TT " -
DECEMBER: 23. 1904
endorsement of everything that the republican
party has done, is doing or expects to do. ir the
republican party Is expected to reform the tariff
after refusing to promise It, why not expect it to
enforce the criminal claur of the Sherman law
about which.it made no promise? Possibly the re
publican victory wasn't an endorsement of repub
lican policies at all. ' k -
JJJ
Too Much Stylt
Right Rev. Monsenuar Fox, vicar general of
the Catholic diocese of Tronton, N. J in address
ing the young women of his church recently, said:
Women are dressing more and more ex
travagantly each' year, and the cost of dressing
deters young men from marrying. The minds
of too many of our young women are filled
with dress and style. This weakness is one
of the many causes that have made marriage
unfashionable these days. The poor young
man's heart drops down to his shoes, when he
realizes the cost of the things girls wear in or
der to be stylish. Half the things girls wear
have no apparent use. You see them dressed
in furs, but no warmth. You would thinlc
that the furs should cover the delicate part of
the body, the lungs. Not at all. These gar-
' ments rest on the shoulders, Ily open in front
and the rest go flapping in then air. "Look at
that hat," the poor young -man says, "How
much did it cost?" God help' the present-day;
' young woman and her style:-' God save 'the7
young man from style! We want more com
mon sense and less style. - " w
It is nodoubt 'true that female extravagaiico
'.'in dress deters jriany young jneri trprn matrimony.
'it is also true that. some are $sterred by the idea
that they .must be able to ,careorvtheir wivesas
well as they .were cared, for at "hpme, and yet the
great majority o girls are willing to sacrifice Ypr
, one theyVye and, .willing togfnJn. an econm-
ical way anaemia, usuy w WAir'Vi"'1 . " u"ifflH
firUM., Fnla rnicyht- wiHY1 nrlVRnrnfTP IPKSRn
-- .ri -r
Vtlnma nnnn thom Tlho JlOVB
extravagances, top.; Glr,ls do not, spend anymore
on nats inap .yuuug ,iuu biuu: -uu Wmjw,jja
"ribbPfls are 'not more expensive ttan treating ,Jn
faql, tae,girls( pan. drop ,thelr fashion expenditures
much more' easily" than men can drop their baa
habits. Both twould be better for adopting a sim
pler life. They could thus save in the days of
strength and vigor and make provision for age
and infirmity.
JJJ
Wagner's f hanksgiviflg Sermon
Charles Wagner, the author of "The Simple
kite," taking for his text "Praise the Lord, oh
'my soul," has giv6n to the public a very interesting
Thanksgiving sermon. There runs through the
eermon a spirit of brotherly love that explains
the hold -that Mr. Wagner's writings have taken
.upon the. world. He suggests the following pray
er for those who sit down to a Thanksgiving din
ner: Oh, Heavenly Father, we praise Thee for
the great gift of bread. May we reiriember
' that the bread is made of Thy sunshine and
of the labor of man, so it shall feed in our
hearts confidence and love for Thee, and graU-
. tude and cheerfulness for our brethren.
The following extracts from th6 sermon, as
much as the copyright will permit us to quote,
.Will give as outline iT his thought:
, "Painters give a dark background to the most
luminous pictures. Ntever is a shining figure
brighter than against a shadowy background. So
1 would offer as a. background to the clear face
of a thankful' mind the dark abyss of ingratitude.
All the good: the lovely,-and the helpful; all-the
work of sacrifice- in the world, ihay be cast- dnto
this abyss -without, changing its aspect; without
lessening its depth. As the ocean shows not tne
paths of crossing ships, so the mind of an un
grateful man bears no sign of gifts received.
"Ingratitude not only swallows up the good
ness of a man's fellows, but forgets the goodness
of God himself. Therefore, we represent that
(ugly vice darjc as a hopeless night, dark as a
.covered grave."
-.
"If.youNvpuld see clearly all that, a morsel of
bread may, teach ypu, every meal would become
for you a blessed communion with the divine, and
the human life, and. would be to ybu a similitude
of the solemn., tord's -Supper, Not only would
The Commoner. '
you..talcfl with your dally moats, strength and.rost,
but, th6y, would Inspire in you confidence In tho
Father and brotherly love toward your brother
man not for the poor hrothron alone, but also
for those who make the broad.,'
"Who tlilnks about the laborer, the man of
the plow and tho furrows, whijo.iie asks "Glvo
us today our dally broad?" ' la l fair to praise
tho Heavenly Father for gtvhjg ,us plenty, and ,
to forgot tho man who makes tljo broad in stormy
day and heat of summertido? ,
"But it is exactly what wo too often aro ac
customed to do. Wo forgot tho gardener when wo
eat fruit; tho farmer whon wo eat bread. Sitting
in bur homes, wo forgot tho carpentor and mason;
while enjoying tho warmth of tho flresldo, wo for
get the woodman or the miner. Evon if wo sing
praises and give thanks to tho Heavenly Father
for all these precious things, it is not fair to
forget our fellow-men, without whoso laborj as
human Instruments, we should not have them, I
would tr to lead every one to a thanksgiving
which would inspire a hearty gratitude, both for
the unseen Father and for the visible man who
dees tho Father's work and is the messenger of
His merciful spirit."
"May we be warned and avoid the sin of.ster
ilo gratitudo and selfish contentment, from which
God and all the angels of tho blessed martyrs
turn their faces.
