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The Inter Ocean from Chicago, Illinois • Page 28

Publication:
The Inter Oceani
Location:
Chicago, Illinois
Issue Date:
Page:
28
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

WHY "UPPER GLASSES' HURT THE WORLD'S PROGRESS. fOpyright. lfOS, by Erbert Hnrard THERE one problem that Is so 1m-uente in import tbat before it all other problems on earth sink into Insignificance. The problem ia this: bow to conserve to keep the good that civilization gains. The labors of Siyphus mirror the march ef the race.

The third generation of the "superior class" Is Impotent. What the world calls success fevers end enfeebles. Vpon it all Is the taint of death the first families have nothing better to boast of than the deeds of men long turned to dust; nd the sons of men who could do and dare dwindle into microbes that consume and are consumed. The connoisseur and dilettante follow the creator, the barbarian takes thorn captive, and they are no more. Nations, like men.

have their periods of Infancy, youth, manhood, and old age. They prow strong and then lapse into senility and decay. One generation destroys what another produces, and a new nation steps In and crushes the weakened state, as wolves upon the prairie fall upon the horses that grow old and lame. Men succeed and the towers and monuments they build to commemorate their lives, crumble into ruin, becoming mere mounds that hide their dust, and over them ail kind nature runs her trailing vines and creeping mouses, as If to deny the existence cf those who boasted of their might. Beneath the walls cf Troy are the ruins of still other cities, of which for ua no poet sang; before Cleopatra were other queens stung to death by the asp of folly; after Thidias and Pericles men who rioted and feasted on the wealth and beauty Greece had gained; then came the barbaric Roman, blind to beauty, and tumbled from their pedestals the dreams hewn in marble, thinking they were gods.

Caesar grew great; Brutus and Casslus lusting for the power he possessed, sought to seize the bauble for their own. That savage speech of Casslus, wherein he related, what a sick man In his fever said had scarcely echoed across the forum before he had to flee, and ere long that tongue of his was forever stilledi.Brutus, hopelessly encompassed, fell upon his own sword and was dead. Young Augustus ibu3 came into possessions which he had not earaed, and his possessions owned him, poisoning the wellsprir.g of his being and all Rome as well. Ere long the. barbaric German from the north o'errac his heritage end did for the Roman what his ancestors had done for Greece.

The best emperors of Rpme, from this on. were barbarians from Thrace, Macedonia. Gaul, and other outlying provinces country boys, born to dare and endure, nurtured on hardshifs, sucklsd by the she wolfs teat. Today the descendants of the noble Romans ell themselves for hire, and dig. hew, and carry that America may have buildings that scrape the sky and railroads over which men are carried to their destination like tbs eagle's Bight.

Far be it from me to decry the masterly enterprise of the strenuous men who are making America great, but wise men perceive tha day when the sons of the men who own the buildings that scrape the sky will toll and weat, enslaved by a race of barbarians yet unborn. That which happened will happen under like conditions. A few men have always beheld the law of cause and effect. In the glittering shield of Archllles could be seen reflected the end of the owner career and the destruction of all he prized. Anaxagoras knew and told the fate that would come to Athens, and was ostracized for his temerity.

Jesus knew that not one stone of Jerusalem would he. left upon another, and was cruclfitd for saying so. Savonarola saw that the reign of the Medici could cot long endure, and they burned his body In the public square. Ibsen writes a play showing tow the pillars of society are as surely pulling down the pillars of society as Samson pulUd down the temple of Dagon, and Christendom calls him a crank. Tolstoi, with prophetic, vision, twenty years ago saw England' decline, and today we behold her a second rate power, robbed of her maritime su premacy, stripped of her proud prestige, making peace with a little pedple she could not subjugate, looking for an ally to brace up her tottering throne.

