1 gj Ml Wis
IT
."
Commoner.
3
pjfrrRprikipi"" sr
NOVEMBER 18, 1904
citizen a reward commensurate with his contribu
tion to the welfare of society; if the government
falls to do this the individual instead of being
di3Comaged should apply himself more diligently
to his work.
The individual should learn self-denial. A
slf. denial voluntarily practiced is quito different
from a self-denial forced upon one by unjust laws
or by an unjust administration of the govern
ment. If the trusts are permitted to extort a
higher price than they should; if the railroads are
allowed to collect dividends on watered stock
aid upon fictitious capitalization; if manufacturers
arc invfted to enrich themselves by prohibitive
duties on imports; if the expenses of the govern
ment are constantly increased because the tax
eater has more influence than the tax-payer -the
individual, wiiile waging for a chance to correct
these evils, can to some extent fortify himself
against them. Ho can cut off unnecessary expendi
tures and so arrange his work as to give It the
maximum of productiveness.
Young men, especially, can with profit cultl- -vate
economy. Take for Instance the amount of
money spent for liquor and tobacco. These expen
ditures are not only not necessary for health or
happiness, but i.iey are apt to invite disease. The
habits grow -71U too often, not only dissipate one's
income but sap the strength and Jessen his pro
ductive power. The young man who spends uis
money treating his friends does not troat them as
well as he would if he set them an example of tem
perance and celf-restraint. Many, young men
spend on tobacco leaves money which if put into
the leaves of books would not only give them bet
ter healtli but would. -.supply, a fund of Information
that would contribute both to their happiness
and their usefulness.
Young men often spend In society money that
they can I1J afford to .spare. It is much better
that. a young man should be .frank with his. asso
ciates whether they be male or fomale and let
them know that he is not only determined to -ivo
within his income but to put aside something each
year and lay the foundation for a competency.
The young man who spends all his spare money
in having a good time with the boys does nut
make friends worth having, and the young man
who spends all hi3 money ofT the girls with whom
he keeps company does not Inspire the respect
that he would If by his conduct he gave the promise
of being able to furnish a home and supply the
needs of a family.
It is no disgrace to be poor; in fact, the boy
who has-to make his own way has, as a riile, an ad
vantage over the boy who is content to spend
what some one else earned, but it 4s a reproach
to a young man to squander even a small income
on things that bring no substantial advantage.
One of the lirst lessons that the young man must
learn Is to deny himself today in order that he
may have more of the comfort of life tomorrow.
He who lives up his earnings from 1 ay to day will
be an object of charity when his crength falls.
No governmental reforms can bring prosperity
to the idler .or security to the spendthrift. The
individual has his part to play; he can not shift the
responsibility or blame the government if he falls
to make the most ,of his opportunities. -
JJJ
v
Rev. Hillls Attacks Plutocracy
Rev. Newel D wight Hillls, who occupies the pul
pit of the late Mr. Beecher's cl.urch ut Brooklyn,
N, Y., recently administered a stinging rebuke to
the idle and luxurious rich of that great metropolis.
Ho contrasts the city life with country life, and
points out the advantage that the boys of the west
enjoy. ,He sayo: "The boy who Is nourished in
th.e city, who all his life has breathed only tho
tainted air- of the city and has 'been cramped by
his surroundings, has -o chance. It is tho boy
who has boon reared far from tho complexity of
city life that does things. Hero a man loses his
individuality. Tho men who will make themselves
known forty years hence are now husking corn In
Nebraska."
This Is not only a recognition of the broadening
and educating influence of country life, but It is
complimentary to tho state of Nebraska that it
should havo been selected as. a typical place for
this best development of young men. Dr. Hillls
goes on to contrast hla work with tho work of
westorn preachers, and ho does this to the ad
vantage of ciq west. Ho says:
"Tho real preachers are those whose work Is
done In the west. I am a man who spends his
time mixing tonics u try to get up an appetite
in you who are gorged to the point of gluttony."