"Similar caution should be given concerning
public welfare, just laws, efficient schools, every
worthy 'national' Institution 6r characteristic. To
give .waim' thanks for public liberty and firmly
'established commonweal Is not enough; to re-
k members and honor those who have fought and
ridled for their' immortal country is not enough. A
.nation canb'o overwhelmed by a selfish pride in
fher own institutions, and, like a man full- of self-
laudation, pray the Pharisee's prayer that hateful
'Vthanksgivltfg "soiled by disdain of others. We
'j.'oughtJndvtfiM'to- forget the' severe judgment which
Moll from Christ's- lips ovel4 every self-rlghteou3
Estate of mitia -It is surely for" any land an awful
nsign, symbolld' Pf corruption 'arid decay. Aro wo
iBihderelyk grateful for our nritidnal blessings, be
hoved litferfcy', 4 and generous opportunities? And
what i'the'prodf of our sincerity? It Is a double
' ondf at 'first a' deep Impression of responsibility,
because every, now 'source ofj natural wealth and
every iricreaSe of national riches is a now sorios
of dulled; and who has been weighed in -the bal
ance and found true? Second, a brotherly and
helpful feeling for foreign nations who lack our
inexhaustible resources.
"A good Thanksgiving Day should be a day
' for" tile' opening of oUr arms, the' cleansing of our
hearts, and the enlarging4 of our minds."
"I would call all of you brothers in grier and
sorrow; all you who have behind you a shadowy
year. Come and let us think about what we should
do; let us think about our place amidst thanks
giving people.
"Ah first I sav:' 'Let us bo glad through the
joy of otLdrs.' This Is ever a goodly help for a
suffering but large-hearted man. Do not sep
arate your dally life from that of others, or you
will lock a door leading toward true and blessed
enjoyment. If the good fortune and prosperity of
'others make you glad, you will also give thanks
for every good which has come to pass in the
world around you, because you will be unselfish
enough to feel that any blessing is a blessing for
all and so your grateful heart takes its part of
all' the sunbeams falling -down over this gloomy
earth, even if they do not directly touch your own
"But we have still another and important rea
son for mingling our voice with the songs of grati
tude which areheard today. Nothing can be compared-
to the'fact that we are the children of God,
standing by our Father's side, happen what will.
'To know that God is near is to know that Ho w
ovef -all. It is the inortilrig light of bright and
delightful days. It is the star of the darkest nights
"'Cotus be grateful for this treasure, and enjo
a puro ritual liberty in the 'peaceful feeling
that neither high things nor low can separate
us from the love of the Lord."' -
(Copyright, 19C4, by J. W. Lang.)
.. - ' JJJ '
Pnfitlcs In New., Zealand"
'. '-ir, C F Taylor, 15 Chestnut-BtTeot, Philadel
phia has just .issued in tbeEquity' Seties a con
densaSif the 'book published y fcltatfbir and
Pro?es7or Parsons on "Polities' iNew 'Zealand."
This condensations In' paper'covcr, contains a lit-
tlo moro than one hundred pages, and sell!, at 25c
por copy. Special attention la called to it becaus
all reformers ought to have a copy. ,
Now Zealand Is one of tho most progressive
countries in tho world. Frco to form their own
govornmont and to shapo their legislation, unham
pered by previous systems, tho pcoplo ot Now Zea
land have- successfully adopted a numbor of ro forma
which aro under discussion hero and olgQwhere.
Tho Torrcns Utlo registration is in oporatlon thero;
tho telegraph and tolophono linos aro owned by
tho government, postal av!ngB banks have been
established; government Insuranco la la operation
thero; tho Australian ballot and tho primary sys
tem havo been adopted, and tho railroads are ope
rated by 4'jo government,
Theso aro somo of tho roforms which tho peoplo
of Now Zealand havo worked out for themselves
and ovcry student of economic and sociological
questions is interested in knowing what has boon
dono and what success has attor.dod tho experi
ments. JJJ
The Real Politicians
Tho Commoner analn call tho attontl-on of Itfl
readors to tho sentiment cxproiwcd by Matthew
Arnold:
"BccauBo theso thlncs, right and wrong, aro
really what do govern politico and savo or doatroy
states, tho few who keep Insisting on tho good of
righteousness and tho unprofltablouoss of iniquity
aro tho only real politicians."
This sentiment will bo roprpducod rrom tlmo
to tlmo In order that the readers of Tho Corampner
may become familiar with It. If tho democratic
party Is to bo a power for good In this countryiit
must "keep Insisting on. the, good of righteousness
s an'd the unprofitableness of Iniquity." ,(t nl.
jjj
1 . . r ij
w3i
. Th DaUrftri niifcttanfl XUI
The Nebraska StaJLo,, journal says:
There seems to be. but one effective way In
sight to check tho growth of tho sentiment In
favor of the government ownership pfrrail
roaUs. That Is to clotho tho Interstate Qpm
"morco commission with tho power to enfprco
its decisions. Tho peoplo of Nebraska will bo
moro Interested, perhaps, In the votes cast
during the coming session of congress on, this
""'question by tholr representatives, .than In any
otLer part of tho record.
Yes, that is tho only way to check it and that
is the ono way that tho republican leaders havo
heretofore avoided. Will they do better now? Or
will they regard the election as an endorsement, of
their inaction on this subject? tr
JJJ
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