isa-normaladvance-1903-00042

Description:	42THE NORMAL ADVANCE.Pauperism.This world is not a hard world to live in if onebut has the knack of making the proper concessions to the conditions around him. Hosts ofanimals and plants have this knack and theirkind continlues to- prosper. They have been ableto adapt themselves to their environment and aretherefore successful. The persistence of the successful in life is known as the survival of the fittest. It is the working of this law which has, inall ages, been the chief element in organic progress. Among men there have always been thoseto whom the art of living was impossible. In allconditions there have been those who were unableto care for themselves. There will always bevariations which make the individual unfit to succeed in any environment. These variations, ifunborn and not due to disease or lack of nutritionhave a tendency to be handed down by the law ofheredity from one generation to the next.Among plants and animals in one way or otherall the incapables are eliminated. In Ernest Se-ton Thompsons animal stories, the rigid law ofthe survival of the fittest is seen at work. Oneis surprised to see how few among the lower animals are really successful. Loto, Rag, and Vixenwere successful and, because of their success, became noted. The story of their lives reveals thequalities each possessed to insure success. Red-ruff was the only survivor of a family of twelve.All the rest found the art of living impossible andwere destroyed. All came to an untimely end butfrom different causes. Their variations towardincapacity were in several directions. Rumbiewas too weak from the first two others could notwithstand a disease which overtook the family some of the others were not obedient and becauseof their disobedience failed and failure with Red-ruffs family meant death. RedrufE alone was soendowed as to be successful.Among men as among animals many of thosewho vary toward .unfitness are eliminated, but notall. Our social system is bound up too closely toallow the working of the law of the survival of thefittest to be carried to the point to which it is inthe animal world. With higher civilization andan ever increasing recognition of the value of mutual help, it is becoming more and more easy forthose to live who do not help. They increase innumbers with those who do help. They are protected in their multiplication by them.What to do with this ever increasing helplessclass is fast becoming one of the most importantquestions of our social system. It is a questionthat will be brought before the minds of the people in the near future. It is now being consideredby legislative committees, and may become a subject of legislation.In the struggle for existence1, the survival ofthe fittest has never been the real sjurvival of .thebest. The survival of the best is the ideal towardwhich our civilization is moving, but it has neverreached that end. This ideal is expressed overand over again in literature where the best doessurvive. The essence of Shakespeare is the returnof the evil to destroy the doer. It is evident tothe optimistic eye that, in the affairs of today,the success of the best is becoming more general.In politics today, the virtues of the statesman leadto higher successes than the astuteness of the politician. In business, the dishonest can no longerhope to be successful. Our railroads havelearned to build only of the best, for in stone,brick, and iron only that of the best fabric survives. Men are learning that, if they are to besuccessful, only material of the best fabric mustenter into their structure. They realize that it isthe diamond that is not easily scratched or dulled,that it is the precious ruby that does not fadewhen exposed to the light. When all civilizationreaches this stage, success in life will be a farmore noble thing than it is at present.It is not that the conditions arc too hard thatthe best sometimes fail. We would make themeasier if we could. The welfare of humanity de-
Source:	http://indstate.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/isuarchive/id/33783
Collection:	Indiana State University Archives

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