Chapter III: Part 3

Nor is the following entry less surprising, written, as it was, in part justification of himself, lest he should have erred in having aided financially, and in other ways, a deaf-mute boy who came to him for assistance, but into whose circumstances he had not, at the time, had opportunity of making a personal inquiry. A file of correspondence with the Charity Organizations officer, and the superintendent of _The Institute for the Deaf and Dumb_, reveals the care with which he subsequently satisfied his conscience in this particular case of one who belonged to "the dependent and neglected poor."

"Whatever may be held regarding the unwisdom of a paternal system
with regard to society generally,--and while my own best judgment
inclines me to be individualistic,--I have a strong sympathy with
those who are robbed of the use of their senses, to whom so much
of the beauty of God's world is as a sealed book. I felt this
strongly as I dictated the letters which he could not hear. The
bright intelligence on his face as he learned my intention, and
indicated his approval of some of my suggestions, was beautiful
to see. I trust that he will not prove a disappointment, and that
I shall not be deceived."

Harper had the faith which led him at times to cast his bread upon the waters. Had he been asked why he did so, he would have replied, because he loved to. If questioned further, he would, with Tennyson, have said:

"That nothing walks with aimless feet;
That not one life shall be destroy'd,
Or cast as rubbish to the void,
When God hath made the pile complete."

_SOCIAL AND POLITICAL IDEALS_

Few men of his years have thought as deeply as Harper did, or had clearer perceptions, concerning conditions and forces which make for happiness and progress in social life, and the development of national greatness. Had he been spared he would have been an earnest and practical reformer; silent as his voice is now, the words he once uttered are not without their value to our day and generation. He was a true patriot in sentiment and aspiration.

Harper loved his country and its people, and in all that he undertook, which was of a public nature, he was animated by an enthusiasm for the common good. Of the self-imposed tasks he had undertaken in addition to his regular duties at the department of labour, and in each of which he had made some progress, were treatises on "Labour Legislation in Canada," and the "Outlines of an Industrial History of the Dominion." Among his contributions to publications other than the _Labour Gazette_, was a short essay on _Colleges and Citizenship_ in a Christmas number of the _Acta Victoriana_ of Victoria College, one or two articles in _The Commonwealth_ on _Canada's Attitude Towards Labour_, and an uncompleted monograph, intended for publication, on _The Study of Political Economy in the High Schools_. He was president of the Ottawa Social Science Club, secretary-treasurer of the Ottawa section of the University of Toronto Alumni Association, and an active member of the Ottawa Literary and Scientific Society. He was at the same time promoting the organization of a University Club, a plan of which he had carefully prepared, and the object of which was to bring the university men of the city into closer touch with each other, and make their influence more widely felt in the civic and social life of the community.

The background of all Harper's thinking on social and political problems was coloured by his belief in a moral order; in the forefront was ever the individual proclaiming this order, and seeking to realize it in his own life. Institutions of whatever kind, whether national or religious, were to him of human creation. Their usefulness was in proportion to the degree to which they helped to give expression to the unseen purpose in the universe. Nature and man, alone, were divine. It followed logically from this that man's work among his fellows in the world was to discover the moral order, reveal and maintain it, so far as within him the power lay. Harmony with this order meant happiness, want of harmony, whether by the individual or the state, unhappiness. In this view, the individual is vastly superior to any institution he and his fellows may construct, superior as an end, and as a means to an end. If a set of conditions exist which are counter to the moral order, or obstruct its fulfillment in the lives of men, these conditions should be changed, the individual should not be sacrificed to them. On the other hand, change may be, and ought to be accomplished more by men than by institutions, and can only be accomplished in the degree to which beliefs become active, potent factors in individual lives.

It is true that human knowledge is limited, and that the purpose of God is infinite, and so there may rightly be among men differences of opinion as to what, under any circumstances, are the ends to be sought, and the best means to attain those ends; and humility may well characterize all expressions of belief relative thereto; but, to the extent of knowledge gained, the ground underfoot is firm, and humility will not excuse the want of assertion, where right reason is set at naught by wrongful conduct. Moreover, there is much on which men can be agreed, broken arcs visible to all, though the perfect round is seen by none. There are right and wrong, truth and falsehood, honesty and dishonesty, love and hate, purity and vice, honour and dishonour, and the difference between them is as apparent and real as the difference 'twixt day and night, albeit, now and again, a twilight of uncertainty may render doubtful the confines of separation. Harper's exclusive insistence was only upon what in this way was acceptable to all; and knowing that it was acceptable, he was sure the appeal would find a response in those to whom it was addressed. Whatever men might be in seeking privately their own selfish ends, their belief in a moral order was apparent once action became collective; the public had a conscience to which it was generally true, though men at times might seem to betray their better selves; and public opinion might be expected to guard for society as a whole a right for which individuals sometimes lost respect. How great, therefore, was the responsibility upon those who had the capacity, or opportunity, to see that public opinion was rightly formed and directed, and that, in social and political affairs, truth and right should be made to prevail!

