Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-10-04

| for self-government than the people in
amy tract of like extent il. any other
continent. The land teens with beauty
and fertility, and but 4 score of years
after Dickens wrote il was shown to be
Il nursery and breeding ground of heroes.
| Of soldiers and statesmen of the highest
rank. while the rugged worth of the rank
and file OF the citizenship rendered poSSi-
BE the deeds of the mighty men who led
i'll council and in battle. This was the
region that brought forth mighty Abra-
ham Lincoln. the incarnation of all that
is best in democratic life; and from The
lulnS ct the same people. living only Il
little farther south. spranG another of
our greatest Presidents. Andrew Jacks m
old liickorE-a man who made mis-
takes, Xix" most strong men, but Il man
of iron will and incorruptible Integrity
| fearless. upright, devoted to the welfare
of his "ountrymen, bone of our bone and
flesh Of our flesh. Il typical American if
ever there was one
! commend Il careful reading OF Martin
ChuZZlcW!t to the peSsimStS OF today
to the men WHO, instead of fighting hard
to do away with abuses while at the same
tine lCSin:S no lot of their buoyant hone
fulncss for the country. insist that all our
people. socially and induSt rally, in their
private lives no less than as politicians
news p:.pe" men. and business men, are at
a lower cbb than ever before If ever
any one of Won feels Il little downcast
over the .eCllllriy gloomy view of the
present taken by some well-neaniny
pessiniist Of today, YOU will lind it a real
cor'fort t. read Martin Chuzzlevlt to see
what Well-me2nnS pessimist of the
past thought of our people c. years
ago, ard then think of the oxtraorlinary
;tch'eytment. the extraordinary gain.
m"l:lflH 10 less than materially. of those
III Nt';.iS. dickens can b. read by us
how viii. profit Elijah foerari. Hanni-
l;.l tll'll"l'. jefferson Brick and Sea lder
HilN'. t.l'l" rtpr, ScnlHt.veS today, plenty
of ihtiA' ana the wise thing for us to
do is to recognize that these are still
tHWS "l EVIL i'll politics, journalism,
| lu*il' -. ana private lie. and to war
against them with al! cur hearts But it
is rank folly To- regard these as the only.
on tie cllcf. types in our rational life
II was not of much consequence whet her
Dickens made such an error or not. but
II would be of great consequence if We
ourselves did; for Il foolish pnssmism
is an even greater foe of healthy national
growth thHn Il foolish optimism. 1t was
not that dickens invented characters or
scenes that had no basis in fact; on thu
contrary, what he said was true, far
as l. Went; the trouble was that out of
many such half trut!IS he made Il picture
which rs Il whole was absurd; for often
I half truth is the most dangerous false
hood. 1t would be simply silly to he angry
over Martin ChuZZlcWit: ON the contrary
read ii. lie amused by il. profit b. it; and
don't lie n'islcd by it. Keep lively watch
against the present-dty Pograms and
Bricks; bat above all. dstrlst the man
"
hearted about the country becaus" Of
thes" sam" Poerams and Bricks, past or
present 1t would liz foolish 10 ignore
their existence. or tHr exist, nee Of any
thing lSr that j.; bad in ON national life:
but it would be even more foolish to liz
nor" the NISt"- forces that tell for right
cnUtnt-S. Friends. There is every reason
WHY Y" should fight whatever is evil in
the PR sent. i;lIt there is also every rea-
sen why we should feel Il sturdy ANA con-
fdcnt hope Tor the future. There are
many wrongs 10 right there az many
and powerful wrong doors against whom
trNrl tho contest. or to fail to wage it
sur" tt.:' ,.r shall win in the contest he
cause | EI"H that til" heart Of our peo-
~" is s"'lnd. DUr average men and
women are good men and won en-and
his is true in all sections Of our country
and anon, All classes of our count rvlnen
There is no other nation on earth with
such vast natural resources. or with such
Il high standard Of living and Of indus
trial efficiency among its WORKERS. We
have as 4 nation an era of nn"xamTIed
il. and "i'r children will enjoy it after
us. TIC trend oi Wcll-hcinG in this coun-
try is Upward, not downward: ana this
is the trend in the things of tn" soul as
Wei rs in tt" things Of the body.
G"vcrHM"n' in its application is often
a complicated and delicate work but the
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