The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1953-01-02
Looking Backward,
CHANGING Forward
BY O. NJ. THoMAsON. Willernie. Mimi

BY 0. NJ THOMSON, Willernie, MINI
our commentators r. Just ordinary
spuds-- house-top shouters and hill
side-spouters tell us, among other
things. that the Chinese (along with
lot of other people, are going-or
have already gone-nuts.
Maybe, on the other hand. they are
getting their eyes open to some of the
things they were warned about several
days. or centuries, ago, and that, there
fore. the present is not a TOO new"
idea.
Away back 800 years y. c., the Chi
nese philosopher Mencius, when asked
by Knk HWY for advice on how to
run the country, drew a picture of the
politicians of those days which very
much resembles the politicians of to-
day
And these are your politicians" said
Mencus, the only true practical phi
losophers of the world Gas they think
themselves), so ull of gravity
(graftD, such professional lovers of
virtue and honesty-what wretches be
they in every deed; how vile and CON
temptable. Q, Man, what ado thou
makes!"
Upon another occasion, back 29 hun
dred years ago, King HWY asked phi
losopher Mencius for a little advice on
kingly behavior, to which the latter
replied, rs there any difference in
killing a man with stick and with
a sword" Mencius answered that there
was no difference in killing a man on
a battlefield and starving him in the
poorhouSe.
Then Mecius levelled his finger at the
king and said, I'm your stalls are fat
horses but your people have the look
of hunger and in the fields are those,
who die of famine Is there any diff
ference" he went on lin creating such
conditions with the sword or by gov
eminent powers meaning by wars or
by laws protecting the rich.
The law is always ready to help those
who have, by any hook or crook, get
and keep the advantage over all others.
The rich can rob the poor-thats the
way they got rich in the first place
and nothing is done about it, but let
the poor rob the rich-or take back
that which has been stolen by the rich
and see what a hubbub is let loose.
But if dumb old China can get an
idea in her head then there's hope for
the rest of us. One of China's great
est handicaps has been floods, especial
ly along the Yangtze river. All that
"old" China ever did about it was to
set up stone bulls along the river banks
which, it was said, by the magic Of
looking up the river would prevent
floods from coming down. So, for CEN
turtles, nothing else was done about 1t.
Even as late as 1881 the authorities
asked the "old" engineers "how long it
would take" to build a dam across the
river They puckered their brows and
said about four years" Some 20 years
later new engineers" said go days.
SO some 100000 men took UP their tools
and went to work. They finished the
half mile dam in rs days. AS result
100000 acres of previously flooded
land now supplies half million tons
of rice and a big yield of cotton to the
Chinese people.
Obviously there is an advantage in
all working together, not each oppos-
ing, even trying to ruin" some, or
even all others. Human life is like the
cell-life in your body. If the cells in
your body constantly made war on each
other your wracked and wrecked BODY
would soon be on it's way to that quiet
Cat least) resting place. But as rule
your body cells have more sense than