This insistence upon the recognition of responsibility in those favoured by educational training or opportunity, is well brought out in a paragraph or two in the short essay on _Colleges and Citizenship_. Referring to a quotation from Sir Alfred Milner's life of Arnold Toynbee, in which "the estrangement of the men of thought from the leaders of the people" is referred to as having constituted, in Toynbee's mind, the great danger of the democratic upheaval of the time, Harper writes:

"People in Canada to-day are doubtless not so anxious about
democratic upheaval. Fortunately the aggravated conditions of an
old world metropolis have not yet been developed. The task is
easier; the duty none the less imperative. It is more possible to
secure the confidence of men who are not embittered by the pangs
of slumdom. But because conditions here are not as distressing as
they have been and are elsewhere, it is surely no less desirable,
with a view to promoting industrial peace and healthy national
development, that the men who have opportunity and capacity for
the serious study of social and economic problems, should not
allow themselves to become fenced off by a wall of indifference
of their own creation from those to whom the mass of the people
look for direction, inspiration and suggestion. It is reasonable
to expect that he who claims to be engaged in the pursuit of
truth should not give countenance to what makes for social
disorder and national decay.

"Men are as much open to reason, as liable to accept truth,
when they have been convinced of it, as when Arnold Toynbee
studied, lectured and wrote. They are as prone to prefer what is
genuine to what is pretense and dissimulation. Surely a peculiar
obligation to see that men think rightly and act sanely, devolves
upon those whose vantage ground should enable them to distinguish
what is genuine. Sir Alfred Milner, having in mind the earnest
friend of his undergraduate days, said six years ago to the
members of Toynbee Hall: 'I do not go so far as to say that what
Oxford thinks to-day England will do to-morrow, but certainly any
new movement of thought at the universities in these days rapidly
finds its echo in the press and in public opinion.' Indeed, is
there not fair ground for the belief that much of the virtue
which has marked the conduct of Great Britain's High Commissioner
at Cape Town, throughout the South African crisis is due to
association with the high-minded student, who, in the congenial
atmosphere of Oxford, did not forget that he was a citizen?"

It was his belief in the importance of men recognizing their duties as citizens, and being able to discharge these duties with intelligence and for the common good, which led Harper to prepare a scheme for the teaching of Political Economy in the high schools. The merits of this plan he had summarized as follows:

"Such a study would tend to remedy the great evil of democratic
institutions, the susceptibility of the masses to the influence
of demagogues, and their liability to misconstrue the relations
of cause and effect because of ignorance. It would tend to
promote mental development, especially in the direction of
individual thought. It would tend to raise the standard of such
studies in the universities, and this in time would react upon
the high schools in the way of more competent teachers, and,
in the end, create great possibilities for the prosecution
of research in this all important branch of knowledge in our
country. It would tend to remedy social evils by giving the
philanthropist and the public generally, something like an
accurate idea of the true state of society. It would react
beneficially upon the government, which, with a more critical
observation, would be more careful in its actions."

He modestly concludes,

"I simply put forward a proposal which, I think, if carried
out, would tend to modify the evils fostered by ignorance. I
have to a great extent taken it as an axiom that whatever tends
to disseminate knowledge, to advance truth, and to develop the
intellect, cannot be wrong, and should be accepted by all liberal
minded men; and this, I think, would be the result of the study
of Political Economy in our high schools."

From the notes he had made, and from what is contained in the body of the article, it would appear that he had in mind a course on _Civic Ethics_, quite as much as on the _Elements of Economics_, and that he would have liked, if possible, to have had a beginning made in the public schools.

Scattered throughout his diary are such observations as the following:

"I am becoming more and more convinced that the true rulers of
the nation are outside of our parliaments and our law courts,
and that the safety of society lies in informing those who form
public opinion."

* * * * *

"I feel more and more the necessity of emphasizing the importance
of the scientific study of economic and political problems in a
country in which every man has the franchise, and is supposed to
be in a position to express an intelligent opinion upon public
questions, and particularly at a time when labour and kindred
problems are prominent in the public mind."

* * * * *

"A man who truly loves his country should be disposed to do his
utmost to see it rightly governed."

* * * * *

"The poor downtrodden have more to hope for from men who, having
a specialized training in the operation of social forces, apply
themselves to the proper remedy, than from all the windy,
ultra-radical demagogues."

"It is the alienation--partly, no doubt, due to indolence--of
the men of thought from those from whom the mass of the people
habitually receive their inspiration, which accounts for much of
the crass ignorance and purposeless passion of the people and
their demagogues."

