The weekly times-record., 1913-04-03
The Value of Simple
Life for Students

lIIE vdIuO VI SlllI pIC
| Life for Students
his needs as in his pleasures, in his
conception Of the world and of him
self, the man of modern times strug-
! giles through maze of endless COM
I'plications." Nothing is simple any
longer, neither thought nor action.
Simplicity, lowly station, plain
dress, humble dwelling and poverty
seem to 60 together. But is this al
ways the case. Passing three men
on the street: the first in his car
riage; the others on foot and one of
them shoeless, in whom would we
search for simplicity The shoeless
man does not necessarily lead the
least complex life of the three. It
may be that he who rides in his car
riage is sincere and unaffected in
spite of his position, 1t may be also
that the pedestrian in shoes neither
envies him who rides nor despises
him who goes unshod; and it is pos
sible that under his rags the third
man has a hatred for simplicity and
labor and dreams only of idleness and
pleasure. Thus we see that dress is
not always the unfailing badge of
simplicity.
Simplicity is state of mind rath-
er than of outward appearances. AS
Charles Wagner has said, "A man
is simple when his chief care is the
wish to be, what he ought to be, that
! is, honestly and naturally human"
While simplicity IS state of mind
there are many material things which
lead to or from this state. What ma
terial things does man need to live
under the best conditions? A health
full diet, simple clothing, sanitary
dwelling place, air and exercise are
all that we need We should let our
needs rule us rather than our wants.
If we let our wants rule us we will see
them multiply. The more you give
them the more they demand. He
who lives to eat, drink, sleep and
dress is on the downward way of de.
sire and the descent is fatal. How
many men and women have gone on
and on, even to dishonesty, for the
sole reason that they had 90 many
desires and could not resign them.
selves to simple living There are too
| many people who live beyond their
actual means, too many people who
forget that what they possess could
serve better purpose than gaining
pleasure for themselves only to find
In the end that one never has enough.
The pleasures we seek plays an i'm.
portant part in forming our state of
mind. What are they? Excess of all
kinds has blurred our senses for hap
piness and instead of being content
with the more simple and moderate
forms Of amusements We seek the pop.
ular play, the dance hall, the nearby
saloon or gambling den. 1t is impos-
sible to carry on this state of affairs
without casting a shadow on the
younger generations. We must come
to their aid Let us interest ourselves
in their sports and call in our sons
and daughters from the streets.
Going to the show is for thous-
ands of young people the only possi-
BILE road to the realms of mystery.
The theater is the only place where
they can satisfy their craving for a
life different from that which the
world offers to them. The theater
becomes to them "a house of dreams
more real to them than the noisy
streets outside.
| Can we realize the effect upon the
young mind, which we know is very
impressionable, Of such scenes as de-
picted in the sensational tragedy slides
presented in our modern theaters of
! the larger cities today Is it not as.
tonishing that city allows thous-
ands of its youths to fill their minds
with these scenes which will be a
foundation for their moral life.
In statistics given by Jane Adams
dozens of charges upon which boys
were brought into the Juvenile Court
of Chicago might be designated as
deeds of adventure incited by scenes
depicted in the modern theater. We
can easily see how such charges as
stealing ten dollars from mother with
which to buy revolver, stealing a