Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-06-16
Editorial Comment.
Causes of Extravaganza.
New York independently

Richard were dinned into their cars.
Thrift was not only everywhere in evi
dence it was obtrtlSive and 0btrud.i.
With thrift in money matters went |
controlling sense of the value Of time !
and of the importance of self-improve- !
ment. Idleness and loafing. even friv-
olous emplOyments, were looked upon |
as serious vices which no respectable
family could tolerate. Children were
expected when not at work to read Tor
information rather than for amuse-
ment Books were relatively few; but
the few were usually of a serious sort.
and were read through many times.
Novel reading was not encouraged. and
often was firmly discouraged. The the
atre was rather generally thought OBJ
jectionabe.
This serious view of life was Itself
the product of a hard struggle for eX-
istence. One of these days the econo-,
mic Interpretation Of history will ena-
BILE us to understand better than we
have comprehended hitherto how the
Puritan creed was shaped by the cir
cumstances of the six DAYS of toll. as
well as by the seventh day of church
going. Probably. in many instances,
practical application. Life was often,
more hard and barren than economic
necessity or moral well-being demand
ed
Rut reaction has gone too far. The
American people of today are thrlftless
ard extravagant in their economic al
fairs and what is far worse they are
wastefuI of lime and energy.We have
nd
entirely natural consequence. our
amueements have to an increasing en-
tent become sensaless and vulgar Our
req ling matter in larger ana larger
nrooortion has become a pandering To
sensation. 1t appeals to appetltes that
get more and more jaded The pub
fishers hesitate to accept books OF IN
tellectual value The theatres are
afraid of PLAYS that appeal to critical
tastes ard call for serious artistic Ell
fort But vaudeville programs,
"sho,vs." and moving pictures multiply
prodigiously and attract their tens OF
thousands. Multitudes Of boys and
men not only watch ball games DAY
after day. but stand idly about me
newspaper bulletins watching the
score" These are but examples.
among hundreds. of the ways in Which
the people get rid of time that II oeNot-
ed even in seine small part. to self-lhl-
provement would make us nation OF
mental and moral power
Combined with this waste of time
and resources is q tendency that enor-
mou,lv ImnarS our effectiveness as q
democratic community. Education
is a national fad Never has educa-
tional machinery been so elaborate and
never has the plant" been worked at
su~h high pressure. Yet every teach
er. from the primary to the unlVer-
sitv grades. complain of the amazing
intellectual poverty of his pupils. They
have no fund of general information.
Their mental efforts have been con
centrated upon prescribed tasks with
examinations in view. They have not
read widely and consecutirely Selec-
tons and fragments constitute their
acquaintance with literature and sci
ence.
To great extent this tendency may
be accounted for by the intensity of the
struggle to win a place in the world
where income may be earned by some
kind of brain work" To become a !
salaried teacher or public employee. to
get on the staff of a newspaper, to
write for magazines. or to obtain a
foothold in a profession. is the am !
biton of most of the hundreds of thou
sands of young people who are get |
ting an education" So they conCen |
trate their efforts upon the studies that |
count" They are not in school or
college because they have thirst for
knowledge 1t is safe to say that %
per cent. of them are not even inter-
ested in knowledge except as d means
to a practical end.
The net results of these two tenden
cies in combination. the tendency. |
namely to seek only specialized know |
ledge, and the tendency to waste in |
idleness and upon inane amusements |
the time and strength that might be |
employ ed in self-improvement, is that |
astonishing superficiality of view and |
that ineIfectiveneSS in public cooper |
alton which are disclosed by all inves- |
LEGATIONS of miSdemeanOr in business |
and political life. Astonishing igno-
rance of what human experience has |
over and over demonstrated. inability !
to distinguish between imposture and |
achievement-as in the case of Cook |
and Peary--readiness to believe in the |
"supernormaf' movers of any vulgar I
pretender. faith in the most bare-faced |
swindles offered by promoters, and in
ability t. get together in public CO.
operation for the conservation of the |
peoples resources, or for the carrying
on of efficient and economical govern
ment, are some of the consequences we
stupidity accept of our badly directed
ed;tca tional efforts and our Disgrace
full waste OF time
1t is idle to expect that we shall rad
icaily improve our policy and our pub
lie policy until we once more take up
seriously the art of training children
and youth in mental. moral and econo-
mic thrift.
The Turkish government has awak- |
ened to the need of irrigation and rail |