* * * * *

"For myself, I have long deplored the foolish worship of this or
that set of political machinery by apparently well intentioned
men. In Matthew Arnold's _Culture and Anarchy_, there is a
solution for much of our distressing bluster and blunder. With
confidence in the possibilities of man and a resolute endeavour
to strive towards perfection, to allow our best consciousness
to play about our stock notions and our painful conditions of
society, we should be able to see the real value of things, and
ultimately to approach more nearly to right and truth. If our
well-intentioned, but perhaps 'over-Hebraized' ultra-socialists
and ultra-individualists would have perfection more prominently
in mind than the pet panacea they have ever before them, and
would allow their best consciousness to play about their notions
of society and its evils, there would be less of viciousness and
ignorance in their propaganda."

"The fallacy of political panaceas! And the vital importance of
improving the individual morally, and encouraging him to elevate
his ideals! What a splendid thing it would be if every labour
agitator, every demagogue, every member of parliament, every
professor, teacher and minister, and, in fact, every one who
exerts an influence upon the public mind, could realize and act
upon the truth which came to Alton Locke after his life of bitter
trial: 'My only ground was now the bare realities of life and
duty. The problem of society--self-sacrifice, the one solution.'"

* * * * *

"We are too apt to regard social phenomena as if they are
entities in themselves, instead of incidents in the development
of society, a fact which a man who is amidst the strife of
existing social and economic conditions should not lose sight of."

* * * * *

"I am continually impressed with the wisdom of keeping a mind
open to suggestion and impressions from the men one meets in
the ordinary course of life, in fine, the importance of keeping
an open mind. If one can accomplish this, even the din of
'the world's most crowded streets' becomes interesting and
instructive, even beautiful, because of the opportunities of
seeing truth and discovering the remedy for evils."

* * * * *

"Justice and truth must prevail over tyranny and ignorance."

* * * * *

The true mind is revealed in its unconscious moments, and it is, therefore, from passages like these, casually expressed, and constantly recurring in much that he wrote, which was of a private nature, that his real views and beliefs are to be gathered. One or two other passages in a similar vein will disclose these views more fully.

During Christmas week of 1900 he visited New York for the first time. Of the many impressions made upon his mind, the contrasts of wealth and poverty, and all that they implied, were to him more real than aught else.

"What was particularly irritating to me," he writes in his
journal, after returning from this trip, "was the constant
evidence of the power of money rule in that throbbing metropolis.
The story is written, even on the store signs on Broadway, that
this, the greatest commercial city in America, is practically
owned by monied persons, whose tastes and ambitions strike one as
being essentially low, mean and vulgar. I felt strongly a growing
pride in British institutions and British character compared with
what I saw about me. The ground taken by Mr. Mulock, on behalf
of labour, came strongly before me. I felt that selfishness must
be reckoned with in the solution of social problems. What is to
be hoped is that strong men may be brought to see that right
legislation is good politics, that they may thus be persuaded
to lend their aid to those who hope to avoid the growth in
Canada of a corrupt system by which the power is in the hands
of the octopus who owns the money bags, and who fattens on the
blood of the people whom he crowds under him. There is luxury
and magnificence on Fifth Avenue, but I envied not the proud
possessors of those costly mansions. I want naught but what my
own ability and effort will bring me. I believe in making one's
surroundings as beautiful as may be, but I feel that there is
much waste and vulgar display in the way in which wealthy New
York arrays herself. Her luxury is ponderous and heavy and dull,
when one remembers that much of it rests on the necks of the
hundreds of thousands of toilers who gasp for breath in the
narrow streets, from whom are withheld God's free gifts, the
sunlight and the pure air."

Elsewhere, he writes after a walk through the city streets:

"On the way home I turned over in my mind the question as to
how wealthy men come to be so much appreciated in spite of the
fact that it is only the lovable in man which is truly loved--by
right-minded men at all events, and I am satisfied that,
consciously or unconsciously, men come to compromise with their
own sense of justice in their estimate of men, until a habit of
thought and regard is fixed. What goes forward is something like
this: we do not love the man with the big house, but we would
love to be the man with the big house. And since the man with the
big house often has it in his power to get a bigger house than
we have, we come to appreciate him. Many men do this until it
comes to be usual to appreciate the man with the big house, and
he comes to be a large figure in the eyes of the world, however
little we may love him and his methods. This is particularly
the case in a young nation like the United States which has, as
yet, scarcely come to realize the really valuable things, an
appreciation of which comes from genuine culture.