The New Zealander will as surely sit upon the towers of Brooklyn bridge and gaxe across at the ruins of a great city gone just as surely as oxygen eats' iron and effect follows cause. The end of running sewerage into the sea. and breeding a race of being who acorn all honest labor and expect to live by their wits, is slmrly matter of mathematical calculation. To imagine that we van do thing, that ha ve wrecked other nations and yet go unscathed. Is the acme of ostrich reasoning.

Y.ise men all know that wreck and ruin will some day tt.i fate, but many of u. knowing that the crash will not come until after we are rone, only smile ana sneeze. 10 uu-' Jugate another. Is. to subjugate yourseU; the way to gain freedom to to give It away.

But as there is Inevitable ruin in all prosperity that uses Its power to subjugate, so also will there come a day when the lessons of the past will be learned well enough, so that the good ill be conserved and kept for the good and benefit of those who shall come after. This will not come about until the folly of educating men to war and waste shall cease. "In time of peace' prepare for war" Is the advice of a fool. So long as we prepare for war we will have war we have anything that we prepare for. So long as men accumulate wealth that their children shall not work, and so long as the rottenness of gentility shall be unpercetved by the many, so 'long will one generation weaken Itself by consuming what another has created.

The use ef power to form a superior class is the on thing that has wrecked the world and made calamity of so long life. This superior class Las ever- been a menace, sometimes a curse. Its distinguishing feature ts to exclude It Is ossified selfishness, as opposed to enlightened self-interest. It has Its rise usually in humility, often coming In the name of liberty, and by hestowing a benefit gets a grip on things; then it begins to consume and ceases to The preaehpr end the soldier have always been a necessary part of its fabric the soldier protectsthe priest, and 'the prlsst absolves the soldier. The country that has the largest army and th greatest number of preachers, doctors, and lawyer Is nearest to death.

The superior class the burden. No cation ever survived It long, none ever can. The volunteer superior class has always thought that good is to be gained by sidestepping labor, by wearing costly and peculiar clothing, by being carried In a palanquin, by riding in a carriage or being propelled in an automobile, by being waited on by servants, by eating and drfnklog at mid-bight, by attaining a culture thai is beyond the reach of most, by "owning things that only a few can enjoy these are tho ambitions of the sclfappolnted superior class. Host of the colleges and universities of Christendom have cursed mankind by inculcating the Idea that to belong to the superior class was a very desirable thing. Every college professor, until yesterday, urged us to attach ourselves to the superior class by hook or crook.

All who do Dot btloDg want to belong, and look forward to a day when they may the example Infects, then tcllutts gnd poisons. The thought of education liTir tbat it sets one apart cr.d Sis for good society this superior class. Education Is for social distinction. To be simply useful is not enough; you must also be clever hence come Oxford and Cambridge and Offer to bestow degrees, vouching distinction, that will at once place you In the superior class for a consideration. The superior class lives by its wits, or on the surplus earned by slsves or men who are dead.

You are dead yourself when you live on the labor of dead men you are so near drowning that you clutch society and pull it under with you. To exclude is to be excluded; when the superior class shuts out the poor and so railed Ignorant class they arc deprived of all the spiritual benefit the lowly have to give. Caste Is the Chinese wall that shutp people la as well as out. If you can make people kind, not merely respectable, the problem of the ages will be solved. This bogus legal'tender of gentility, which Is the chief asset of the superior class, can never be done away with through violence and revolution.

This has been tried again and again. Revolution is a surgical operation that ever leaves the root of the cancer untouched. A new excrescence sprouts, and one superior, class Is exchanged for another equally objectionable. The remedy is in a new method of education which will teach men to be, not seem that will give pupils diplomas on what they can do, and not on what they can memorize. Churches must cease being fashionable clubs, and the army must be consigned to limbo.

War is hell, and Just as long as you have any army you'll have war. The evo lution will come peacefully anything gained by violence will crystallize itself into a superior class that must have an army to uphold it and a church to absolve it. These two things are a proof of its weakness. There Is something wrong with the man or thing that needs protection. No the desired end can never come through threat; violence, and force.

