Daily Kennebec journal., 1914-01-22

Wltnln the last 1eW weeks the pre-
liminary steps have been taken to car
ry out two especially interesting ex-
periments. If any claim for possession
should be advanced by the several
department managers in the domain
of sociology or theology, It is probable
that the soeiologist-or, as he appears
to prefer to call himself, the social
servant''-would press his claim with
the greater vigor. But it still remains
question whether the strict con-
struetienist in the matter of religion
would not have a definite standing in
Court
The two experiments need only to
be mentioned to prove that they in
volve weighty considerations which
fall within the activities of both the
social servant and the religionist. One
is that of the woman who has adopt
ed children belonging to half doz-
en- or more races, her desire being to
prove, if possible, that environment is
the deciding factor in character rather
than heredity and all racial proclivi-
ties, predictions and heritage. The
other is the so-called Last Chance
| boys club. composed of a dozen boys
who are called "the worst boys in
the dozen states from which they were
chosen. These boys are to be taken
to n ranch n Nevada and reared to
useful citizenship, the success of the
experiment having been taken for
granted. These boys are said to have
been selected from 5000 bad boys" in
Il states and each of them is rated at
more than 81 per cent. of badness
As a matter of fact, the two ex
periments quickly shade into each
other and become one as soon as they
are contemplated from the standpoint
of the ethics involved. For in the last
analysis the religionist, by which is
meant the reformer who lays stress
| upon the efficacy of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, is the apostle of what is called
social service, if ne is at all worthy to
put upon his lips the name of the
noblest social servant who ever lived;
and the social servant who does not
build character upon the foundations
of religious essentials cannot hope to
| build a superstructure that will en-
| dure.
! The problem, therefore, of the First
| Chance and that of the Last Chance
! is fundamentally one and the out
come of both these experiments will
| be awaited with interest. There Is
manifestly an element of the spectacu-
/ lar and dramatic, If not of the fantas-
! tic, in both of them. The imagination
readily responds to the effort to bring
up representatives of half a dozen or
more races-American, Chinese, In
! To-,
etc.-in an environment which shall
be uniform. which shall be directed to
the task of permitting human nature,
rather than any of its racial subdi-
visions, to take its course, subject to
| the notifications of universal en-
| vironment Questions which are fas-
cinating In their speculative appeal are
involved and spring to the surface.
Will the silent forces of ages of ra-
| cial evolution submit to the restraints
of a mental, moral and physical regi-
men which is directed to all alike ?
| Or will the emerging pattern of char
| acter he uniform, so that, save for the
superficial differences of color and like
marks Of differentiation, the melting
| pot" shall turn out young men and
young women who are no more widely
| apart than though they all belonged
| to one race? VIII geography, climate,
| habits, the legacy of countless years,
determine character and prove strong
er than environment? Will race men,
CRY, that marvellous and mysterious
agency which makes one representa-
tive of race SO like another and one
race SO different from others, triumph
| nd
esses of this strange experiment?
Will the universal verities operate
alike on material that is so dissimilar? !?
Will the little American, the little Jew,
the little italian, the little Chinese, the
little negro and all the other little
ones grow up to be men and women
who conform to a uniform standard
of intellectual and spiritual measure
ment, forgetting in the new knowl-
| edge of proper training all the heri-
tage of their racial origin and all
the evils of an undesirable environ
ment?
And the final question obtrudes it
self above even these. What will be
gained if the experiment succeeds,
| beyond the gain of bringing a dozen
boys and girls out from the darkness
of slender chance into the light and
liberty of opportunity? In other
words. will the world be any better
If racial lines are obliterated? In
| still other words, is not one good citi-
zen just as good as any other good
citizen, regardless of whether he Is
an American, a Jew, an Italian ne
gro, a Chinese, a Japanese or what
not? Is not the First Chance after
all the indispensable factor In the
equation of this experiment. and does
| il not raise the really vital question