The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1910-01-04
OPTIMISM PREVAILS.

The year 1910 opens very auspici
ously. There are many problems {,
be solved and many difficulties to b,
overcome, but the prevailing spirit /,
one Of optimism. The main fact 70,
all observers TO note is that the word
is passing through one Of those IN
usual periods Of activity which come
at long intervals and which as vet
shows no symptoms Of having ex-
hausted' Itself
This forward mouement-in which
the United States leads-is world
wide and has now lasted considerably
over decade, having been only tenn
porarily arrested by the panic OF 1907.
il must lee attributed to many causes.
/ but chiefly 10 invention, discovery. ex-
/ ploitation Of new resources. deyelop-
mcnt Of manufactures and political
and social betterment generally. In
/ the field Of electricity remarkable ad-
vances have been made during the
last twenty years, anording industry
q tremendous impetus and labor n
much wider and more profitable field
or employment The gasoline motor Is
producing a revolution. not merely In
the field u recreation, but also in the
Industrial sphere. Many new occu-
pations have been created and mu,b
new territory developed: irrigation is
accomplishing wonders: railroads and
steamships are pushing farther ana
farther into the remote places OF The
earth: telephones and automobiles arc
eliminating time and distance; while
wireless telesraphy and aerial naviga-
ton have already opened new and
fascinating possibilities.
In the social scale the trend is also
forward. Never was so much beinc
done In the worlds history for uplift
or The working classes. Religion mr.,
and philanthropy are all doing prodi-
sious work for the moral. intellectual
ana physical betterment OF the race
Notwithstanding the great amount ~
scandal exposed in our social noIiti-
ch ana business life. IL Is safe IN Cav,
mo moral standards Of the country
were never higher than today; and
many OF the practices Of n generation
ago would not be tolerated for n mo-
nont in theae times. Consider tho
hundreds Of millions OF dollars pivon
annually for philanthropy. educotioo
ma sclentlic research. the United
states leading the world in this ro-
spect Even our political life ia no.
ing lifted through exposure to a high |
or plane than twenty years ago.
though this may be difficult to believe
Wheh confronted by the daily details
Oh political misdeeds spread broad
cast through the press and our muck-
raking magazines. But while moral
social and political forces have had
their share In uplifting the massos
nothing has been accomplished more
III this respect than the persistent on
Grafton OF the laws of economic.
marsh as they sometimes appear. on
portunity TO work is mans fret ro
luirement. No progress Is noss,h,o
n the face Of misery. and poverty and
III the better things in life are do
pendent upon n proper use OF n we'll
earned prosperity Happily labor has
oeeh IN good demand the world over
.or several years past and wages have
steadily risen in consequence; so that
i"lohg workingmen the standard Of
wing was never so high as todav
ms IS not only true sign Of prog
,ess' but the surest antidote aga,ns,
liscontent and socialism.