THE FUTURE EVOLUTION OF MAN 271 



broader education, will come keener demand for in- 

 telligence. We may hope the time is not too far dis- 

 tant when a question of governmental policy, a new 

 book or play, or a new discovery in science will 

 stimulate as much conversational zest as now seems 

 to be gotten from a pack of cards. 



A third feature of the ideals which should be in- 

 stilled into the minds of our children is the moral 

 phase. There seems little doubt that this is on the 

 way. We must not mistake an evident laxness of 

 religious observance as being synonomous with moral 

 looseness. The revelations which our recent period- 

 icals have brought us concerning the habits of busi- 

 ness men, of politicians, and of society, have left 

 on many minds the impression that this is distinctly 

 an age of decadence. Exactly the reverse is the 

 truth. This is the age of intense sensitiveness to 

 wrong. In almost no particular is it worse than any 

 previous age in the history of our country. We 

 openly discuss things which we left untouched a lit- 

 tle while ago. We insistently demand that business 

 practices to which nobody particularly objected a 

 dozen years ago must now certainly cease. All of 

 this has produced an erroneous impression that the 

 times are out of joint. But the dust and dirt in the 

 air is the unavoidable accompaniment of house clean- 

 ing. When doubtful practices simply have publicity 