That is where men have stumbled tince history began. Without a doubt the millennium will come in this way First Men will decline to affiliate with a social club that offers a reward for blind credulity. Second Men will refuse to enlist as soldiers for any other reason than to protect an immediate attack threatening their homes. Third Parents will refuEe to seed their children to any school, college, or university where the curriculum dots not provide that at least one-half the school day be spent In work, and where play (rot athletics) for all Is not considered Just as necessary as rhetoric and arithmetic. If mankind can be to see that to belong to the superior class is absurd and barbaric.

we will then look for happiness elsewhere. The of the superior class are not happy: their pleasures pall. A man may belong to the superior class, but If his bones are full of pain and his mind perplexed, his social station in Idleness, there is no Joy in selfishness. The superior class Is merely a huge mistake; it is to be pitied, not envied; and when our children and children's children know this, and are willing to do unto others as they would be done by, one generation will then conserve tbe good that another has gained. No greater shock ever comes to a young man from the country who mskes his way up than the discovery that the rich are, for tbe most part, woefully Ignorant.

He has always imagined that material-splendor and spiritual gifts go hand in hand; and now, if he Is wise, he discovers that millionaires are too busy making money, and too anxious about what they have made, and their families are too Intent on spending it, to ever acquire a calm Judicial mental attitude. The rich are cot the leisure class, and they need education no less than the poor. "Lord, enlighten thou the rich!" should be the prayer of every man who works for progress: "Give clearness to their mental perceptions, awaken In them the receptive spirit, soften their callous hearts, and arouse their powers of reason. Danger lies In their folly, not in H.axilIa.nVa. Orchids are to be a feature of the flower show at the Coliseum this The leaders of Chicago society are In the Horticultural society.

With most of the women and many of the men the flower show will surpass Is Interest the hcrse show. Chicago Is even more noted as the home of flower lover than a center ot admiration for horse-f esh. The private greenhouses of Its wealthy families are not surpassed even by the magnificent estates of millionaires on tbe Hudson and at New port. Its commercial establishments have long been acknowledged, without challenge, as the in tha world. The Coliseum will turn it a floor space larger than has ever before been used for a f.ow tho Id America, except at the St.

Louis World's Fair. And ia St. Louis there i their wisdom; their weakness is to be feared, not their strength." That the wealthy and influential class should fear change, and cling stubbornly to conservatism, is certainly to be expected. To convince this class that spiritual and temporal good can be Improved upon by a more liberal policy has been a task a thousand times greater than the exciting of the poor to riot. It is easy to fire tha discontented, but to arouse the rich and carry truth home to the blindly prejudiced is a different matter.

Too often the reformer has been tbe one who caused the rich to band themselves against the poor. Samuel Taylor Coleridge was a Tory who defended the existing order on the Idea of Its usefulness. He approached the vital issue from the inside, taught the conservative to think, and thus opened the eyes of the aristocrats without exciting their fears or unduly arousing their wrath. Self-preservation prompts men to move In the line of least resistance- And1 that any mas should have put his safety In peril by questioning the authority of those able and ready to confiscate his property and take away his life Is very strange. Such a person must belong to one of two types: He either must be a revolutionist, one who would supplant existing authority with his own, thus knowingly and willingly hazarding all, or he Is an Innocent, indiscreet individual and devoid of all Interest in the main chance.

Coleridge belonged to the last mentioned type. Genius needs a keeper. Here was a man who was so absorbed In abstract thought. so intent on attaining high anil holy truth. that he neglected his friends, neglected his family, and neglected himself until his body refused to obey the helm.

It Is easy to find fault with such a man, but to refuse to grant ar. admiring recognition of his worth, on account of what he was, Is an error, pardonable only to the crude, rude, and vulgar. The cultivated man sees the good fixes attention on that. Coleridge formulated no system, solved no complex problems, and made no brilliant discoveries, but his habit of analysis encircled the world beyond the power of man to compute. He taught men to think and to separate truth from error.

