Yukon Valley News
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CALENDAR
a M T W T F 8
1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
23 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31
Moos’a Phases.
Lust quarter, 8th;
new moon, 15th;
first quarter, 22<1;
full moon, 30th.
8 M T W T F 8
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 18 17 18 11)
20 21 22 23 24 25 20
27 28 29 30 31
Moon’s Phases.—
Last quarter, 7th;
new moon, l^th;
first quarter, 20th;
full moon, 29th.
Wednesday, December l’6, liHXi.
PASSING OF THE INDIVIDUAL
To a person who has for a long time
live<l in the western states and territo
ries ami become imbued with the spirit
of individuality of character that has
distinguished the western people, the
signs of the times present some inter
esting problems. Indeed, to a great
extent collectivism has already displaced
individualism: it is no longer consid
ered a strange or a foolish thing to say
there are no such conditions as the nat
ural rights of men, hut that every hu
man being is on earth only to serve the
purposes of every other human being;
that the mass must decide the status of
the unit in the one great plan, and that
howsoever the individual is commanded
so shall he do. This is to end poverty,
vice, force, resistance, war.
It is the idealist’s Socialism. Anarchy
is at the other i>ole of the philosophical
sphere: it would resist all organized in
terference with the individual’s w ill, un
til each one’s inclination may follow its
own bent, unopposed and consequently
unopposing.
Notwithstanding the frequent acts of
assassination w hich we denominate an
archist outrages, Anarchy has not a
sufficient footing in the world to make
it either a cause of terror or of hoj«—
according to w hich way it is viewed as a
world movement. On the other hand,
Socialism grows. Its ideas tind lodg
ment not only in bright minds, hut in
shallower heads of aristocratic society
everywhere who know at least that they
and their kind have long received from
the world a large measure of unearned
blessings. Kvcn the powerful capital
istic class, w ho think they have most to
fear from it, are doing a mighty work
for socialism by making the individual's
existence impossible without it.
Men are becoming more and more de
pendent upon organized society, which
seems almost ready to say to each one,
"Take your place in line and keep step,
or disappear from the face of the earth.’’
ttf course that time is not yet; lull the
cote lit Ion has la-en approached nearer
than a g<aal mull) of us had expected
ever t<> see it. IVrhapn if we bail
thought of tin- matter at all our hojs
would lmve been never to see it so near
being an actuality as it is; for we were
sticklers for what we were pleased to
call liberty, us westerners of the United
States, and liberty will be a meaning
less word under a perfected socialism.
Nevertheless, the logic of events seems
to point to socialism in a state of more
or less ideality. It is the privilege of
individuals to speculate on the time of
its arrival, the nicer details of its per
fected parts, how long it will remain,
and whither it will go (for there is noth
ing present or to come that may endure
alway). A friend once gave the writer
an object lesson in socialism, however,
which it is hoped will be as instructive
to any chance reader as it was to the
pupil of several years ago. Here is a
recital of the lesson:
The friend was an enthusiastic natu
ralist as well as socialist. I will not
pretend to judge the depth of his knowl
edge on either subject. Anyway, he led
me to a tepid, shallow pool, which we
cautiously approached, and swimming
therein was a small, wire-like object,
jierhaps 22 inches long, tapering to a
needle-point tail at one end and hav
ing a snakev head and eyes at the other.
It moved rapidly about and coiled itself
around a boulder in an endeavor at con
cealment.
“What is it?” I asked.
“That is a horse-hair snake,” said he.
“Learned hails have told me it is imjios
sible; but I have plucked a hair from a
horse’s tail and placed it in this pool;
and from day to day I have watched it
develop into the active and intelligent
body you see. Now look."
He placed a light board in the water
and the wonderful snake hid beneath it.
Tlie board floated away and lodged at
the bank and the snake remained un
der it.
As we walked a short distance away
ami seated ourselves in the shade my
friend told, me the snake’s history. In
a few days after the hair was placed in
the water a slight swelling was noticed
in the end that had been plucked from
the horse’s tail. One store day and the
shape of a head was discernible, with
little knots where the eyes were to he,
and the Ixsly had grown larger for a
length of 10 inches. Another day aud
there was a symmetrical body, with a
head to direct, eyes to see danger and
intelligence to shun it; in fact, a living
Thing capable of performing all the
functions necessary to its existence.
"Wonderful!” I said.
“Wonderful indeed,” he answered.
“And I have learned how nature has
done this marvelous work. It is all
very simple when once understood. The
water was full of living organisms so
small that millions of them might swim
side by side in a space the size of theeyeof
a cambric needle, every one an independ
ent being—an individual. The hair fur
nished food and a means of keeping
from la-ing swallowed by drinking
ls-asts. The soft, spongey end was avail
able first, and was greedily seized upon
by the helpless atoms of life ami thought.
As the hair liecame gluey and soft num
berless multitudes came and adhered.
There no longer lieing necessity for indi
viduality the living |(articles lieeauie
one, each infinitesimal atom remaining
where chance hud sent it and tilling the
office that the good of the now single
lardy suggested to it."
"Wonderful! Miraculous'" 1 said.
My friend continued "It is lm| t|l(.
law of all matter: like combines with
like, and greatness results—individual
Chas. A. Traeger,
Hats, Clothing
and Furnishings.
Complete Line
New Ladies’ Goods,
Flannels, Blankets,
Gents’ Furnishings.
H. J. RODEN,
Attorney at Law,
Fairbanks, Alaska.
J. LINDLEY GREEN,
Lawyer.
Office at the Courthouse.
OFFICE OF
Commissioner and Recorder.
Rooms 1 and 2, Courthouse
Modern Dentistry
'k In all Its Branches
CHARLES D. CARTER, D. D. S.,
Prices reasonable. Work guaranteed.
OFFICE BALLOU RESIDENCE.
A. B. NOTICE.
Regular meetings of the Arctic Brother
hood Lodge are held at their hall on the
second and fourth Fridays of each month at
8 o’clock p. in.
W. W. CROCKETT,
JULIUS RAHMSTORF, Arctic Chief
Arctic Recorder.
(
i nr vni Iont°r,ho$e pe°p** whov
Ant I UU seldom write home? \
They will know you are all right if you I
send them the YUKON VALLEY NEWS. I
Mail yours or let us send one weekly. /
ity reduced to its last division is mere
nothingness.”
I knew my friend well and foresaw
his drift. He was called daft on social
ism; hut, if so, his arguments were
by me irrefutable. Bewildered by w hat
1 had seen and carritsl away by the
sturtling conclusions lie was draw ini;,
I heard a splashing in the pool. A va
grant iiorse was drinking there. With
angrv shouts my friend ran; hut he was
too late. The lieast had xte|>|>ed U|xtn
the Ismrd and crushed to death the
thing beneath.
“Are none of tlje billions of billions of
component parts alive?" I asked.
“Not one,” he said, sadly.
It is not g*»«l to la* t<si sym|sitlietic.
I.et us rejoice that >air days are growing
longer! though the Antarctic summer
has commenced to wane.
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