used to
feed the hungry. shelter the homeless
and clear up the ruins, but il is the
with which this vast sum has been
contributed. The American people
have demonstrated before the world
that they are one great family, one
always in national patriotism, pride
and activity, and one in mourning
and relief when under the shadow Of a
great sorrow and misfortune. Across
the continent. special trains have been
speeding filled with food. and supplies
with physicians and nurses TO care for
the suffering, and with architect and
artisans to help in the work of rebuild
ing the city.
The other families Of mankind have
looked on with real and OutSpoken
sympathy In the stricken city itself
every day has added to the fine record
of human kindness and loyalty and
unselfshness. We have seen weary,
hungry men standing manfully to their
tasks guiding others to safety. sharing
their insufficient food with more
necessitous sufferers, the strong bear
ing the infirmities of the weak. And
the near neighbOrs. of the stricken city
what have they been doing? The
story is partly told in the dispatches.
Here's one bit of it,
The farmers of all Alameda county
and of northern Santa Clara county
have loaded all the provisions they
have into their wagons and brought
them in to offer without money and
without price to the committee of
safety. They brought crates of
chickens. freshly killed calves and
hogs, wagonloads of dried fruits which
they We're holding in their storehouses
from last season. The baggage
car of the Southern Pacific passenger
train coming in from the San Joaquin
Valley was loaded with miscellaneous
provisions gathered in the small towns
along the line. The man in charge re-
ported that all over the southern San
Joaquin Valley the women We're
gathering eggs and hard boiling them,
50 as to send in food which would not
need choking.
Here's another bit of it,
Oakland has done nobly People are
sharing their beds with absolute
strangers The refugees in
Idora Park and the slopes about Lake
Merritt. Oakland, escaped the cold
wind. and. being in town which stood
ana was trying to do everything for
them. they Jared great deal better
Only a few hardy men, who We're
willing to sacrifice themselves for the
good Of the weaklings, went without
covering. The people stripped the
portieres and hangings from their
walls. tore up their carpets. brought in
every spare piece OF cloth which would
do for a nights covering.
Even the "pagans" seem to have be-
haved. i'm many instances. after a quite
Christian fashion. An American hus-
band, who had been away in Sacra-
mento when the earthquake, was
searching for his wife and child. This
was the happy end of the Search
Friday morning she appeared Gin
Oakland) in the procession of refugees.
i'm charge of their Chinese servant who
had taken care of her and her little son
from the first. The Chinaman was car
rying the baby. In fact, one of the at
tractive features on the human side of
this thing has been the devotion of the
Chinese servants to the children of the
families which they served. This Is
not the only thing. for many a China
man has acted as the man of the
family for the woman and children.
Everybody must own up that human
nature at its worst is black affair."
To say that it is "verv far gone from
original righteousness" is to put the
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