"Again, whilst there is no great sin _per se_ in being rich, I
can see the truth in the old scriptural saying, 'It is easier for
a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to
enter into the kingdom of God.' When it is so hard for an earnest
student to keep his mind rivetted upon the eternal realities of
life, through which character building and true happiness come,
how much harder must it be for the man whose circumstances make
the existing order, if not sufficient, yet comfortable, who has
his vanity flattered by the things which he has been pursuing,
and who has a vast web of houses and other possessions to shut
him off from even an occasional view of the realities. These
facts, of course, only hold in their general application and
tendencies. There have been, doubtless, splendid rich men. When
these reach that state when, of their own free will, and of
deliberate choice, they are prepared to go, sell all that they
have, and give to the poor, then they have reached an attitude
of mind and heart which enables them to distinguish between
semblances and realities, to deliberately select the latter, and
so realize the greatest happiness, the Kingdom of Heaven."

His fine spirit is no less clearly revealed in the views which he held of the duties of the department of labour, and of the ideals he believed should govern and direct its work. The following extracts from letters to the one with whom he was associated, may serve to show with what purpose and to what end he had given himself to the work. The letters were written during the summer of 1901, while he was in charge of the department:

"As I lay in a hammock last night at Kingsmere, and gazed into
the deep blue moonlit vault of heaven, and ran over in my mind
the progress already made by the department, and taxed my
imagination to see its future, the one formidable obstacle which
I saw ever before us was the difficulty of keeping firm to one's
convictions in the face of growing clamours for things which one
cannot approve, yet which are uttered by people whom one cannot
ignore. Nevertheless, I am convinced that all will be well in
the end. We will have the good will of the decent, fair-minded
people, and that is all one should be much concerned about, after
one has satisfied one's own sense of right and justice. I feel a
deep sense of the gravity of our position, and I am determined
that you shall command my best effort in your endeavours to make
the work of the department effective, and to defeat unworthy
attacks. I do not think that I am lacking either in faith in
human nature or in the ultimate triumph of right, but I am coming
to realize more, day by day, that it is a great man's work which
we are called upon to perform. I have every confidence in our
ability to weather the storms which we will undoubtedly be called
upon to meet, and you can be assured that you will find me ready
to do my share. It behooves us both to steadfastly keep before us
those things which are true, and, if we do, Nature, as Carlyle
says, will be on our side.

"The work on the _Labour Gazette_ allows opportunity for a
careful and searching analysis of the industrial and social life
of the Dominion. Already I can see the practical usefulness of
the work. In addition to the obvious recognition of the claims
of labour involved in the creation of the department, we have it
in our power to publish information which should lead to a better
understanding all round, as well as to further such movements as
arbitration and conciliation which tend to promote industrial
peace.

"With the added responsibility there has come to me an increasing
sense of the usefulness of the work which we are doing. I
believe we can do much towards determining the direction of
social progress. With a knowledge of fact, an absence of
sectarian prejudice, some understanding of the progress of human
institutions, and of the motives which influence men, we should,
if we can keep control of ourselves, and maintain high ideals as
inspiration for the development of the best that is in us, be
able to render a lasting service to this country."

In this connection his views as to the relation of the State and Labour, and of labour problems generally, may not be without interest.

"I think," he writes, "we should discourage anything that tends
to prevent Canadian workers from being good citizens, and enough
means and leisure to avoid the brutalizing tendency of suppressed
bitterness and poverty, is necessary to that end. I am inclined
to believe that healthy, rational development will be best
furthered by restraining those influences which tend to lower the
level of citizenship, and the material well-being of the mass of
the workers in a country in which, as in Canada, the workers are
an important element in the governing of the nation. Society must
insist upon rules of fairness governing our industrial system,
and upon frowning down the 'mean man.' Let each individual have
to himself the reward of his energy, and of his legitimate
effort, but let him work in accordance with rules of fair play,
and frown down, and banish, if need be, the 'mean man.'

"There are those who have held that man has but one right, the
right to live, if he can. Modern British democracy does not
stop there. That same sense of self-respect which prevents us
considering as tolerable a society which allows men and women,
who are unable to provide for themselves, to lie down on the
street and die, forces us to insist that there shall be some
rules for the regulation of industrial life, more particularly
where the parties in an industrial contest are of unequal
strength. Most modern societies are prepared to admit that
industry should be so conducted that men who are willing to
work shall be allowed to work under as wholesome conditions as
are reasonably possible, and that they shall be allowed such a
return for their labour and so much leisure, as is necessary to
health. For, to put it on no higher ground, no society, however
hard hearted, can afford for long, when the remedy lies in its
own hands, to countenance conditions which create in the hearts
of reasonable men, that bitterness which tends to provoke social
upheavals and revolutions.

"Where the governing power is dependent upon the governed,
no abstract theory of individual liberty or what not, will
long prevent the State from taking cognizance of apparent and
remediable injustice. Doctrinaire political philosophers,
painters of Utopias, peddlars of political panaceas, still have
their own little _nostrums_ for society, but the law has been
built up, as has seemed right or expedient to the law makers of
the time, as a series of arbitrary rules based upon experience,
and defining the terms upon which people may best live in each
other's society.

