The Llano colonist. [volume] (Llano, Calif.) 191?-1937, 1922-09-16
ALL or THE PEOPLE


ii is true that in some parts Of the
world these prirnordial facts Of life
have TO Be considered. Famine and
cold are scourges Of undeyeloped peo-
pies remote from the centers Of civiliz-
alton now as they were of our fathers.
But when either of these monsters
comes within the breastworks Of civiliz-
alton we know that he can be slain.
They have no magic power. They are
not angels Of vengeance sent by al
wrathful Jehovah. We know they are
not messengers Of hate but conditions.
of life produced BY our own selfishness
and stupidity.
The Russian famine is moi an act
of God but an act Of men. Ii belongs
not the realm Of magic but Of define
ute cause and effect. Most enlighten-
ed folk do not believe that famine is
the good Lords way Of controlling the
population of India. They have mo-
tion that if some of the brains and en-
,ergy that have been used in the past
hundred years in building Notifications
strategic railways and in the exploita-
ton Of the people Of that country, had
been used in developing irrigation. fa-
mines would be banished as effectively
as has yellow fever from Cuba. We do
not admit that periodic famines in Chi
ma are inevitable. Control Of rivers to
prevent devastating floods and the de-
velopment Of transportation facilities
are within the province Of man. These
would go long way in stabilizing the
food supply.
Typhus fever is no longer the
.scourge o.. God. 1t follows in the wake
of armies organized and led by men.
1t is a human product. There is nothing
mysterious about ii. We know ii is a
hideous result of mans inhumanity to
man
So il is with countless number of
other 'scourges" Of the race. We know
shat they are not heaven-sent but are
born Of our ignorance and greed. They
are continued because Of our apathy
and indifference. The problems Of the
race belong to the race and are to be
solved by men and women. AT least
there is no one else 10 solve them.
No one doubts this in matters which
pertain to mans Harvesting the powers
of nature to do his will. In this field
! the word impossible has no place-for
no one knows what is impossible. Ev-
cry one Of these is a challenge TO the
intelligence of men. Because it has
not been done is no reason why it can
not Be done. Because men desire it to
Be done, providing it does not deny the
very integrity Of the universe in which
they live, is very good reason to be-
1ieve that it will be done. In chemistry
and physics there are no traces OF race
or color. Steam and electricity YIELD
THEIR SECRETS TO BRAIN and moi
to color or race. These problems are
human, and the evidence Of it lies in
the fact that the magician has gone anc
THE SCIENTIST has taken his place
But when we come to consider the
problems of human relations, Of how
people shall live and work together
we find that it is difficult for many tc
understand that THESE ARE HUMAN
PROBLEMS. The idea that they are
divine or belong to the order of tht
supernatural; that they are to be solvee
by some occult or mysterious powe
unknown 10 man needs not even to b
denied today. 1t has gone into thu
scrap heap of history.
And yet only slowly do men come t
recognize that social problems are lik
all other problems. They hesitate t
admit that people. just plain simple
people, are the ones who must in tn
end solve every question that arises i
the field Of mans relation to man.
IS admitted that men and women in ey
cry field Of activity must do the worl
that is set before them. If it is no
done BY them il can never be done
But when we come to the question:
which vitality concern men and women
which have TO do not only with them
selves, but also with their children an
4heir children's children, then we fin
a very definite denial Of the idea the
these are to be solved BY the people
These belong, it is claimed, to pa
Of the people. "A few have become god
for the many. The man-directing go
has gone and we have in his plac
those gifted by supernatural power t
solve the basic problems Of the rac'
And the people who call themselve
the most enlightened and intelligent
the world hold to this curious viey