Sr. VIATEUR'S
CoLLEGE JOURNAL.
LECTIO CERTA PRODEST, VARIA DELEOTAT. Seneca.
VOL. I.
-BBQRRONJUlli GROVE, ILL FRIDAY AprU, 13 l8a3 WUITHER ARE WE DRIFTING'f
Jn one of our rnroblcs drrri11g the late holidays we found ontse.lvcs, one evening at twilight, at the intersection of two of Chicago's chief thoroughfares. :::itill nm:1.zed at the remembrance of the crowds of hununity sweeping by, we shall here endeavor to pencil n few of the pictures of ihis living panorama and the thoughts that they suggested. Here comes along at n. <ii.~t:mce n. yonng m:>n crowned wilh a Jeri'Cy hat, wearing p:lnts cut in the htcst style, so that they r csembl stntred clnbs, decked Oltt .with a coat so shortr that it Wf\S n.pp:lrcntly m:1.de fo r a younger brother, instnlletl in a pnir of shoes !.hat reminded us of an n.cute nnglc, nml br:\ndishing a walking-stick with n.Jl the delic1.1cy and tenderness of a six-button ldd-glove. Ilc smiles :m O路car smile, as his r:1inbow-colored hn.nrlkerchief is swung out upon the evening breeze. WlNt r thought we, is this a rcprcsentati ve of the men wlxl ar-c to guide lhc destinies of this grc:~.t nation l Is this a ~pccimen of the men who nrc to build up Jthis great rcpu blic? Is this a spe<'imen of the men who nre to preserve our gover nment free from the corrupting i ll flucnccs of Stnr-Route Frauds and Whisky Rings? l ,; this nn imit:1tor of the good :md grc:1.t men th'lt made Culumbh whnt it is? Is this a lineal de.scendant of "\V nshington, the Father of his country-first in war first in peace, and fust in the henrts of his countrymen l In ctisgust we recoiled from the thought nn<i turn-ed awRy hurling nnnthemM agninst the vioes and vnnities of the age, nod beg:m to feast our eyes upon the mis~l颅 hneous throng. On~ more we were confronted with the presence of a large, burly. individual whose corpulent furm would indicnte that he must be one of the dty futhers., so frequently and so touchingly nlluded to by the Chiea go Tribune.. Tie grn~ps ~n ol<i a.cqunintance by the h:>nd :<nd by degrees tbe solemn words came f.;i t bfully to our C.'\TS. "So you are going to vote for t:1:1 t "Bill," snid the f."l.t man. "0 yes," snid the grn.yb:lircd pntriar 路h, who wnrmed up to his . discourse. "Why shouldn't I? They are all thieves now. There is sc:\reely Rn honest man in the city . Honesty is a thing of the p'>st. Money is ever ' thing to-day. Gould anct V:llldcrbiJt have more of :.. controlllng voice in the
councils of the nation to-day than Arthur himselt Money is in1luence, witbo11t it, you are n corpse and you may bet thRt I am not prepared -to be considered a "Stiff" just yet. "Very true, very true" aaid tbe fa\ man and both departed to share in the spoils that n.re wrenched from the poor man's Iabore, and left us behind meditating upon the great race thn.\ men are running in our day , :.md thut the goal they aim at is the Golden ca~f of the Hebrews, the filthy lucre that springs from the dust and the slime of the earth. Ancl anon a))proncbes the Organ-grinder; he toots hi's reed, his roundehy is perpetually kept up notwithstanding the j ostling of the numerous passers-hy. An ornn路 meutnlly-d eckf:!d Monkey is perched on the box, he holds out his master's h:1t to take in the otferred gi~, while he jerk~;, jumpe and squirms with tho utmos\. cutenB&~. Yet strange to s~y we failed to ~&...la hlut<the faintest note of too human voice, after all the so-cnllcd wonderful disoveries of science, and despite hi& denoted advocates, Spencer, Darwin, Tyndall and Huxley. But yet the organ grinds; yet the eheckles nre gnthered, yet this mean custom is tolerated, able-bodied men nrc permitted to ply such nn idle trade; and o.s ws watched the Italian traTDp, stru tting along nnd taking up a penny or two from some tender-hearted Indy we could not help cnlmly remarking-"Yes, our fat man certainly uttered a practicRl truth, nnd Shakespeare very aptly said whnt fools we mortals be." Once more ou r gaze is riv etf:!d upon the rag-covered, cold-footed newsboy with o. bundle of papers under his arm. Clnmouron~ly the cry of "Evening news" is sung out as be skiP". along, little dreaming thnt he is a mere waif cast about the world's glittering societ.y, that cares little for his needs. little fo:r his wants, that answers his questions "A paper this evening?" with an ironical snarl devoid of human swmpatby. And the poor mother, the orph~n babe sitting on her hp ! What sutferring in the m!d 8 t of such wealth, in the midst of such pomp nnd dis ply of f-'1.Shion. And yet we tnlk of philanthropists, of chri11e. hns, of hearts full of tenderness and compassion, bu111t.. ing for the woes of suffering humanity! It is a sa-tire upon the name of charity to utter such remarks. Charity is cert.'\UUy
IUl
abstraction in this century.