He was not popular, for he did not adapt himself to many. His business was the teaching of teachers he conducted a normal school and tauglt teachers how to teach. Colerdlge went to the very bottom of a subject, and his subtle mind ref used to take anything for granted. He approached every proposition with an unprejudiced mind. In his "Aids to Reflection" he says: "He who begins by loving Christianity better than truth will proceed by loving his own sect or church better than Christianity, and end in loving himself better than all." Tho average man believes the first thing and then searches for proof to bolster his opinion.

Every observer must have noticed tho tenuous, cobweb quality of reasons tbat are deemed sufficient to the person who thinks he knows, or whose Interests lie in a certain direction. The limitations of men seem to make it necessary tbat pure truth should come to us through men who are stripped for eternity. Kant, the villager, who never traveled more than a day's walk from his birthplace, and Coleridge, the homeless aristocrat with no selfish interests in the material world, view things without prejudice. The methods of Coleridge from his youth was to divide the whole into parts. Then he begins to eliminate and divide down, rejecting all things that are not the thing, until he finds tbe thing.

He begins all inquiries by supposing tbat nothing is known on the subject. He will not grant you that murder and robbery are bad you must show why they are had, and If you cannot explain he will take the subject up and divide it Into heads for you. First, the effect' on the sufferer. Second, the evil to the doer. Third, the danger of a bad example.

Fourth, the Injury to society through the feeling of Insecurity. Fifth, the pain given to the families of both doer and sufferer. Next, he will look for excuses for the crime and give all the credit he can. ORCHIDS TO BE I X1 Alb. was ao attempt to transform the exhibition hall into a great garden, with rare palms, and foliage plants of all kinds as a background for great beds of hothouse blooms roses, chrysanthemums, carnations, violets, and for costly orchids.

Tbe display ot orchids will be a leading feature of the show. E. O. Uihleln. Harry G.

Selfridge, and Mrs. Pullman are the leading orchid collectors of the city. Their collections are among the finest of the country. Since last year they have brea added to largely by specimens sjalhered In the forests of South and Central America and by hybrids produced by European experts. An orchid collection, in the matter of expense, leaves a stable ot blooded thoroughbreds far behind.

The pollen dust of rare varieties has been sold at auction at a rate which fixed at several thousand dollars tho price of enough to fill a small feather quill. Even without the orchil cceciaa, esltty i i BY ELBERT HUBBARD. and then finally strike a balance and give a conclusion. One of Coleridge's best points was in calling attention to what constitutes proof. He saw all fallacies and discovered at a glance Illusions In logic tbat have long been palmed off on tbe world as facts.

He saw-the gulf that lies between coincidence and sequencs, and hastened the day when the old time pedant with his mighty tomes and tiresome sermons about nothing -should be no more. And so today the man who writes must have something to say, and he who speaks must have a message. "Coleridge," says Principal Shairp, "was tbe originator and creator of the higher criticism." The race has gained ground, made head upon the whole, and thanks to the thinkers gone, there are thinkers now In every community who weigh, sift, try, and decide. No statement made by an Interested party can go unchallenged. "How do you know we ask, and That Is good which serves man Is the important item, this earth Is the place, and the time Is now.

So all good men and women and all churches are endeavoring to make earth all agree that to live now and here, the. best one can, is the fittest preparation for a life to come. We no longer accept tbe doctrine that our natures are rooted In that the desires of the flesh are cunning traps set by Satan. with God's permission, to undo ua. We believe that no one can harm us but ourselves, tbat sin is misdirected energy, that there is no devil bnt fear, and that the universe ts planned.

for good. On every side we And beauty and excellence, held In the balance of things. We know that work is a blessing, that winter Is as necessary as summer, that night is as. useful as day. that death is a manifestation of and Just as good.

