The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1907-05-10
POOR PEOPLE
CORA BULLARD

or remove. Poverty is part OF the
mystery of human economy, as is
sin, as is blindness, All provld-
ences have their meaning. Poverty
has its divine agency. The re
former who takes down his instru-
ment with the view of sweeping
poverty off the face of the globe, is
not reformer but narrow visioned
philosopher. A civilization with
out poverty would be lacking in one
of its dynami4ng elements. Pow
ertv sends the world back to its
center to be recharged and regen'
Grated.
There is mystery in poverty not
ty be laughed at, quickly dispelled,
OF easily mitigated. We can find
I NO multitude in which there is not
poverty and atfliction-a solemn
circumstance is this. Wherever we
go we carry sorrow and afhlctlon
with us. Sometimes it is borne
silently, most of us have some
secret or unspeakable pain; every
heart knows the bite of its own
hunger, and every heart knows its
own bitterness. Poverty some
times lets us out into life's larger
liberties. 1t is possible for poverty
TO be true wealth. In our measure
ment of wealth, we are sometimes
deceived by neT7ness and bulk
We are prone to take too limited
view of the social situation, often-
times wye are mistaken in the be(3ef
that if we have the money with
which to buy things, we may there
I fore posses then, not understanding
that mere money can never coestr
tute true profrietorship. Money
buys trancient rights; money 1uys
lands, bat can not buy the lGad-
scape. H, holds the title deed
who really and truly loves the
estate.
1t is matter of minor import
anoe as to juse how much luggage we
h ave at hauJ when we reach our
final abiding place. Vet We .ad-
mire those who have great deas of
luggage. 1t Us kind of hotel
standard, the landlord seeing so
mach baggage lis sure his bill will be
paid. We are more or less gwen
to luggage. wonship. All these fields
of ours are bat so much baggage,
our houses, aGd our farnlt1Ee are
in themselves but so much baggage, ;,
they amount to such and such a
aeantity of impedimenta, that is adj
if they do notnake us better, Gicherl
in heart or wider In mind. The
matter of vast importance is, what
shall we do whan we have lost our
luggage7 What are we ourseiUes?I
Pltiabke indeed k the sight OF a man
who owes ell his influences to his
money. Sad is tt to know taat if,
he were divested of his property
there wGdld be no csne to listen to-
him, no one to lock to him for ad-
vice, no ene to heed him IN passing,
NO one toeare for his comfort no one
to shed a tear beside his grave. IL
is tragic thing when mans fur
niture is greater than himself.
When the house is greater than the
tenant, the outward sign and figure
serves only to enlarge the irony of
the emptiness of that which is with
IN. The true primaries of life are
as often found up the garret stairs
and through rude doors, as up the
flight of marble steps and behind
silken portieres. Character is des-
tiny, and character Is altogether in
dependent of circumstances. A man
is not necessarily wise because he
is destroyed by poverty. It's al
loose indiscrimination that regards
all rich men as bad, and all poor
men as good. There are rich men
who are sweet and humble and poor
men who are intolerable in their
vanity. A man is not necessarily a
bad man because he has a great in
come. A man is not necessarily a
good man because he has no income