The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1912-04-18

In the list of the six best sellers Il
by no means proof that IL is one Of
the six best books. II you preach Q
better sermon than your neighbor yo'
must advertise special music TO &C
company II. or you will miss some
faces you had hoped TO see in the cor
gregation. II you build better
mouse-trap than your neighbor, you
must buy pages in the advertising
section OF the magazines to let the
world know Of your invention, OF
the mouse-traps will accumulate on
your hands, and the mice will null
tiply in the homes Of your customers.
The time has not come, and ]
suspect IL will never come, when
the demand for goodness will so
far exceed the supply that we can
afford to stop pushing It. We can
not trust the world to go in pursuit
OF hidden goodness. We cannot
leave the good to go forward to its
destination on the momentum It has
gained in tho past. Goodness is ad-
vertised by its loving friends. And 1t
needs the advertising.
Do not deceive yourselves with
the Idea that goodness is so lovable
that 1t needs no force behind t..
Tho wicked flee when no man pur-
sueth," but the wicked flee faster
and farther when goodness becomes
militant. Do not suppose your duty
Is complete when you become either
wise or good-add your wisdom and
your goodness to a forceful person.
ality.
We have great need to make life
more effective. We are Just beginning
to study human life in a scientific
spirit. The results are partly en-
couraging, but also they have their
warnings.
We are putting more into our ply
steal life than formerly. We are wear
ing better clothing, eating more ex-
pensive food, and giving more care
to our bodies. We are seeking earn
estly to discover the sources of dis
ease, and to prevent as far as pos
sible the shortening Of human life
through unnecessary causes of NOR
tally.
II you want to know how much
progress we have made toward the
conservation OF health, send to Wash
ington for the Report of the Com
mittec Of One Hundred on National
Health concerning the waste and
conservation Of national vitality. IN
many respects the report is encour-
aging. This report declares that
I'VE have strong reason to believe
that life is twice as long as three or
four centuries ago, and moderately
accurate records show that 1t is in
creasing more rapidly than ever"
Not only SO. but the report sets forth
that fourteen years may still be ad-
ded to the length of the average life
in America by the stamping out of
certain preventablo diseases whose
causes are accurately known and sus-
ceptible Of control.
So far forth we are receiving
gratifying return upon our added in
vestment In the physical side Of
human life. The average baby born
in Chicago has before him an ex-
pectancy OF life fully double that
which is promised to one who is
born in Bombay. and Chicago is every
day becoming a safer place for a ba-
by to be born. We may not only say,
Better fifty years of Europe than
a cycle of Cathay." but we have bet
ter hope of living fifty years in Eu-
rope or America than thirty in
Cathay.
But there are some respects in
which the report is not SO encourage
ing. Where are We adding years to
human life? To a very great extent
the addition occurs through the pre-
vention of infant mortality, and the
supply of physical comforts by rea-
son of which we are able to prolong
old age.
IL we take a slum baby that is
likely to die in its first year of
cholera infantum, and save its life
and let 1t die at the age of twelve
from anaemia, we have added eleven
years to the total of human life, but
we have not lifted any of the bur-
den from society. II we take an old
man, who a generation ago would
have died at seventy. and, by fur
him steam-heated room and
expensive diet and perhaps a nurse
at s25 a week, prolong his life till
he is eighty. We have added ten
years to the sum of human life, but
we have done 1t at a very great
cost. Both these things are well
worth doing. They are things we
Il