The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-08-10

It is curious to see how difhcult II is to
make some men understand that Insist
ence upon one factor does not and must
not mean failure fully to recognize other
factors. The selfish individual needs to
be taught that we must now shackle cum
ming by law exactly as a few centuries
back We shacked force by law. Unre-
stricted indiyidualism spells ruin to the
individual himself. But so does the elimi-
nation of individualism. whether by law
or custom. 1t is a capital error to fan to
recognize the vital need Of good laws.
1t is also a capital error to believe that
good laws will accomplish anything I'M
less the average man has the right stun
in him. The toiler. the manual laborer.
has received less than Justice, and he
must be protected, both by law, by Gus
tom. and by the exercise of his right to
increase his wage; and yet to decrease
the quantity and quality of his work will
work only evil There must be far
greater need of respect and reward for
the hand worker than We now give him.
if our society is to be put on sound
basis; and this respect and reward can
not be given him unless he is as am
bilious to do the best possible work as Is
the highest type of brain worker, whether
doctor or writer or artist There must be
a raising of standards, and not q level
ing down to the standard of the poorest
and most inefficient There is urgent
need of intelligent governmental action to
assist in making the life of the man who
tills the soil all that Il should be, and
TO see that the manual worker gets his
full share of the reward for what he
helps produce; but IL either farmer, me-
chanic, or day laborer IS shiftless or lazy,
he ShirES inUDriCht hard work. II he
is stupid or self-indulgent, then no law
can save him, and he must give way TO
a better type.
1 suppose that some good people will
misunderstood what / say, and will in
sist on taking only half of it as repre-
senting the whole. Let me repeat. When
l say that, even after We have all the
good laws necessary, the chief factor in
any given mans success or failure must
be that mans own character, it must not
be inferred that l am in the least mimi
MIXING the importance of these laws, the
real and vital need Of them. The strug-
gle for individual advancement and de-
Velopment can be brought to naught or
indefinitely retarded by the absence of
law or by bad law. 1t can be immeas-
urably aided by organized effort on the
part of the state. Collective action and
individual action. public law and private
character, are both necessary. 1t is only
by a slow and patient inward trans
formation such as these laws aid in
bringing about that men are really helped
upward in their struggle for higher and
a fuller life. Recognition of individual
character as the most important OF all
factors does not mean failure fully to
recognize that We must have good laws,
and that we must have our best men in
office to enforce these laws. The nation
collectively will in this way be able to
be of real and genuine service to each
of us individually; and, on the other
hand, the wisdom of the collective action
will mainly depend on the high indi-
Nidual average of citizenship.
Mans Partnership with Woman.
The relationship of man and woman is
the fundamental relationship that stands
at the base of the whole social structure.
Much can be done by law toward putting