"The attitude taken by those who have fashioned British policy
in industrial matters, recognizing the principle that upon
individual ability and individual energy rests national progress,
allows to the individual the enjoyment of the fruits of his
industry. But it insists that in the getting of it he must be
governed by rules of fair play. The rule which underlies the
various labour laws seems to be 'leave well enough alone, but
get after the mean man.' A parent has a right to chastise his
child, but that does not mean that he has a right to beat his
child whenever he feels inclined, or allow him to be so worked
as to start him in life a crippled, deformed, little creature.
The Factories Acts, perhaps the best known department of labour
legislation, both in England and in Canada, have been created
to correct abuses, which would not have arisen but for the
practices of hard-hearted employers. In order to thwart the mean
man, who will consider neither the comfort nor the well-being
of his employees, certain rules have been laid down, declaring
how establishments, where abuses are likely to arise, shall be
conducted.

"The generally accepted rule nowadays is, that good done is
sufficient justification of an act, in the absence of evidence
that equal or greater evil will follow. Take as an illustration
the inspection of apples and pears, which does not fall within
the scope of what is normally considered labour legislation. It
was found that, left to themselves, some men who sold apples were
so short-sighted as to fill the centre of the apple barrels with
inferior fruit, straw, old boots, clothes, and other material
which cost less than the hand-picked fruit of the Canadian
orchards, and which could not be seen when covered up with rosy,
sweet smelling Northern Spies. But the appetite of the British
consumer does not extend to the contents of the refuse cart, and
Canadian fruit growers as a whole suffered. Because some men are
prepared to carry their meanness to the extent of counterfeiting,
and of impairing the reputation of their countrymen, the Canadian
parliament felt called upon, in the interest of common decency
and the good of the apple trade, to require an inspection, which,
while it will defeat the mean man, will involve the regulation of
every honest Canadian shipper who is content to take his chances
on the principle, '_caveat emptor_.'

"Here, then, is an illustration which may be applied. Let every
man stand upon his own feet, says the parliament at Westminster.
Let every man choose and pursue his own aim in life, and have for
himself the reward of his efforts. But where an abuse develops to
such an extent that it becomes a menace to public safety, or an
invasion of the rights of others, we are prepared to so legislate
as to defeat the offender, whilst restricting individual
enterprise to the least possible extent."

And of the application of the same principle of fair play to industrial disputes, he writes:

"Partly because society feels that it cannot afford to see the
machinery of production tied up and inactive, partly because
of the effect upon consumers of increased inconvenience and
increased prices as the result of that suspension, but largely, I
think, because society demands that the men who work shall have
fair treatment, because the great heart of society, stripped of
its shams, its semblances, its dilettantisms, its hypocrisies
and its follies, demands that justice and fair play shall rule
between man and man, that they who are willing to work with,
their hands shall have a fair return for their work, and shall
be allowed to work under fair conditions, it has come to pass
that, in British countries, there is an answer to the demand
of labour for some kind of arbitrament other than the strong
hand, when the parties to an industrial dispute fail to agree.
In New Zealand the answer has come in compulsory arbitration,
which, at bottom, means, practically, the fixing of wages by the
State. In Great Britain and Canada individualism will not go so
far. Public opinion, for the time being at least, is satisfied
with the creation of machinery for the operation of voluntary
conciliation. We hope that public opinion will, in most cases and
in the long run, strike a true note. Under modern conditions,
as Carlyle says, 'Democracy virtually extant will insist upon
becoming palpably extant.'

"Inasmuch as many industrial disputes have their origin in
misunderstandings, and in sentimental alienations from the
arbitrary disposition of one party or the other, the Acts
in Great Britain and Canada, providing as they do for the
appointment of an unbiased mediator to bring the parties
together, are calculated to sweep away all unessential
entanglements, and make the way clear for a settlement by means
of amicable compromise without taking away from either of the
parties the privilege, to which each claims a right, of using
its strength to further its own legitimate individual ends.
The existence of the machinery makes it difficult for either
party in a serious dispute to refuse to employ it; the prestige
of the government behind the conciliator enables him to deal
freely with each party, and to throw the full light of day upon
the real condition of affairs. This done, the full strength of
the system of voluntary conciliation comes into play. Public
opinion will force a settlement which approximates to justice
and fairness. The mean party, whether it be the employer or the
labour organization, must inevitably give way to the extent of
its meanness, and at the same time, the right of the individual
to realize for himself the fullest fruits of his legitimate
effort, at once the stimulus of the capitalist, and _raison
d'être_ of the trade union, is preserved. The system, it is
true, acknowledges, at once, the imperfection of trade union
machinery, and the selfishness, even to the extent of meanness,
of employers; it goes further than the grasping and heartless
employer would allow; it falls short of what many unionists,
especially among the socialists in the organizations, would
demand; but it adequately represents the general attitude of
the British public in matters of labour legislation generally,
preserves the reward of individual effort to the individual who
makes the effort, but makes it impossible for the mean man to
profit by his meanness. Meanwhile, with the option, in case of
disputes, of the arbitrament of public opinion, an employer is
apt to give greater consideration to a proposal for the creation
of a permanent conciliation board, representative of himself and
his employees, to determine questions which may arise within his
establishment.

