New Britain herald., 1916-08-26
PLAY THE GAME.
A Mild Protest Against Idealists and
 FaIf-Ral<ed Theories

There is no substitute for playing the game. High ideals are laudable and good intent is essential to achieve ment. But neither high ideals nor good intent make for usefulness unless their pOssessOr has the practical COm- mon sense to get down among men and play the game as men play 1t, striving always to improve it's character while using the instruments at hand.
 Perhaps no doluSiOn is so common as that which credits the idealists of each generation, and of each epoch in the worlds history with whatever progress is made in each generation and each epoch. There is no delusiOn more persistent than that Every in cubatOr of half-b ked theories con- soles himself, as he sees them dis proved one by one, that he has contri- huted to the general, if not the spe- ctf1c, progress of the race Every un- compromising champion of an ideal 1Gtic principle 1atters himself he is lifting his environment to a higher plane though he totally lacks proofs Of 1t, and excuses his obstinacy by calling it f1rmness.
 All human progress is the product of compromise. He that shoots too
 
 he that shoots too low. It is neces- sary that there be compromise with evil, but there can be compromise in methods by which evil is resisted, compromise between the goal so high 1t cannot be reached and the goal so low 1t is not worth reaching The world has a definite name for him W hO, because he cannot win to the rlllepost of his desires, declines to go half the way, but sits simply at the ro1nt of origin and damns his neigh bors as dull clods who will not lift their eyes to the stars
 There can be no comparison be- tween the uncomprOmising idealist Who Wfthdraws from the game be- cause he dislikes the rules and the practical men of good intent who | takes the world as he finds it, plays the game as cleanly as he can, and consistently strives to promote human advancement. There is nothing in common between these two types, ex- i cept each hopes for race bettCrme ent. l The one either grows bitter through futile beating of wings against the cage of convention or quits the fight 10 withdraw to his CirCumscribed cell and thank God he is not as other men. He Ol1oG accepts Qe1cdJ only as a spur to redOubled endeavor, bears dis appointment as merely one of inevit- able vicissitudes of the pioneer, and takes renewed courage from every inch of progress.
 Emerson has done infinitely more harm than good by his oft-quOted ad- vice to mitch your wagon to a star. It is the slogan of the idealist who talks in platitudes and lectures his neighbOrs on their shortcomings while his wife takes in washing to feed he1 children It is the excuse of the ex- ! posed and discredited demagogue hose elocution has at last been dis covered to contain nothing of action It is the plausible reason given by the failure who describes the high 1 mountain of righteousness to which he would have brought his fellows had they consented to ride in his wagon.
 i There is no substitute for playing ! the game. Down among men is tn, 1 place for the champi0n of an idea h, would impress upon the world If h, stands aloof, bem oaning the mediocri ty of his generation, he leaves it a. i he found 1t, all his hopes turned t( ; Dead Sea ashes, all his ambitions fo1 l good thwarted and destroyed aE ! though they had never existed-Sal l Lake Herald Republican