Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-05

preliminary investigation would In almost
every instance insure amicable settle
ment and the reserved rights would be q
sufficient protection against any possible In
Justice.
The Dignity Of Labor.
Let me 20 step farther and appeal for
. clearer recognition OF the dignity of labor.
The odfum which rests upon the work OF
the hand has exerted baneful influence
the world around. The theory that Idle
ness Is more honorable than toil-that 1t Ii
more respectable to consume what others
wealth-has not only robbed society Of an
enormous sum, but It has created an al
most hnpassable gulf between the leisure
classes and those who support them Toi-
stoy Is right In asserting that most OF tho
perplexing problems Of society grow out OF
the lack OF sympathy between man and
man Because some imagine themselves
above work. while others see before them
nothing but life of drudgery. there Is
constant warning and much of bitterness.
When men and women become ashamed of
doing nothing and strive to give to society
full compensation for all they receive from
society there will be harmony between the
classes.
Employment Essential to Health.
While Europe and America have advanced
Aok DcyOuQ the OIlSHt III pidClue pIOpcA
estimate upon those who work, even our
nations have not yet fully learned the les
son that employment at some useful avo-
cation is essential to the physical health,
intellectual development and moral growth.
If America and England are to meet the re-
Quirements of their high positions they
must be prepared to present in the lives OF
their citizens examples, increasing In num-
Der, Of men and women who find delight in
contributing to the welfare of their fellows,
and this ought not to be difficult, for every
department Of human activity has fasci-
nation Of its own. The agricultural col
leges and Industrial schools which have
sprung up in so many localities are evil
denee that higher ideal is spreading
among the people.
And now we come to the most important
need of the orient-a conception of life
which recognizes individual responsibility
TO God. teaches the brotherhood of man
and measures greatness by the service rem
dered. The first established rational re-
lation between the creature and his Gre
ator, the second lays the foundation for
Justice between man and his fellows, and
the third furnishes an ambition large
enough to fill each life with noble effort.
NO service which we can render to the less
favored nations can compare in value to
this service, for If We can but bring their
people to accept such an ideal they Will
rival the occident In their contribution to
civilization. If this ideal-which must be
accepted as the true one IL our religion Is
true-had been more perfectly Illustrated
In the lives of Christians and in the con-
duct of Christian nations there would now
be less Of the White Mans Burden"
Heal, Not Wound.
If 1t is legitimate to seek another's
profit and ito work another's gain" how
can this service best be rendered? This
has been the disputed point. individuals
and nations have differed less about the
purpose to be accomplished than about the
methods to be employed Prosecutions
have been carried on avowedly for the
benefit Of the prosecuted, wars have been
waged for the alleged improvement of
those attacked, and still more frequently
philanthropy has been .adulterated with
selfish interest. II the superior nations
have a mission 1t is not to wound, but to
heal; not to cast down, but to lift up. and
the means must be example, far more
powerful and enduring means than vio-
lence Example may be likened to the
sun whose genial rays constantly coax the
buried seed into life and clothe the earth,
first with verdure. and afterward with rip
ened grain, while violence is the occasional
tempest which can ruin, but cannot give
life.
Can we doubt the efficacy of example in
the light of history? There has been great
Increase in education during the last CEN
fury, and the school houses have not been
opened by the bayonet; they their ex-
istence largely to the moral influence which
nelghboring nations exert upon each other.
And the spread of popular government dur
ing the same period. how rapid! Constitu
ton after constitution has been adopted
and limitation after limitation has been
placed upon arbitrary power until Russia.
yielding to public opinion, establishes a
legislative body and China sends commits
sions abroad with view to inviting the
people ito share the responsibilities of gov
eminent.
More Altruism Today Than Ever.
While In America and Europe there is
much to be corrected and abundant room
for improvement, there has never been so
much altruism In the world as there is to-
day, never so many who acknowledge the
indissoluble tie that binds each to every
other member of the race. 1 have felt
more pride in my own countrymen than
ever before have visited the circuit of
schools. hospitals and churches which
American money has built around the
world. The example of the Christian ma
lions. though but feebly rejecting the light
of the Master, is gradually reforming So
ciety.
Society has passed through a period OF
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, the nations taking what
they had the strength to take and holding
what they had the power to hold. But we
are already entering second era-an era
In which the nations discuss not merely
what they can do, but what they should
do, considering Justice to be more import
ant than physical prowess. In tribunals
like that of The Hague the chosen repre-
sentatives of the nations weigh questions
of right and wrong and give a small nation
an equal hearing with a great, and a de-
cree according to conscience. This marks
an Unreasonable advance But is another
step yet to be taken? Justice after all is
cold and pulseless, negative virtue. The
world needs something warmer. more gen.
erous. Harmlessness is better than harm
fulness. But positive helpfulness is vastly
superior to harmlessness, and we still have
before us a larger, higher destiny of serv
ice. Even now there are signs of the APP
proach of this third era, not so much
in the actions of governments as in the
growing tendency of men and women In
many lands to contribute their means, in
some cases their lives, to the intellectual,
moral awaking of those who sit in dark
ness. Nowhere are these signs more abund-
ant than in our own beloved land. Before
the sun sets on one of these new centers
of civilization it arises upon another
On the walls of the temple of Karnak
an ancient artist carved the likeness of an
Egyptian king, represented holding a
group of captives by the hair and in the
other hand is raised club with which to
strike the captives. What king would be
willing to confess himself cruel today?
In some of the capitals of Europe are