We believe In you, and we believe in a power that is In ourselves that makes for righteousness. These things have not been taught us by a superior. class who governed us and to whom we paid taxes and tithes; we have simply thought things for ourselves in spite of them. We have listened to Coleridge and others, who said, "You should use your reason and separate, the good from the bad, the false from the true, the useless from the useful. Be yourself and think for yourself; and while your conclusions may hot be infallible, they will be nearer right than the conclusions forced upon you by those having a personal Interest in keeping you in a state of ignorance.

You grow through the exercise of your faculties, and if you do not reason now, you will never advance. We are all sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be. Claim your heritage!" By taking a trip up the Rhine one cannot but be seriously impressed with the fact that the chief business of man, until yesterday, was war. At every bend in the storied river Is a castle. Each commanding cliff has a fort.

Every point of vantage Is crowned with a redoubt, or the ruins of one, where men, armed with every known weapon of their time, once bade defiance to other men, and challenged to death their brothers. No man could travel without an armed fcuard every man went aden with the grim instruments of death. The history of the race is a history of war and blood. The men who could kill most and quickest were the men who owned the earth, and those who destroyed most were those to whom all honors were paid. Very, gradually things have changed, until over the fairest portion of earth both life and property are now secure.

Men who mind their own business have nothing to fear, and those are safest who carry no weapons. The honors are going to the men who can build up, who create. With proper limits, we may express ourselves upon any subject of vital interest we give men the right to their own opinions, and everywhere it is understood that a person has a perfect right to be wrong In his conclusions as well as right. No more striking proof of this change is found than in the fact that we have recently seen public opinion forcing arbitra A FLOWER f- "VH -J 'I fj "TrWi! i-on -i' flower lovers pay high for their fancy. On the Lake Shore drive are several families that pay monthly trtlls for cut flowers exceeding $1,000.

Vases In different parta of the house are filled each day with American Beauty roses. Dinner is never complete without a decoration scheme which Includes orchids, gardenias, or some flower equally costly. Roses or violets are supplied regularly for the evening toilet ot the women members aad the fashionable florists reap a harvest. Carnations have rapidly risen in popularity in America until they arc now used more largely than any other flower. Great interest will therefore center about the competition In carnations at the flower show.

H. N. Htginbothara la the chief carnation fancier among Chicapo society people. Ill favorite. Fiancee, purchased for $10,000 and named in.

honor of Ms daueMcr, cow Mrs. Joseph via was then en rS tion upon men who "had nothing to arbitrate." The men. who owned- these rock-ribbed fortresses and frowning castles oa the Rhine, once had nothing to arbitrate. They took their position and held It but not forever. And now it has come to pass tbat the people object to being used as stones and stick to fight the battles of the seeming strong.

Their quibbles, quarrels, feuds, and selfish struggles for place and power are none of ours. Helen and Paris may elope for all of us tbat is their affair and all of Menelaus' loud cries of "To arms!" fall upen the ears of men who have work to do at home. We smile. And here again Is a prophecy: In America conscription will never be attempted again. It has gone and gone forever.

Arbitrate your differences you are both right, and both are wrong. Fighting may test which side is stronger, but not which side is nearest right. Calm deliberation will bring ua near to Truth, but heat, anger, strife, and war only drive her far afield. That the world is fast getting rid of the thought of physical strife is very sure, but let us not plume ourselves too much upon it we have -a long way yet to travel. The idea of danger is-strong -upon us; we have not gotten, rid of the thought of struggle and strife.

r. "Society is in league against all of Its members," wrpte Emerson. as once every clan-was st ivr with every other clan, and every -nation was at war with every other nation, so yet does every man in his heart distrust every other man. SusdI- clon. hate Jealousy, apprehension all forms of Tear fill the hearts of men.

The newspapers that have the biggest circulation are those whose columns bulge with tales of disgrace, defeat, and death. If Joy comes to you, the news will go unheralded, but should great grief, woe, disgrace, and hopes dashed upon the rocks be your potion, the wires will flash the news from continent to conti nent, and flaring headlines will tell the tale to people who never heard before of you. And all this' proves that It is a satisfaction to a vast number of people to hear of the downfall of others it Is a gratification to them to know that disaster has caught some one in the toils. The newspapers print what the people want, and thus does the savage still swing his club and flourish his spear. Ride in any American city on the morning cars or upon any suburban train, and note the greedy grab for the dally papers, and observe how the savory morsels of scandal are rolled beneath the tongue! So long as most men glory in tbe defeat of other men It Is a perversion of words to call thia a Christian land.

