The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1909-07-15
A TRIBUTE TO
The RADICAL MAN
Suffering and Much
Abused, He Accompanies
Much in the World.
The Parson in washington star.

has been oun within its membership.
He has never offered exclusive worship
to the God Of things as they are"
but his longing and affection have gon
out toward a divinity who Is slowly
evolving a better world han this. He has
been hard to live with at times. this radi.
cal of ours, for he has been so fast after
change and reform that most Of us slow.
going people have oundi it difficult to keep
him In sight and to adjust our principles
and procedure to his.
On the other hand, he has not had ar
easy time, since usually he has been the
odd or queer member Of the family, the
church, the lodge, the grange or thu
business partnership. He has usually
been greatly o~utnuinbered by a~ssociatet
with conservative instincts. who have
called him lo%ng-haired, or, IL he be q
woman. short-haired, who have spoken OF
him as a visionary and a rainbow chaser.
Now, such a man has to be a pretty GOOD
Christian to keep his temper under such
provocation. l once lived with a man to
whom the slightest Encouragement Of fur
hiture in the parlor was a trial. When
It was proposed by the rest of the family
that they should have dinner at night
rather than at noon he e into a tan-
Lrunl. He wanted to Jog along yea In
and year out in the same old ruts. For q
man who has learned with Phillips Brooks
to live loosely in his surroundings" who
LAAAlIhS IOIIlOIIOW ought 10 U0 OcllST ln8t
today, to be yoked up in the family or
business or civic relationship to ultra con-
eervatives. is. indeed, a cross. an he has
pretty good command of himself II he can
keep good natured throughout this ordeal
and still not abate one bit OF his loyalty
to progressive ideals.
But the radical Is not so lonely as he
used to be. I opine that there 10 more
OF him to the square mile than ever be-
fore in the worlds history. The tides OF
human thought are all setting In the
direction of Improvement OF social and in-
dustrial conditions. 1t is just splendid,
this noble dissatisfaction with corruption.
graft, tyranny, injustice. cruelty, war.
fare. either military or Industrial. I'VE
are all socialists these days. is a remark
frequently heard even in ministerial gath.
erings. OF course that Is a crude and in.
exact way of stating that religious lead.
ers generally are widely impressed Will
the inequalities and deprivations evident
Rs one gains O thorough knowledge OF his
fellow beings, not only in the favored
section of great cities n in comfortable
farm houses, but as he sees the festerinA
sores of the tenement house and the pow.
erty Of certain rural districts. Fallow
soil the radical finds today in which tf
plant his seeds Of agitation. The worlk
Is bent on going forward, and will not bS
forever held back by those whose facea
are toward the past.
So w need to be considerate Of the
radical, even though we may think tina
4 the reins were passed over entirely TO
, him he would drive the chariot to de-
struction. h reins are never going to
be passed over totally to him. There wilt
always remain in the community suffi.
cient sober second thought and candid
good sense to block the revolutionary da.-
signs of men who see only half a TRUTH.
The radical is himself acquiring a good
measure Of patience and sforbearance. II
his frtskier moments he says, as did one
Of the impetuous. but good-tempered abe.
riitionists a good many years g ..Ths
trouble is that I am in a hurry. and Coo
is not He begins to see. in some cases.
at least. that we cannot make this. world
over before tonight's sunset. A good par
able for him occasionally to read Is that
Of the wheat and the tares reported IA
the 18th chapter Of Matthew. It's teaching
is that good and evil are intermixed ID
this world, and that the radical who
would uproot the evil must look out lest
the same vigorous stroke destroy the
good. Yes, Mr.. Radical. go to the roots
of things, but leave the wheat standing.