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Show As The Land Advances. f Ours Is a nation of nearly or quite 90,000,000 fflm people. All aro struggling to improve their con- 'J9B dition the poor to gain a little property, tho rich to add to their wealth. The best places are il already secured. To the natural increase a mil- -h lion more come in from across the sea annually. , a? Then in the south there is a race problem, tho '8L solving of which no one can anticipate. In tho jf& north is a labor problem which grows in its , ? menaco daily. rjj The sanguine look on and say: "Never mind. ij 1 The field is a broad one. We have assimilated J I millions in the past; we can continue to assim- 1 Hate more, and the average life is but three and lf thirty years." That is perhaps true, and yet f 1 there is more danger than formerly. In the old TOf days, when men employed a few laborers, they (ji were in daily contact with them; there was a mi fellowship between employer and employee t,lf That Is to a great extent done away with. Great I ' i. JK'.IM 1 enterprises are carried on through incorpora- " tions, and the humbler employees merely receive I' orders from other employees in a higher (of- ! ficial) station. It is natural that the old famll- 'l' larity does not exist, while the sense of com- !! ' radeship is entirely eliminated. Hence the f strikes and heartburnings. There is another feature. In the old days it was natural for em-'' em-'' ployees to struggle for preference on merit. The ' modern system is to give the sluggard and I shirk the same reward that the energetic and ; I faithful receive. In the old days the rich were few, and as riches are now estimated, even the most fortunate did not as a rule have wealth 1 ! enough to excite envy or discontent. Now mil lionaires are common and their displays of wealth II N are breeders of discontent among the hosts , of the less fortunate. And patriotism seems to 1 be losing its saving grace. It was formerly a ' custom among kings, when their people became ; ! discontented to the verge of danger, to preclpl- i tate a war to kindle the latent patriptism nf the masses and bring them back to a more settled ; and true allegiance. But the world has out- i grown that; there must be some better way. Then In the old days there was rigid discl- I pline in tho homes, for the very necessities of the i situation made the children work and taught ! ' them that they must share the responsibilities I of life. That in groat part is eliminated now. Even out on the farms, since money has become , so plentiful, tho rigid economy and the steady labor has in great part become unnecessary. And !' it all seems leading up to a time when the land ' ! win bo on the brink of chaos. fj Looking around for a remedy, there is none in Sight except a more wholesome and practical !l education for tho young and a sterner enforce rs ' ment of the laws. Too many people are cleared : when tried for greater or less offenses. A great 1 many who should be tried escape. Not enough are taught useful ways of making a living; not ; enough are taught that money cannot buy either happiness or contentment. This i3 a golden age in many ways, but with millions tho age is one where the rage to got gold is making barren millions of hearts, for every generous attribute is dwarfed in its pursuit, and the gentler gen-tler instincts have no more chance to expand than do the bandaged feet of the Chinese girl. When tho High School cadets went to San Francisco to see the fleet the best feature was ; not their going, or what they were going to see ! and experience, but it was the training and dls- i cipline that they had acquired, which made them S worthy to go. In like training and discipline lies ! i the best hope of our country, and if we can reach r. f the point when all the youth of the land can be : i trained for some earnest work in life, the coun- try will be safe. t . .. |