But as clan once united with clan and nation with nation, so do the goodly number of people recognize that men should unite with men not only in deed, but In thought for mutual benefit. To hold a thought ot fear Is to polute the mind prejudice poisons, jealousy is a thing to zealously-avold, and hate hurta worse the one who hates. And the argument is this: So long as the thought of rivalry Is rife, and Jealousy, fear, unrest, and hate are in our minds, we are still in the savage state. War robs men of their divine birthright and turns the tide of being back to chaos. You have so much life what shall you do with ltT It you use it in pulling down other lives you shall soon forfeit your own.

And even though you do cot do an overt, destructive act, the very thought of hate and fear reacts to your great disadvantage, honeycombs the will, and tends to destroy tbe tissue of your body. Every school, factory, store, and Institution Is to a degree a hotbed of strife, Jealousy, and heart burning. Plot and counter plot fill the air. There Is disappointment, discontent, and apprehension everywhere. The employes or helpers unite in friendship, and all exclusive friendships breed factions nod feuds and tend in the end to separate men.

Beware of chums they only pool their weaknesses. He is strongest who stands alone. SHOW FEATURE. i Oattle ya. gaged to the commissioner of public works, will compete again this year for the honors which it won last year over all other competitors.

In the last twelve months a dozen challengers have arisen to vie for supremacy with Fiancee. The Chicago flower show will decide their ambitions. The chrysanthemum queen of autumn-will of course occupy the center ot the stage, as the time of the show is the time ot tho seultb of its glory. The care taken In training a horse for the show arena or the race course Is as nothing compared with tbe patient culture given selected chrysanthemum plants to force every atom of energy into the huge single bloom on which the reputation of the grower is to be staked in On chrysanthemum day 6,500 of these carefully nurtured blossoms will town. Be a friend to all stsnd ty all spesk well of alL If you lend a willing ear to any man's troubles you make them your own, and you do not lessen his.

By listening to tales of trouble you absorb trouble that is to say. you take discord Into your cosmos the weaker you are you -are thr much nearer" death and dissolution. Tu more harmony you possess, the stronger you are. The institutions or business that succeeds In a masterly way Is the one that has at Its head a man ot strong, stern, and inflexible purpose. The more this man keeps his eye on the Central Idea the more he focuses on his work and keeps fear and distrust away, the more he is sure to win.

Should this man stop to take part In all the bickering' and chewing matches, be Is gone, and the commissioner In bankruptcy should be telephoned. The soil Is bounteous, the mountains are full of precious gifts, the -opportunity to work Is everywhere. Society needs men who can serve It humanity wants help, the help of the strong, sensible, unselfish men. The age is crying for men civilization wants men who can save it from dissolution; and those who are freest from prejudice, revenge, whim, and fear. Two thousand years ago lived one who taw the absurdity of man loving his friends he saw that this made taction; lines of social cleavage, with ultimate discord, and so be painted the truth large, and declared we should love our enemies, and do good to those who might despltefully use us.

He was one with the erring, the. Insane, the and so free was be from prejudice and fear that, wo have confounded him with deity and confused him with the Maker of the Worlds. Ho wa on set apart, because he had no competition la the matter of love. Well did John Ruskin intimate that the wise man of today knows more than did Jesus ot Nazareth. He lived In a beggarly, semi-tropical country, and the whole economic problem that confronts, us was to htm unguessed.

The world of art was to him an undiscovered country. It is not necessary for us to leave our tasks and pattern our lives after his. but if we can Imitate his sublime patience and keep out of our lives thoughts of discord we. too, can work such wonders that men will. Indeed, truthfully say that we are sons of God.

