Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-01-23

helpless, feeding the hungry--all this is TO
be abroad on public service. Making the
world safe for democracy" and uncom.
Portable for the Bolshevki, watching the
starng-holes of Reynard the ex-kaiser'
Keeping an eye on the exorbitances OF ma
tional ambitions, whether 1talic or Sla-
Nonic-all is within the days work ot
public service. Mr. Wilson is abroad on
public service though some are not aware
or II. NJ. Clemenceau. Lloyd George ana
his relative, King George, as some one put
It, are all busy with public service But
this is not todays story.
'Ih1ERE was once a young economist or
soclologist or Humanitarian" does
not matter which-who had the impudence
10 criticize, in the Gownsman's hearing,
the career of our late revered fellow towns
man. DR.. Horace Howard Furness. What
pity 1t is" said the humanitarian. that
Doctor Furness is not interested in hu-
manity He seems a humane man CThe
humanitarian" with characteristic ie %.
rance, knew nothing of the kindliness, gen
erosty and true charitableness of the man
or whom he presumed thus to speak) He
seems. he continued, "a man of good heart,
nut he spends his time selfishly delving
over out-of-date books, writing and print.
ing opinions ABOUT an old poet. long since
oead. Doctor Furness neither feeds the
hungry. clothes the naked nor warns the
cold. He seems to care nothing. either for
the souls of men. Just think what a power
he might be in a college settlement or in
the Y. NJ. C. A. The humanitarian" was
such power at $4,000 year.
~ ERE was a man with thumb and
finger for values. He could tell hawk
from handsaw. but mainly by negation;
for the hawk having wings, evaded him;
the handsaw is your only useful imple
ment. To him "a good man. is one who
nnds another who is hungry and gorges
him; of intellectual hunger or the purveyor
thereto he knew nothing; and, outside OF
the Y NJ. c. A.--whch the Gownsman
maligns not-this man knew no life of the
spirit. OF such let us hope is not the
Kingdom of Heaven; for such have already
too much of the earth.
RuT TO return TO public service" There
is kind, quite other to that which
opened this "Gownsman" 1t is the kind
which we do not so much achieve as have
thrust upon us; the kind which seems ref.
cradle to the determination of some people
To escape at least the mistake of Cain, who
was so unwilling to be thought his broth
ec's keeper. Those whom this kind of pub.
lie service" has made its own are profess
sonally my brothers keeper" They keep
him supplied with thoughts and how to
think them, words and how to say them
facts" and how to meet them and throttle
them They direct your benevolences and
keep your money when they get it. Indeed
so determined are they in their keeping
correction, direction. @Ipervising and boss.
| ing of every brothers" act that those Of
! us who do not want to be up to date
| virtuous directed or efficient. find it hard
to distinguish this kind Of public service
| from public nuisance.
COMETlMES it is only a chair of public
- service" the chief function of which is
to tell the rest OF rs how to sit in our
chairs-or else vacate them Sometimes
| 1t is a whole bureau. But the bureau shall
speak for itself. Public Service. to crcu.
| late facts. questions and suggestions of ma.
| tion-wide importance about public service
by governments, civic agencies. higher edu-
cation and benevolent foundations, issued
weekly -. subscription 50 cents a year" 4"
Reports and articles are analyzed and re.
viewed At cost, which means fror' sl5 to
! SO. salary campaigns are directed
.: articles and hish.spot notes are
! circulated, Live wires are sought and re-
| ported: cooperative self-surveys are di.
rected" The Gownsman swears that he
| has manufactured none OF this twaddle: he
| has not the genius. \ fact" is sadly to
! seek in all this rubbish Here, however.
| is "a suggestion" of marvellous originality
! We knew II was a suggestion because
| II is so labeled. "Serviceable slang: Have
! heart Can YOU beat il? How do YOU
! get that way" a question" is Have
| You Stopped--or hegun--letting the world
reconstruction vitaliZe your instruction? -
| \ query: IF you are doing something
! new or having larger classes, let US know
! about IT," And lastly, Don't You want
| the Public Service Weekly Bulletin to come
| to you regularly? Heaven forbid.
! A DEVOTION TO public service" Of this
- kind is conceivable on the part Of the
| concocter and inStigator of all this smart
! commonplace and obvious novelty: he
! doubtless gets better wage out Of it to
| Judge from his talents-than he would he
| likely 10 get out Of anything else, and 10
| be paid as a professional smart Alec with
| a bias toward omnisCienCe is certainly "a
practice an original profession, But some
! body Is paying out good American money
| for tho continuance Of this kind OF thing
| Who is he and why is he doing it? Still
| more difficult Is it 10 conceive who are the
| people who read This stuff. Does the sma
! tyranny of the school require any unfortu-
| nate teacher, or body Of teachers, 10 take
read or use these. circulars ana the body
! Of literature which. for a price Is hdver,
| tsed, pufsd and exploited hack Of II"
| much of il, the work of the director" VIII,
doubtless receives his royalties.
! THE general practitioner in how to dc
L il" is z, preposterous and dangerous
product ~ the loose and happy.goIuckS