The Republican journal., 1914-07-02
THE BIBLE OF TODAY.

To THE EDITOR OF THE JOURNAL:
Despite the fact that there are many
failures in life, there still are those in
the world who walk alive through fiery
furnaces just as truly as they did in the
DAYS when the Bible story was written.
Judge Neil says he has seen noble moth
ers separated forever from their own
children because they were poor. and this
crime was committed in the name of
kindness and charity. Before l, 700 chill
dren were pensioned in Chicago, 300 of
them were each year brought into court
as law breakers. Now that they are pen
stoned the number of law-breakers is re-
duced to three. Eighteen other States,
learning that the Illinois pension system
diminishes crime among children ~ per
cent, have passed similar law during
the past three years.
Judge Neil alludes to child poverty as
the blight of civilization. When he COM
pletes his work among the children, he
may notice that old age poverty is just
as great a blight. He says begging
must stop; it is failure. Charity can
not even relieve child poverty and it
does not even propose to abolish it.
Charity disgraces the receiver and fills
the giver with false pride which hurts
his character. A late issue of the Port
land Oregon Journal says: "The hottest
temple beneath the skies is the home
that love hath built and the sweetest al
tar in all the wide world is the fireside
around which gather father and mother
and children" 1t also says that the
church of the future is to be founded on
love, love of God and love of felowman.
Thus the press and the law makers are
rapidly embodying the spirit OF our
Christian civilization and putting it in a
more practical form. 1t occasionally
dawns on them that the man whose skill
brings him an income of 1000 per year
should pay as much tax as the one whose
capital invested brings him similar In
come. livery often happens that the
man deriving the income from skill tails
in health and needs a pension just as
truly as the helpless children for whom
Judge Neil is working. In many cases
thew need it more than the children, for
having been accustomed to luxury for
years they feel more keenly the degrada-
ton of adverse circumstances, and with
out health and strength to help them
selves more than the little children above
referred to.
We cram children's heads with fairy
stories that have no existence save IN
the imagination of some ancient genius,
when more wonderful facts are going on
in the world today if we would take the
trouble to look. 1t is less trouble to take
some uuack nostrum than it is to get out
and work according to natures laws for
health. The same IS true educationally
and religlously. But progress is being
made. 1t may be we'll to help some
friend who is broken in health and penni-
less, but it is better to count the number
in the world who are in similar circum-
stances and count the money which they
have earned through life and note With
er it went in trying to compete with
fashionable neighbors in luxury.
The death of man like Weyerhauser.
leaving behind him a hundred million
dollars or upwards, reminds US that the
title of the common people might be
much augmented by so per cent inherit
ance tax on fortunes above million dol
lars. The rich mans wealth might be
illustrated by two farmers farming on a
hillside. The fertility of one mans farm
is washed on to the one below him. The
lower farmer gets his greater income by
| force of circumstances and not because
he works harder or is more skillful. The
| two farmers should be taxed according
to income and each receive an old age
pension sufficient to give them bread.
Many an honest hardworking farmer
loses his farm in old age through raising
thriftless family. One of the hardest
working farmers ever knew died in the
insane asylum, simply because his wife
influenced him to give large share of
his life's accumulations to her favorite
son to give him standing in the world.
When the venerable father was past
labor he said: Il can not dig, to beg am
ashamed" hence his sad fall.
When Judge Neil gets around to collect
his statistics he will find old age pensions
as essential to the world as the child pen
sions for which he is now working in the
State of New York. The education Of
the masses SO that the industries may be
skillfully handled and the hungry fed
and clothed is not all there is to life.
Without congenial home surroundings
there Is comparatively little human hap.
piness. !,
There is tendency to try to cover up
individual characteristics SO that all will
appear as much alike as possible. 1t re-
quires an expert and years Of observa-
ton to discover:the real nature Of the
soul There il no reason why child's