There Isn't much rivalry here be patient, generous, kind, even to foolish folk and absurd people. Do not extricate yourself be one with all be universal. So UttIA competition is there In this line that any man. In any walk of life, who puts Jealousy, hate, and fear behind him, can make himself distinguished. And all good things shall be his they will flow to him.

Power gravitates' to the man who can use it, and love is Ue highest form of power that exists. If ever a man shall live who has Infinite power, he will be found to be one who has infinite love. And the way to be patient and generous to free yourself from discord is not to take a grip on yourself and strive to be kind not that. Just don't think much about it, but lose yourself in your work. Once we thought work a curse; then it came to us it was a necessary evil; and yesterday the truth dawned upon us It was a blessed privilege.

There Is more Joy In useful effort than In-the painstaking avoidance of it; it is better to tell tbe truth than to lie; and the plain reality Is better than pretense and make-believe. Creeping Into the lives ot men everywhere Is the thought that co-operation Is better than competition we need each other. And by giving much we will receive much. We are reaching enlightened self-interest. And so there is a strong setting of the social tide toward useful effort.

Everywhere the schools and colleges are getting Into line doing things, not merely talking about them. The education de luxe the education for show will soon be consigned to limbo. Already we say, "That man Is the best educated who is the most useful," I 'TV -Mo ssiajG There will also be chrysanthemum plants from the conservatories of John J. Mitchell and Martin A. Ryerson, who excel in the production of mound shaped plants covered with brilliant blooms.

The red, white? and bluo grained plant originated by Alois Frey, gardener at Lincoln park, will occupy a con-rplcuous place. Tbe presence of Luther Burbsnk, with an exhibition of the wonderful products of bis witchery in plants, will be a feature of the show. Mr. Burbank is known throughout the world as a plant wizard. He has produced the stoneless peach, the seedless berry, an everlasting flower, and made wonderful Improvements in fruits, flowers, and vegetables.

He holds that man can, by careful breeding, produce a plant with any haracterlatlc he may desire, and he will have samples ot his own work which tend to tear cut this tteory. and the true tot of education will lie I Its possessor's ability to serve, to be a power for the uplifting of humanity, to work tor good. Do not go out of your way Jo do good, hut do good whenever It cornea your way. Mea who make a business of doing good toothers are apt to bate others in the same occupation. Simply be filled with the thought of good and It will radiate you do not have to bother about It any more than you need trouble about your digestion.

i Do not bejlsturbed about saving four soul it will certainly be saved It you make It worth saving. Do your work. Think the rood. And tho evil, which Is a negative condition, shall be swallowed np by the good, i Think no evil; and if you think only tha good, you will think no Life is a search for power. To have powe you must have life, and life In abundance.

And life In abundance comes only through great love. The light Is dawning in the East. We are living la eternity now. just as much as we ever shall. God Is right here now, and we are as.

near to 'him now as we ever shall be. He never started this world a-going and weat away and left it he ia with us yet. There is no devil hut fear, and nobody can. harm you but yourself. We should remember the week day to keep It holy, live one day at a time, doing our work the beet we can.

There la no more sacred place than where a man I doing good and useful work, and there Is no higher wisdom than to lose yourself In useful Industry, and be hind and be kind. Gen. Wallace's Story. AS GENERAL WALLACE told the story himself, the oft repeated tale Is re-. pudlated that he was an unbeliever before he wrote "Ben Hur," and was convinced of his error through his -researches for material-for the story.

I met him during one of his visits to Washington, and it was then that he disclaimed most emphatically the newspaper yarn, which seemed especially odious to him. Front a talk about old friends and Incidents of the past the conversation drifted to books, and. by easy stages, to his own books. He waa at that time completing' bis "Prince of India," and I asked him If he had chosen a title for the new book, as many conflicting storlea had. been published, with as many namesas-signed as there were stories.