"Such a bringing together of the two classes in the producing
scheme for the consideration of their mutual interests, as well
as their mutual differences, is calculated to promote a harmony
which should make for the great aim of all, the promotion of
industrial peace. Granted the existence of a fair rate of wages
and fair conditions of work, the existence of conditions,
which can, with little difficulty, merge into a modified form
of industrial association or partnership, and there is the
vindication of the truth, that there is no necessary warfare
between the parties to production."

Lastly, of Democracy; its problems were to him mainly industrial; a well informed public opinion was the one hope, a recognition of the duties of citizenship, the one necessity of the times. In obedience to a moral order lay the secret of happiness, for the heart of a people like the heart of man, was governed by truth.

"If we are to have faith in democracy, we must believe that the
people, when informed, will choose what is right in preference
to what is base. If we can judge of the disposition of the press
and the expressed opinions of prominent men who give thought to
the matter, Canada has deliberately set her face towards the
promotion of industrial peace, the stamping out of the mean man.
Canadians seem disposed to declare with Carlyle, that 'cash
payment is not the sole nexus of man with man. Deep, far deeper
than supply and demand are laws, obligations as sacred as man's
life itself. He that will not learn them, perpetual mutiny,
contention, hatred, isolation, execration, will wait on his
footsteps, till all men discern that the thing which he attains,
however golden it look or be, is not success, but the want of
success.'"

* * * * *

"Working men are not asking for favours. In their federations
less and less is heard of technical differences, and more of a
desire to secure the good will of the general public by means of
a cool, deliberate presentation of views upon public questions
primarily affecting them. It is impossible not to accept the
general views of Mr. Henry Compton, that as working men acquire
their full rights, their leaders will turn to the noble task
of impressing upon them the duties of citizenship. Outside of
parliaments and law courts, the destiny of the nation's workers
and employers is being shaped by the consciousness of right in
the minds of the mass of the people."

* * * * *

"I have confidence that public opinion will, in most cases and
in the long run, strike a true note. I have faith in the saying,
'the people may make mistakes, but the people never lie.' Show
the people what it all means, and the people will do what is
right. They are learning the insufficiency of political catch
words. They know that no political pill, call it by ever so
attractive a word, is a cure for all ills."

* * * * *

"Whatever course we may pursue we must not forget that it is but
a means to an end. Machinery is good, so long as we remember
that it is machinery. No system will, even for a short time,
avoid industrial evils unless the people have respect for what
is right and true and just. The present system has its omissions
and its weaknesses, but it keeps in mind some of the principles
of public policy, which experience has shown to be sturdy, sane
and wholesome. I think it is a stride in the right direction. If
men will but be true to themselves, a new era is dawning upon
us; an era, which, if it will not be free of pain, hardship and
suffering for many, will, while preserving a premium as a reward
for the energetic, a punishment for the mean, leave the final
judgment in industrial questions with public opinion, which, when
informed, is ready to choose what is right in preference to what
is base. The ultimate solution of industrial problems, now as
never before, lies with the people at large, and all will be well
if citizens will but discharge the duties of their citizenship."

_THE PURPOSE OF LIFE_

"I trust I may do my duty before God and man and realize the best that is in me." These words are among the last in Harper's diary. Five years before, referring to repeated disappointments and reverses he had written: "I hope they will enable me to realize the high ideal of my existence." The same lofty purpose was expressed in the opening paragraph of his diary, already quoted. It reads:

"I am writing this record of my thoughts and actions in order that I may be better able to understand myself; to improve in that wherein I find myself wanting, and that some day I may be able to look back and find a rule of development or perhaps of life, with its assistance. I shall endeavour to be at least honest with myself, and hope that the use of this book may help me occasionally, to sever myself mentally from the associations of the world and retire within myself. My hope is that some day I may be able to become acquainted with my own individuality, and discover what is the first essential and object of my existence."

