The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-02-20

1dfrS nave not ndQ happy ending;
why many Of the young and the
strong, whose futures seemed so
promising, have been removed from
their activities among us; while the
aged, the crippled, the morally def
Gent, live YEARLY onward? Thinking
of our own small role, we wonder if
we have done right in printing certain
items in our paper We recall Incl
dents which have occurred within the
week. Some of them make us wish
we had given more publicity to one
|. good work and less to some other
thing Of minor value. We regret that
we have hurt one persons feelings,
although all Internationally, and we
are sorry we were so lenient with an
other who deserved far more censure
than we meted to him.
Then when we are deepest in our
spell Of the blues, and when we
nave smoked a pipe or two by way
Of adjusting our philosophy, it comes
70 US that there is townful, state
| full, nationful of men and women
! around US who perpetually ask these
/ questions. All over this continent
and this hemisphere are millions upon
millions of ordinary folk who have
! these periods of mental depression
and introspection; moments when
| they wonder if the work they are do
ing or the niche they are filling in
| life is worth the effort; times when
it seems that the load they have to
carry, the disappointments they have
20 face, the responsibilities they are
called upon to shoulder, the account
ing which will someday be made of
heir lives, is almost too much for the
! strength which is in them.
But this is the strange thing about
these ordinary folks, the queer fea-
lures of this life we lead down here
below. The fact that yet awhile
there appears no answer does not
shake their faith in the belief that
they should do their best while the
| opportunity is theirs.
For in glancing over the activities
of the week, summing up the columns
of our paper with their pathetic little
| stories of the homefolks, remember
ing certain spectacular experiences or
:, sometimes viewing the whole life
stories Of those who have passed into
the Great Beyond, we are forced to
recognize that the great majority of
the common rank and file are day by
day striving to do the best they can.
1t may be raising a family of
freckled-faced youngsters to become
ordinarily-good men and women. 1t
! may be paying for q home. It may
be building a business which adds to
the towns industries. 1t may be
only in the hundred-and-on little
tasks of q ten-hour,/ three dollar a
day. But underneath the conscious
lendeavor is the effort to do the best
possible.
I Recognizing these mysteries, ask
ing these questions, realizing these
things because on many many Satur-
day afternoons We have turned them
over and over in our minds, it has
come to US that after all is said and
SiOiiO, JIG CFSlSlSC HIGH dHo WOflGH
are the realheroes and heroines of life.
Each week which passes sees some
, of our townfolk gone down to de-
feat beneath their cares and respon-
!, sibilities. But there are others-and
! they are in the far greater portion
who have been made stronger, who
have triumphed, who have made then
failures and blunders stepping-stones
J to further effort.
So we of our newspaper office
looking at ourselves and the people
Tof our community, have grown te
;. take these Saturday afternoons more
: and more philosophically as we have
e gone onward week by week and yea
: by year with our labors in this village
Il state and nation. When we FINAL,
Q lock the office and go home for tn.
brief respite of the Sabbath day, W.
y are forced to recognize that there il
n more of good in life than bad, NOR,
I of success than failure, more of re
: ward than unrequited struggle.
: might say that our position and occu
7 patton in the community has mad