"Of course not," he replied. "We gle the name to the book, not the book to the name, and it will name itself by the time It is completed. You would not settle the name of a babe before it is born, you know, for If you chose a boy's name the Infant might turn out a girl, and vice versa. Newspaper people have been very good to me In that line, and have found out a great many things about myself that 1 would not otherwise have known, by reading the papers. "I collected the material for this story on the spot, but I never saw Syria until after my first book was completed.

I wrote it, and then went over to see what changes were ucww, vui a wk eiAu iv uuu lua i iioue wrrs necessary." "Why, general!" I exclaimed In astonishment, "how could you conceive all those realistic pictures of a civilisation so entirely different from ours when you knew nothing about it. and with nothing upon which ta draw Tor material?" Familiar With Sabjeet. "But I did know something about it," said he. "I knew all about it, I linew far more, in fact, than if I had been there to see for myself. I did have something to draw upon, too variety of books, a good map, a knowledge of mathematics, -and a vivid imagination; how could a man make a mistake I read books of travel, studying the manners and customs; I studied the history of the country, both sacred and profane; the story of Christ, also, and the geography of the country, with my large map banging always on the wall where I could see it; upon which I could, with a little knowledge of aatronomy thrown In, measure distances, settle relative positlona.

and compute the difference la time. There was no possibility of a mistake. "Then I talked with those who had been there and got them to tell me about the birda their plumage, and their songs, and about thi flowers and the trees; and to describe tha gardena, the residences, and the furniture, especially that of antique fashion; they told ornan say, us colors and changes, of the rain and the dew, and ot the climate and Its -You see, I was pretty thoroughly posted. "Such knowledge is more to be depended upoo, too, than that derived from an actual Titlt. If I had gone to the spot to gather my data-1 should have, relisd largely upon my memory, and I am not above the human habit of forgetting.

Then, too. I should have seen so much In a limited time that there would have been danger that the whole would become Just a confused Jumble or conglomeration of facta, hard to separate when I soould come to use them. As It was. I had the books and the map before me, and when I forgot anything I could refresh my memory without leaving my chair from a store ot knowledge assorted and systematized, pr I could make an evening call on some of my friends who had traveled In Syria, and'lf one had forgotten the thing I wanted to know, another was sure to remember 1L When I weat to Syria myself to view the original of my pictures I found It quite true to life." "Yes," I remarked; "the reader, even when he has never traveled there, can see that. Just as one recognizes a true likeness In' a good portrait, even it unacquainted with tbe original.

But I think your book does more than nf.t.... 1 see, and to my mind its chief and most charming feature Is that you-present the humanity of Christ to your readera in a way that makes one feel really acquainted with him, as it be had lived and died in our midst." Destlea Old Story. 11 am glad to hear you say that," responded the General; "tor It you taw it so, others probably have don so. too. and that is precisely the effect I waa trying to produce.

Your criticism has given great satisfaction for that reason." "Then the pretty story Is not true that yoa beaan the book anif rrrii1 it ant fnr Iha una purpose of vindicating Infidelity, and your researches to tbat end resulted In convincing you ot its fallacy, followed by your own con- a. t. "No, no, certainly not!" exclaimed, with some warmth. began the book and carried it out for the one purpose ot maklcg plain to. modern readers the humanity of Christ, and proving his divinity also." Then, modulating his voice to a softer tone, he added: "I learned Christianity at my mother's knee.

"That story, like many others," te went on. "emanated from tbe fertile brain of some correspondent who was hard up for an item and I can forgive him it he got paid for tbe Item, and" here a short aposlopesis, as if he thought the remark to follow might prove a debatable, question "and used it Judiciously. But I am engaged most tndustHously at present in colgirg the correspond nts." The General was in his most Interesting and talkative mood, and I considered myself most fortunate in obtaining an interview on this frequently debated story concerning the author of Ben Hur. MARG AIvHT FULL! VAN TX-.

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About The Inter Ocean Archive

Pages Available:
209,258
Years Available:
1872-1914