If love for others was the ruling passion, the realization of a high ideal was the constant purpose of Harper's life. He deliberately, at an early age, looked in upon his life; regarded it as a trust given him by the Creator to mould and fashion at his will; saw that it had capacities which he believed to be infinite and divine; and sought, by reflection and action, to unfold its meaning and to work out its end. "There is a dreamy undercurrent in my whole make-up, which I have never been able to understand, but which sometimes seems to me to be more real than my waking life." Already the infinite mystery had become a great reality to him. His search was not in vain. Before its close,

"_He saw life clearly,_
_And he saw it whole._"

Man found himself in a world surrounded by mortals like himself; two theories were possible, either all was chance, or there was design. If chance, there could be no ultimate meaning of things, no relation between the parts, either between the universe and man, or man and his fellows; truth and right there might be, by arrangement, but they could not be absolute; duty might exist, but under what law? No, the world, man,--these clearly were to be accounted for in some more rational way. The only alternative was design. The finite mind, seeking to interpret the Infinite, had invented a language, whereby, through the medium of words, it sought to give expression to its thoughts. A creator and an infinite purpose were essential to design; the creator, the finite mind conceived of as God, the infinite purpose, His will. To know God and to do His will became then the chief end of man.

From a consciousness of the mystery of his own being and of the universe about him, the earliest perception of the infinite nature of each and of their relation, came to Harper in the discovery of what he was wont to call "the rule of law." In Nature he found it first. In Nature there was no chance, all was cause and effect; there was constant change, but no final destruction. "Immortal growth was the prophecy which Nature made for man." What the eye of the senses discovered in the physical world, the eye of the soul discerned to be true of the inner life. Character was not the child of Destiny, the shadow of Circumstance, it was the one immortal creation of which man was capable. "What a man sows, that shall he also reap." In character was the harvest of all that a man ever thought, or willed, or did.

And herein lay the greatness of life. An order in the universe, a capacity in man to discover and interpret; Truth, the order; the path, Right; Reason, lighted by the lamp of Conscience, might lead man to the abode of God.

Without some satisfying of reason, Harper maintained there could be no true inspiration of soul; for a belief to be vital, it was necessary that its significance should be grasped, and its meaning comprehended. It was secondary, therefore, _what_ a man believed, so long as he had a reason for the faith that was in him, and was prepared to follow where an honest search might lead. In the end, the meaning of life would be clear. It was not against criticism or the critical spirit that he was prone to object, but against such divorced from an honest and sincere purpose. Honest criticism he believed was essential to clearer vision, and, reverently pursued, strengthened belief.

It was the intellectual honesty of Matthew Arnold which attracted Harper so strongly, and gave the writings of that author so great an influence over his life. What he has written, in reference to his reading of _Literature and Dogma_, is not without interest as showing the effect which this book had upon him, and as disclosing his own views in the matter of criticism and belief.

"To-day," he writes, "I spent a good morning taking a look into
_Literature and Dogma_, which, so far as I have read, is in
entire accord with Matthew Arnold's clear, critical method of
examination. I was anxious to get at his main thesis, and read
several chapters, as well as the conclusion, and think that as
a result my own views regarding Christianity have been rather
strengthened. A quibble always annoys me, but Matthew Arnold's
criticism is of a different sort. For my own part, I am convinced
that the critical spirit is not indicative of meanness, but
rather of balance and honesty of mind, and is calculated to
create, not blind prejudice, but wholesome conviction. This is
particularly the case where the critic has, as in the case of
Matthew Arnold, imaginative power properly controlled, and a deep
appreciation of love and beauty."

And some days later:

"To-night I read several chapters of Matthew Arnold's _Literature
and Dogma_, which, with what I have already read of the work,
cleared my mind as to the main purpose of the author, the placing
of our conception of the value of the Bible and of Christianity
on a more stable and permanent basis. I feel confident that this
will be the effect upon my own mind, for I thoroughly hold
that a belief to be vital must be real to him who professes it.
Indeed, the profession to others of what one believes, however
important, is almost inevitably vague, or, at least, liable to
be misunderstood. What is really important is for us to believe
what we ourselves find believable and true before the bar of our
inmost conscience. I find myself reaching out with eagerness to
the thought, which seems an old one to me, that God is intimately
associated with conscience; that conduct is important, but that
rules of conduct institutionalized are apt to be external and
wanting in vital force; and that it was the emphasizing of the
importance of the personal, inward condition, which was the real
strength and lasting service of the new dispensation.

"I find my views clearing as time goes on. Latterly two thoughts
have been, perhaps, more prominent than any others: the
importance of constant choice in the matter of selection and
rejection, and a respect for the conception of the many sidedness
of truth, which conception brings with it a toleration for the
views of others, particularly in the matter of religion. For
given that religion is an inward personal matter, and that men
are constituted so differently, their conceptions of the truth,
itself single and indissoluble, if you will, must vary widely.
Under such conditions the necessity of keeping in view the
highest standard of life, as illustrated by Christ, becomes of
the very greatest importance."

In the character of Christ, Harper found the answer to the question, what is the purpose of life? That life appealed to him from every side. It was the manliest of lives. Conscious of its greatness, it could forbear to use its creative powers for selfish ends. It could be governed by a principle, where a multitude could not attract. Bigotry, passion and prejudice only added force to its invectives; ridicule and calumny, dignity to its assertion of right. In the presence of the strong, it could champion the cause of the weak; the rich it could make to tremble at their neglect of the claims of the poor. In the midst of opposition, it could stand alone; surrounded by temptation, it could remain pure.

