The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-09-08

GOING HOME.
There is no picture which touches
the hearts of men more closely or ten
Derby than the figure Of the tired man
or woman going home at the end OF
the day. The fierce heat Of the sun
has passed. the intense high light OF
midday has softened into a restful
glow, the strain of effort Is over.
and the passion of work has given
place to the peace of deserted fields
and streets. It was q normal in
stinct which sent the worker forth,
eager and alert, in the morning; it is
the response to deep craving which
sends him home at lfghtfall. The re-
ward OF labor. is the rest which it
achieves, and the joy Of rest is the
sense that 1t has been earned.
The Attenuation of day and night is
a smybol | of the order of life In
which is beyond price. The strain Of
otl:er In a beautiful and health-giving
rhythm. The worker goes out Of him
self when he takes up his tools; he
returns to himself when he lays them
down at the end of the day. He
pours out his vitality as the water
pours out OF q hidden spring; II he
is a real worker and not mere
drudge, he gives himself in the toll
Of his hand and his brain and when
night falls his WEAKNESS is not me1e
fatigue OF body, 1t Is depletion OF VI
tally. Before he can give himself
again he must find himself; and when
he goes home he finds himself.
To vast multitude OF men tbs
thought OF going home makes the
heaviest burdens bearable, the most
crushing responsibilities spur to eff
fort, the most complete surrender OF
ease and pleasure, not sacrifice, but
price gladly paid for q happiness
which is beyon dprice. The strain OF
the day is forgotten at the door
which opens into the peace OF per-
feet understanding, the pressure OF
hours and tasks is relaxed by the
sound OF voice which is musical
with love and faith and peace. In
such a Homecoming there is not only
the supreme reward for the work OF
the day that is ended; there is also
the renewal of strength and courage
for the day that is to bring new strife
and toll.
The Joy Of going home is not in
the ease and comfort that are waitin0
from love, the stiffness that follows
the tumult of the storm, the clear at
mosphere in which the dust of the
highway is laid and the worker sees
again the ends for which he Is strfv-
ing; in the quietness of such home
the toll Of life is not only sweetened,
but its spiritual meaning shines clear
again after the confusion Of details
has vanished. Under the heat and
burden Of the day the strongest man
sometimes wonders II life means any,
thing but prolonged strain OF muscle
and brain; in the stiffness OF home
its blurred ends, its ultimate achieve
ments, shine like the stars above the
highway when the dust has been laid.
The home is not primarily place
for work but for life; work lies below
and beyond it, but the companionship
which transforms house into home
is a sharing of the rewards OF work;
freedom, repose, refreshment, vision.
There are houses full OF conveniences
and luxuries in which no one is at
home; the men and women who live
in them are homeless. To such men
and women, as to the men and women
to whom marriage is a mere social
contract and the family mere so
cial ARRANGEMENT, there Is no going
home, no refuge for the spirit, no
place Of understanding and vision.
There are no more pathetic figures in
the world OF today than these home
less men and women; restless, discon.
tented, and unhappy, and utterly blind
to the tragedy Of life in which
there Is no going home.