The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1915-09-02
Subject:

To everything material and finite,
there are limitations; some definite,
distinct and we'll defined; others
may to the finite understanding
seem vague and obscure. We who
are within the tolls of the law, and
whose radius of physical activity
is circumsceibed by four walls
enclosing few acres of ground. are
made to feel that in our particular
case the limitations, or boundary
lines, are concrete. When we were
factors in the various problems of
life in the great outside world, we
perhaps failed to perceive that there
were boundary lines no less distinct
than stone walls and armed men,
which marked the orbit we were to
describe in our relations with our
fellow men. 1t was our failure to
perceive the infexible moral bound
airy line between our assumed rig hts
and the real and inalienable rights
of the other fellow, or if it was not
our lack of perception, it was a
failure, or absolute refusal to ac-
0uiesce to the mandates of moral
law as regards the personal and
property rights of our fellow man.
For instance: you assume that the
world owes you a living; your hypo-
thesis is correct; but your methods
of collecting that which you assume
the world owes you, will determine
as to whether you are observant Of
and compliant with, the law OF
property rights. You may exercise
your brain and Drawn in legitimate
enterprise, and thus gain for you
AMI yours competency, win the
esteem of your fellows and be USE
full member of society; or you may
join the ranks of professional men
dicants, who, assuming that the
world owes them living, set about
living by their wits.(?) their wit
however. consists of their ability to
concoct and construct a hard luck
story that will be an open sesame
to the purse or larder of the char
itably inclined. Such as these latter
are human impedimenta to the wei.
fare and progress of the world at
large. Between these two classes
of men, we have those who, in their
endeavor to wrest from the world
not only living, but super-quan.
tity of pelf, which will enable them
to live, not only in the irresponsible
idleness of the shiftless mendicant
but to have a greater, or less degree
of the luxuries of the world. These
menace and endanger society, by
their depredations; these depreda-
tons being prepetrated in many and
varied forms. They of crude in
tellectual ability use the gun or
bludgeon as their medium to extract
from society the means OF subsist-
ence, while they of keener intellects
engage themselves in the intricacies
OF financial manipulation and dis
honest commercialism. The latter
method of overstepping the bound
airy line of honesty and ignoring the
rights of their fellow men, is of
course, by far the safer. But it's
safety renders it none the less rep
rehensible; in fact, it is more in
vidious foe of the social world than
the crude methods of the former.
The malefactor if great wealth" is
largely responsible for the state
of affairs that causes the depreda-
tons of his fellow of lesser degree.
Political chicanery and commercial
greed are monsters whose insatia BILE
thirst is quenched with nothing less
than the very life blood of the toll
ers who make possible their unearn-
ed luxury. Coarse food, coarser
apparel, and unsanitary living con-
ditioDs do not make for keen intel
lects:-kE1ther is moral health en-
HANGED amid such environs.