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Show THE FRCELEM OF FROVERTY fi.e pro:-perity of the United States at the pisssnt time can. sol be denied. Wages, according to authorities on trie subject, h.jvi. risen at a faster rate than the: price level; standard of living is hihar j wid on every hand are evidence of progress and plej.ty. ihc r.-x-j e:;si!y of sanitation and better living quarters for the poor Ha.a besi. j re.ilied and partly corrected. Factories have installed mod jr.. tcjuipmer.t for ventilation and cleanliness, the working hours have been shortened and the problems of eugenics, unemployment, etc., have been partially solved. And yet in spite of all these admirable efforts for the elimination elimina-tion of poverty and need, there is in the country today over ter. million people who are unable to support their families. The children chil-dren of these ten million necessarily grow up under conditions which make it impossible for them to have a fair chance in life. They are r,ot responsible for their advent into life, yet from the start they t.r'i handicapped. They, with their undeveloped minds and physical phy-sical disabilities, cannot be expected to cope with the ones who have had better opportunities, and so we find them unable to derive an adequate income in the industrial fields. From these come the majority of the criminals, the inmates of asylums and correctional institutions, the anarchists and anti-Ameri-icans. They are often imbued with the idea that the world owes them a living and quickly turn to robbery and desperate means to obtain it. They are a parasite on society and a detriment to progress pro-gress and civilization. The largest problem confronting the nation na-tion today is the correction of this evil and it is a gigantic task. How to solve this problem is a question that should be given consideration considera-tion by everyone. Economists and philosophers have decided that the quickest and easiest path to solution lies through compulsory education, the further equipment, maintenance and perfection of our public school system. Society should at least give the less fortunate of the population popu-lation a fair chance. By providing them some means through which to make an honest living, by teaching them lessons in thrift and saving, by inculcating in them patriotism and love of A.merican tenets and ideals, they can be converted from their present tendencies tendenc-ies into good citigens and strong cogs instead of weak points in the wheels of progress. It is die duty of every true American who is interested in his country and the welfare of society as a whole to do all in his or her power to facilitate the problems of the public schools, to expedite the elimination of poverty and illiteracy, and there is no)1 doubt that the new Education Bill is a great step forward and will do much towards the ultimate solition of the problem of poverty. -Scotish Rite News Bureau. |