THE VISION SPLENDID A Story of To-day BY WILLIAM MACLEOD RAINE ་་ 99 66 AUTHOR OF "BRAND BLOTTERS," "A TEXAS RANGER," WYOMING," ་་ CROOKED TRAILS AND STRAIGHT," "BUCKY O'CONNOR," 44 RIDGEWAY OF MONTANA," ETC., ETC. VALIANT SOLDIER OF THE COMMON GOOD For putting your name on this page without your knowledge I hope you will pardon me. Since you, too, like Jeff, have enlisted as a lifelong soldier of the common good you will find in this story a picture—however faultily portrayed-of the movement toward a better order. In men's minds the gospel of democracy is taking root. We shall never rest, content until it bears its fruit of social and economic justice, until the sense of Brotherhood permeates society with the conviction that the good of one is inextricably woven with the welfare of all. When that day comes Life will be a thing beautiful beyond our present hope, a brave adventure through which we shall go happily and helpfully. The theories of Jeff and his friends are those to which earnest people are turning in the search for a way out. Let us grant that some of them are crude and ineffective. What of it? Youth struggles with a vision of half truths. So long as the vision leads toward the light we may hope for the best. As I grow older I incline to think that wrong thinking is at the bottom of most of our troubles. Men mean to do right, but their perception of the truth is obstructed by the walls which custom and prejudice have built around them. The message of our time is to raze these walls and so clear the ground for the better day. My admiration for your work in this line is my justification for this page. |