Article November 13, 1909 Issue

OVERCOMING EVIL

FRANK B. HOMANS.

AN item which is going the round of the papers says that a western farmer has discovered that artichokes will crowd out Canadian thistles, and that now some other farmer must find something to crowd out the artichokes! This suggests the line of action which very many are pursuing today. They are relying upon one evil to destroy another, without giving due consideration to either first cause or ultimate result. It was supposed that the English sparrow, when it was introduced into this country, would destroy the grubworm; now the cry is, What shall we do with the sparrow? A levee built to prevent a river from overflowing its banks simply tends to raise the river-bed, and more embankment is needed until this attempt to check the evil is proven to be only a temporary relief. Thus it is ever, until we learn that we must strike at the root of error and destroy it, rather than temporize with experimental means that may become a greater evil.

This lesson is applicable to the business world as well as to the physical. Many are they whose lives have been made hard because they were led to borrow money to pay their obligations. With no apparent means of repaying the loan, they continued to pay large interest until finally principal and interest became a nightmare and they were driven to do something desperate. The result is as it always must be if we put off the day of reckoning, instead of boldly facing it. The child who is continually fed on candy to keep it from crying, or soothing-syrups to lull it into quiet, is very liable to become the man who keeps himself well supplied with tobacco and liquor, regardless of the fact that his wife may not have proper clothing; or the woman who dresses far beyond her husband's income, with no thought as to how the bills are to be paid.

Error seems to adapt itself to its surroundings, and from its present position it is surely symbolized by the "great red dragon" spoken of by St. John in Revelation. While the modern name of this dragon is mesmerism or hypnotism, it has so many aliases that its true identity is sometimes hidden, and under these conditions it is frequently employed where if it were clearly recognized it would be rejected.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

AMONG THE CHURCHES