Article September 30, 1905 Issue

Getting a Living

BERT POOLE.

THE writer has had some strenuous experiences along the line of adjusting supply and demand, which, though not expedient to enumerate in this article, have, nevertheless, been of great value to him in determining the significance of existence, apart from money-getting. It has been found that the more one looks toward wealth as the source of comfort and happiness the more will-o-the-wispish it becomes. The elusive elements of materiality are among the most baffling factors of mortal experience. Ghosts cannot rival the airiness of money when the latter is made the central object of pursuits which in themselves are innocent. It goes without saying that when one does a service for another, especially a continuous round of duties, that the employer is expected to pay a sum of money for such service, in keeping with the law of a fair exchange of values which is the basis of all legitimate business transactions.

Jesus the Nazarene demonstrated beyond question that mere wage-producing and money-getting do not constitute the getting of a living. Nevertheless, it is probable that for years he was an obscure carpenter, working like others of his class in the little community of Nazareth, and that he received wages for his labor.

The relationships existing between members of our complex civilization have to do with far more than the mere production of wheat, meat, garden-stuff, manufactured articles, etc. These multiplied opportunities are leading many, especially among the rising claimants for place, to seek easy positions where there is a minimum of work to a maximum of pay.

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