Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-02
LENTEN REFLECTIONS

4
nonsense and not the sectarian point
of view, If the entire nation would
make Lent the occasion of searching
its great, world-compelling soul for
sin. We won't go into a review of
shortcomings. We prefer to look on
the bright side of life, and to say
that in spite of Uncle Sans foibles,
he might be a much worse old uncle
than he really is, and that the fact
that he is acknowledging that he has
foibles, and that he is not the fiawless
and perfect old gentleman that his
family would like him to be, is a good
sign.
What is his worst failing? What
should most readily command the PEN
itential tear, and make us humble and
sorrowful? do you hear the chill
dren crying, Oh my brother?" A few
weeks ago the United States govern
ment received a report from schol-
arly official to whom had been COM
mitted the task of making that re-
port on the subject of the elimination
of pupils from the higher school grades.
The pamphlet issued by Washington
as q result of conservative and scrupu-
lous Investigations that occupied much
years, was that education has suffered
such a shocking lapse in the United
States during the last decade that we
have lost first place among popularity
educated nations, and are now fourth
or fifth. We didn't think when we
were fighting Spain that we were about
to degrade ourselves to her miserable
educational level, did we?
But Spain is now our educational
peer among the nations of Europe.
Scotland, still in the lead in higher
education, can hardly see us from her
eminence. Denmark, France. Ger
many, Switzerland, regard us from the
attitudes of conscious educational su-
periority. "Ill fares the land, to has
tening ills a prey, where wealth ac-
cumulates and men decay" Must we
quote these lines to dull ears? Don't
you REALIZE that they mean some-
thing? We are arrived at the most
acute national crisis since the War of
the Rebellion. The late panic was a
mere trife by comparison, and indeed
we may live to be thankful to the panic
for having brought us to our senses
about few vital verities, one of them
being that the tide of national edu-
cation has receded almost in proper
tion to the swell of the tide of national
wealth-that is to say, the wealth that
is said to belong to the nation, but,
as a matter of fact, is owned by a COM
paratively small proportion of the citi-
zens of the nation. With this we have
no quarrel if other things are equal.
We don't object to assimilation, If it
is really benevolent. BUT-are "other
things equal?"
The governmental report on the con-
dition of juvenile education in the
States says NO, that other things are
not equal; that, in fact, the country is
suffering from inequalities social and
economical, the like of which have
never been known in history. There
is no precedent for them. That is
would fain adjust conditions are puz-
zled. That is why Mr. Taft, when he
was asked if he could suggest any
way of solving the problem by telling
us what starving, unemployed man
should do, replied frankly, GOD
KNOWS" Like another statesman on
another occasion, he realizes that the
nation is confronted by a situation,
and not by a theory, and he or some-
one must find a practical way of meet
ing that situation and of dealing with
it, THEORIES WON'T DO. Even the
prettiest theory at a crisis is no bet
ter than a penny pistol fired when the
enemy charges our lines. horse, foot
and artillery!
God reigns and the republic still
lives. We have some fine national
rules of conduct in the museum in
which we store the things that are too
troublesome to live up to. If we take
down our hidden treasures from the
dusty shelf, we will find that some of
them proclaim that all men are Gre
ated equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain inalienable
rights, that among these are life, lib
erty and the pursuit of happiness.
That to secure these rights govern
ments are instituted among men, de-
irving their just powers from the con-
sent of the governed. There are many
other statements equally fine and
equally useful, if we only PUT THEM
INTO PRACTICE. When will we bring
ourselves to that point where we will
cast our idols all away. all the fetishes
all the worship of privilege, the fawn-
ing over the rich because they are
rich? Let us return to primitive pa
triotism. And don't let us forget to
ask the candidates nominated by the
coming conventions whether in the
event of election, they intend to TRY
to live up to the first principles of
Americanism?
\ SAN PEDRO HARBOR