Jasper County Democrat, Volume 23, Number 69, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 November 1920 — LET ALL REJOICE [ARTICLE]

LET ALL REJOICE

Taking Courage From the Spirit of the .Pilgrims. Surely the People of Today Have More Causes for Thankfulness Than They Possessed. To us It certainly seems as though the Pilgrims had little to be thankful for. If the settlers In Plymouth could “sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgivin 1621, what, pray, ought we to do in this year of bur Lord? Think of the blessings which *ve enjoy as the commonplaces of the day, of which the Pilgrims never even dreamed! A vast territory mastered, surveyed and thickly settled —abundant treasures of farm, mine, forest and mill poured out for human uses—innumerable inventions harnessed to the service of human efficiency and comfort —a great republic “conceived In liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal”—free political, educational and religious institutions, hitherto .unknown and unparalleled, successfully established a higher grade of material well being, a wider diffusion of culture, a nobler ideal of happiness, a finer conception of democracy, achieved for all the people, than the world has ever seen before! It is true, of course, that not all ills have been suppressed, nor all blessings won. But because we have not yet achieved everything is no reason why we should not be glad that we have achieved much! Because we have not yet won the goal of life is no reason why we should not rejoice that we have advanced! The world today is better than it ever has been before. Men have less suffering, greater happiness and nobler opportunity than in any epoch past. Humanity is still fighting the same persistent ills and seeking the same Illusive goods, but in new fields and-*on higher levels. The goal srtill Ues far ahead, but behind is a long road .of miseries conquered and battles won.