Albuquerque evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1911-1914, 1912-04-27

What pain Is to the physical organ
ism discomfort Is 10 The moral and
mental organism. II is an incentive
go exert ali our energies and efforts
ln the alteration and Improvement OF
the circumstances under which we
live. II is the cause OF all advance
ment The individual who Is perfectly
cOntented. The nation that knows no
ldisCuntcntment With nothing to hope.
nothing to fear, nothing 10 expect,
no,hing 70 be disappointed Of ~ a
helpless cripple IN The path OF pro-
gross.
The first step therefore, In al
social reform Is discomfort But not
every discomfort leads 10 sOeiaiore-
form. Discomfort, to lead TO social
reform. must be constructive ana not
destructive. Discomfort. 10 lead 20 So
cial reform, must moi merely crigicizo
hut conceieve OF a plan for ameliona-
ton rad Improvement. The social
reforiner must be olearsighted anu
practical, His aims must be weii-de-
fined before he takes up his work.
he must be evolutionary and not
revolutionary He must combine IN
MIN both the priest and the prophet
he must both conserve and convert. ne
must build the new structure OF spec
ulatlon upon the old tried and tested
foundation.
In no country and az HG time was
he national consciousness so wide-
awake 90 social reforms ~ Is conset-
BUSINESS az the present. ume. There
Ia no project for reform that cannot
get q bearing There Is no proposition
that viii not get a trial Poverty af-
iects as as u does no other nation
on earth. suffering calls forth our
aorrow and sympathy; inequality re-
pels us and iniquify appaiie uR. We
are constantly seeking 90 right social
wrongs And yet. there Is no nation.
and there never was a people, whose
social reforms were go frequently
doomed to failure. The reaaon Tor this
~ that lacks well-detnegli social aims
and that a good illustration OF that
Is a bill which has this very day been
introduced into our New Mexico legis-
iature by a would-he reiornier OF our
public schools. The bill provides IN
effect that no certificate be granted
20 teachers Who inaulge In the use OF
strong drinks. who are addicted 10
drugs, who use proiane language or
visit or ioilers about saloons. pool
halls or places OF immortality. Think
OF ~ The teacher I'd whose care we
enirust the nearest and dearest We
possess. the teacher who Is To make
| nnG mould the character OF the indi-
vidual and tho nation, the teacher
upon whose lie and lab0rs the man
hood and the womanhood and the
stF 90.
taught merely 10 abstain from the
vices and lm0ralliies that makes the
day-lahorera unfit for his work. Think
OF the criminal short.slghtedness OF
the relormcr who would not demand
from the noblest and most lniluen-
tial Of professions the teacher, cult
walton Of the highest character that
God has given man and woman 10 at
tain and acquire.
The American refofmcr lacks e.
lclear.sightod view of his purpose. A
further reason Is that the American
Temperament inciinef 10 ease and
facility and shrinks from effort and
difficulty, that II Is eager tor sue
cess and impatient wnh failure. We
70 often fall TO realize that It is
NOT ease but effort that makes men.
That Il Is noi facility but difficulty
that makes nalionh, There is no sta
ton N life IN which we do not have
10 encounter and overcome dlilicul-
/ Ties before we can achieve any meas
are at success. We learn wisdom
from failure much more than We learn
from success. re Who has never
made q mistake has never made a AIS.
covery. lie who has never suffered a
defeat has never achieved D victory,
q was the failure IN the attempt 70
make the bucket Ia the FIRST pump
work IA q height OF more than thirty
three feet above the surface Oi the
water that led 10 the understanding on
atmospheric pressure and opened a