CHAPTER XIX 



THE PERSONAL EQUATION 



The lowliest hearthstone flame 



Is worthier of worship than the sun. 

 The patter of bare brown feet that dance and run 



Over roughest cabin floor, 

 And the poor mother's happy smile, are more 



Than starry hosts and lofty ghosts, 

 And awful phantoms born of overwrought 



And soulless travail on the heights of thought. 



Maurice Thompson. 



THE way of life discussed in these pages will 

 bring happiness and contentment, together with 

 a large measure of security and individual inde- 

 pendence, founded on landed proprietorship, to millions 

 of families now utterly defenseless against the high 

 cost of living and entirely dependent upon landlords 

 for a place to lay their heads. A movement that prom- 

 ises so much in the way of social upbuilding is certainly 

 well worthy of national attention and encouragement. 

 It does not follow that everybody will adopt this way 

 of life; or that all would find it satisfactory if they 

 did. It has been my consistent effort to keep clear 

 the distinction between those who are city-minded and 

 those who are country-minded. It would be very inter- 

 esting to know how society is divided along these lines, 

 but there is no way to ascertain, except by the slow 

 evolution of the national life. 



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