Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-04-15

4 among tho cultured declares that the
social organism Is advancing quite ir-
respective of the individuals composing
II. II affirms that some sort OF progress
Is necessarily taking place somewhere,
somehow. Whatever may be said OF indi-
viduals. .things' are improving. the
world Is growing better. society is adj
vaneing. laws and the general behavior
are steadily rising. while as an indi-
, yiduai. man. perhaps. may not be add
ing ono cuhlt TO his mental stature, yet
the civilization which Is the work Of his
hands is making progress. -
Let us consider this View and dispose
Of II once for ALL That society can Inn
prove without progress being made by
the individuals composing society Is dif-
ficult Of acceptance. II Is true that ex-
perience and practice will affect mechan-
teal improvements Of various kinds. Pc
destrians on crowded streets do learn to
minimize collisions. The members OF a
community acquire gradually the knack
Of getting along together with the least
friction, and this by tho same experiences
by which the child learns that fire will
burn.
Let US so further Civilized oommun-
tiles cInless hindered by unusual oc-
ourences) tend TO become richer; the
struggles between classes tend TO secure
social equilibrium. The capltailstle sys-
tenn, for example, encourages the abol-
ition Of slavery. and the free circulation
OF labor together with the sharpening Of
| tnaauttuo ara tha y,r.,,ylstnn AZ fxan ..4,,
cation.
but all these things at their best are
but means TO an end There Is no value
In wealth except II be converted into
human energy. II rich woman dies OF
heart disease from lack Of exercise. how
can her carriage. which prevented her
taking walk. be regarded as wealth.
or what wealth Is there in the dose OF
poison which the suicide purchases, al
though he pays money for III
There is no wealth but life. There Is
no use in riches, freedom. opportunity,
education, government commerce. civil
ixhtion. except to upllft mankind. There
IL no use In better society except to
produce better human beings. Progress
In human society consists In the produe-
tion OF liner and finer strains Of men
and women. the final test Of their su-
periority being their relative degree Of
pure intelligence &
''one gardner must prove his Superior
ity over another by showing finer fruits
and flowers. We do not accept any
other proof II he should declare that
he had provided better fertilizers, better
soil. better moisture heat and vsntila-
tion. yet his roses were no finer. we
should deny his primary claims. for I'VE
know that better conditions win produce
better roses sa ii~ sssee e<
"All our social conditions are TO be
judged by the same test they stand or
fall exactly in proportion TO the degrees
In which they can be shown TO advance
human progress. that ia. as they bring
forth finer and finer breeds Of men and
women. / hold this 10 be seif-evident.
The word progress should, believe,
be exclusively reserved to express a rise
in human capacity, the development of
higher orders Of human beings. Thus re-
ztricted. 1t remains. as n should. strictly
qualitative. never quanfitstfse, term,
Improved conditions eohduce 20 pro-
gFess. and are necessary TO progress.
but may exist without producing pro-
gress, Progress is something more than
improvement. Progress means move
ment forward. Progress is q matter Of
growth. Comfort may and 1t may mot
eonduce to progress. Passengers sitfing
impatiently in a train that has broken
down may have their hunger relieved and
their condition improved by. food being
procured, but they do not thereby -sp-
preach any nearer 10 their destination.
Looking back along the line OF history,
We can see that we (mankind) have been
travelling long, long road. whose wind
ing way, rising and falling century after
century, We can trace back for q few
thousand years until 1t enters a trnrkless
desert and fades utterly frcm our vaew
in the mists Of antiquity.
Behind Rome the road drops away
again suddenly. a deep sharp drop into a
valley. beyond which II begins to rise
once more. and. becoming sleeper. and
sleeper. 1t lifts our gaze to the very
mountain tops, where. among the clouds,
against the deep blue sky, swept by fresh
breezes, enthroned arid snow-white tenn
Pies, cleaning In the golden sunshine,
Greek civilization sits upon the pinnacle
Of human greatness"
then leave a space over the temples to
Il