"What an Indictment of his congregation; what
a compliment to tho freer and larger field in the
west. It Is a pity that more ministers havo not
the courage to speak out against the demoralizing
Influence of what Is called "high life." and to
warn the people who are rushing neadlong down
grade and carrying their families and their com
munities with them.
The following is another extract:
"Hero you are eatlrg many kinds of foods,
pouring wines down your throats, saturating your
selves with all kinds of ease and luxury, and then
preparing to die out of life, when God has put
you here for something better. You aro not happy,
but In seven days I could make you happy. Organ
ize the resources of life In the interest of the
poor and weak, and for misery you will have
happiness, for selfishness that corrodes, you will
have a blade that flashes more and more, and then
you will know real luxury the luxury of service. '
A Daniel come to judgment! Ho is talking to
tho men who stand at tho apex of our commercial -syLtem.
Instead of reconlzlng life as an oppor
tunity for doing good, too many of them look
upon life only as a means of accumulating not
what they need for happiness and comfort, but
an amount that makes them weary to carry it.
Their expenditures expand with tholr income, and
' those expenditures are genorally selfish and de
structive of real enjoyment. They ruin their
stomachs with excessive food; they sap their
strength with dissipation and they wear them
selves out try.T to clutch- that illusive thing
.called happiness, which, while it can not be over
taken by those who pursue it, comes silently and
unbidden to those who forget themselves in the
discharge of duty and in the service of their fel
lows. Dr. Hillis' sermon is but another evidence of
,.a moral awakening that is destined to substitute
tho sentiment of brotherhood for tho sensual and
soul-destroying ideas that have followed in the
wake of material prosperity.
JJJ
The Pass Evil
More and more the people are coming to real
ize the enormity of the pass evil. A number of
' bills have been Introduced at various sessions of
the Nebraska legislature intending to prohibit tho
giving of railroad passes, but these measures were
not adopted. One of these bills provided that any
justice or judge who used transportation in any
form should be ineligible to sit in a railroad case.
Another bill made similar provisions as to jurors.
Judge Munger of the United States supreme court,
for the district of Nebraska, has held it cause for
challenge in a suit to which a railroad was a party
that a juror who was drawn and summoned asked
and received from such railroad a pass. The prin
ciples embodied in the bills referred to and the
rule laid down by Judge Munger aro undoubtedly
sound. That a pass ha a pecuniary value Is recog
nized by both tho donor and tho donee, nnd that
a pass may havo .an Influenco upon the mind and
decision of a juror or judgo Is understood by tho
railroad It not by tho recipient of .ho paua. Cor
porations do not give away things of value with
out expecting a return in some form, and tlioy
would not continue to glvo pauses unlosa thoy felt
that this expectation had been realized In the pant.
Tho parties to a suit aro entitled to a fair and
impartial trial, nnd a trial can not bo fair or Im
partial If tho judgo or Juror is under pecuniary
obligations to one of tho parties to the milt. As
long as mon can be Influenced by "zoal born of
benoflta received and fostered by tho hope of
favors yet to come," as Mr. Clovolnnd onco felici
tously expressed it, they will be tempted to loan
toward tho side from which tho boncfit comes. It
can not bo stated as a universal or invariable rule
that a pass Is a bribe, nor can I be said that it
always Influences tho person who receives it,
but until a passometer Is Inventod which will meas
ure the influence of frco transportation upon tho
judicial mind, tho only safe plan is to prohibit tho
uso of passes by those who are to dccldo contro
versies to which a railroad is a party. If a Judgo Is
required to ti .ivol in the discharge of official duties
his expenses are provided for; If he has occasion
to travel on private business ho can better afTord
to buy a ticket than the average man. If uny ono
will obsorve ho will find that those who need frco
transportation most are unable to secure It, and
that those best able to pay tholr faro are the ones
who have tho Influonce necossary to secure passes.
JJJ
Johnson, the democratic candidate for gov
ernor In Minnesota, and Douglas, tho democratic
candldato for governor In Massachusetts, wcro
elected In spite of the tremondous majorities cast
against the head of tho ticket.
JJJ
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