El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-12-09
Jane Addams, the American Saint"
Embody Nothing
Fine
RABBI MARTIN ZIELONKA
BY RABBI MARTIN ZIELONKA.

the task Of religion, to make the sense
obligation personal. to touch morality
with enthusiasm, TO battle the world IN
affectiOn-and on all sides we are chal
longing the teachers Of religion to per-
form their task for the youth Of the
city"
I know not how dOgmatist may view
this conception Of religion, but feel
that If Hull house is attempting TO
do some OF this work and is in reality
performing its task for the youth Of the
city, then IL is doing religious work OF
the highest nature and none can right
fully call il irreligiOus.
When Jane Adams as a girl saw for
the first time the squalOr Of the poor
section Of a city Of but 10000, she re-
called the lines Of TOmlinsOn:
~Ye have read, We have heard ye have
thought,
give answer-what have We done?"
What Have We DOnes
And may not these lines come to us2
What have we done, for instance, in the
city Of FL PasO for those forced to
dwell in squalOr2 Do we seek better
housing arrangements or do we, when
most lenient building ordinance con-
dennis a shack as unworthy for a beast
Of burden, to say nothing Of a human
being, appear before the authorities
and claim that we are being deprived
Of our rights?
The success Of Jane Adams work at
Hull house, in fact, her success as a
is probably best accounted for by the
following principles that underlie all
her work
I've test advancing civilization some
what by our power to respect differ
ences and by our tolerance Of anoth-
eT's honest conviction"
Here is the basis of civilization and
by this standard few are able to be
judged The petty. prejudices that we
carry with US, while we boast Of our
observation-disclosures, are the very fOunda-
ton of bigOtry and the starting point
Of oppression. 1t is difficult to admit
the possible correctness Of the opin-
ions Of those who differ from US and II
is still more difficult to permit this
difference to continually flaunt US.
Herein is the strength or weakness Of
democracy and herein are the possible
A conviction that "the things that
make men alike are finer and better
than the things that keep them apart,
and that these basic Hkenesses, If they
are properly accentuateo. easily trans
cend the less essential differences Of
race, language, creed and tradition"
These words taken from canon Barnett
embOdy the full philosophy OF the mod
eru social movement and Ii alone can
be the basis Of true advance. I am
sure that the time is past when we
deem it essential to emphasize our diff
ferences and the dawn is at hand when
we are bringing forward our HkenesSes.
the essential Of every worthy movement
is man and not his beliefs, that the
unifying force is the ego and not the
credo. In bringing this strongly to
the foreground. Jane Adams has done
yeOman work. Her determination has
ever been to make Hull house, not the
center Of certain prOpa ganda, but a raj
lying force for the unifying elements
in American civilization.
If it is natural TO feed the hungry
and care for the sick, It Is certainly
natural TO give pleasure to the young,
comfort the aged and minister to the
deep seated craving for social inter
course that all men feel" Surely such
a program needs no justification from
right thinking men, yet the troubles
endured and the obstacles overcome to
make possible such an ideal would have
weakened a less determined nature than
hers For advance, even Of a philan-
thrOpic nature, is not possible without
opposition. We are always stepping on
with more power than heart If it be
sWeatshop legislation. then the cry is
not regarding conditions as they are.
but Interference with the right to work.
If It be tenement regulation. then It is
jeopardizing the investments Of some
and not the living conditions present
and future Of a vast multitude.
True to the Principle.
And the fact that she has been true
to these principles, weathered the
storms of opposition and is recognized
today not only by the poor Of Halstead
street but the millionaire on the boule-
wards believes her labor is unselfish
and producing good, speaks more elO-
quently than any words that I might
frame
In such work il is only natural that
she should have peculiar experiences
that impress certain lessons. and from
which the world must learn. In charity
work the remark is often made that
there is no excuse for man being
out Of work; If he viii try, accept what