It was the manliest of lives. Chivalrous in its defense of woman, tender in its love for little children, loyal in its allegiance to friends. Uncompromising it was in its demands for truth, unsparing in its rebuke of evil, relentless, almost violent, in its denunciations of hypocrisy. Yet nowhere was such sympathy to be found; nowhere, greater compassion; nowhere, forgiveness more sincere.

It was the manliest of lives, but it was also the simplest and the best. In vain one searched for an account of material possessions; in vain one looked for an assertion of worldly place or power; but it was recorded that its cradle was a manger, its crown, a wreath of thorns. The mountains, the woods, the sea, the flowers, the stars, were so sought by, and so ministered to that life, as to be almost a part of it. Simple fisher-folk of Galilee, devoted but humble women in the town of Bethany, shared its companionship, the sorrowful and outcast, its love.

And withal, it had a mission, higher, greater than the world had ever known. Clearly it saw into the mystery of the universe, deeply it divined the meaning of the human soul. In words, as simple, as beautiful, as the flower, or the name which suggested the thought, it related the universe to man, and man to God. "Consider the lilies how they grow!"--all that Nature had to teach was there, selection and rejection, cause and effect, the unfailing operation of law, life and death. "Our Father,"--obedience, love, trust, forgiveness, the brotherhood of man, man's sonship under God.

Was it a matter of wonder then, that such a nature as Harper's should be captivated by such a life? Having founded his belief on reason, in the following after the perfect life of Christ, reason was soon outrun by that which brought conviction of itself. Having learned something of the secret and the method of that life, Harper came soon to believe the words:

"_Ego sum via, veritas, vita,_
_Sine via non itur, sine veritate non_
_Cognoscitur, sine vita non vivitur._"

They came to be the controlling power in his life.

Harper sought the realization of his belief in conduct. His impurity, his weakness, he contrasted with the strength and beauty of the life of Christ, and daily sought with an earnest devotion to yield the allegiance due to the higher ideal. Without many professions, he strove silently for the attainment of a character which would make him, among men, not unworthy of the ideal which he cherished in his heart.

The following passages may help to make good the truth of these words:

"Idealism is not folly. It prevents folly. It is the main hope
of a delirious world. It is the means of informing common sense.
An ideal truly cherished is never lost, save to give place to a
higher ideal. An ideal is not smashed by experience of frailty;
but is rather thrown into greater relief. Ideals are dissipated
only by the clearer view which comes with a widening horizon.
Disappointment in persons will not make an idealist a cynic,
unless he has no heart.

"Unfortunately, all men are apt to reach out for the immediate
thing which looms large before them. Some are worse than others.
And it is only by trying to see things in perspective, by the
application of common sense enlightened by idealism, that we can
hope to be among the wiser. A constant regard for perfection,
the constant cherishing of an intelligent idealism, will, I
think, help a man 'in the midst of the crowd to keep with perfect
sweetness the independence of solitude,'--Emerson's measure of a
great man."

* * * * *

"On the place of churches in national and social life, I take
the ground that the important thing for a man is his religion,
what he actually believes regarding his relation to the universe,
rather than his church affiliation. The first is individual
and real, the latter more or less artificial and a matter of
expediency, a means of assisting him in making easier the spread
of the views which he holds; in fine, an institution, with an
object doubtless, but none the less an institution, machinery."

* * * * *

"This has been a good day, in that life and human duty have been
very real to me in it. In the afternoon H----, L---- and I walked
out Bank Street to the canal, and, on the way back, I turned
the conversation to the question of man's duty to himself and
to others, taking the position that a man owed it to himself to
make the most of himself, and that, if he ever earnestly started
in on the task, he would find himself moved to see that his
influence upon others was in the same direction, namely, towards
perfection; that if men were once taught to see the working of
the rule of law in this sense, they must inevitably recast their
entire views of life to their own advantage and that of society;
and that if the church, instead of saying do this, because this
and that authority says it is right to do it, would appeal to a
man's appreciation of what manhood means in this sense, there
would be more Christlikeness among so-called professors of
Christianity."

* * * * *

"This, my birthday, has commenced most happily. As I lay last
night on the couch in our comfortable little room, allowing my
thoughts to run on into the future, and resolving to make this
new year of my life one marked by real and substantial progress,
---- came to me about midnight with a birthday present, which, it
seems to me, could not be more in keeping with my present state
of mind and resolutions. The present consisted of two splendid
engravings of Hoffman's _Christ, the Child_, and _Christ, and the
Rich Young Man_. More and more, as time goes on, I am coming to
realize that the virtues upon which the hopes of the world are
based are to be found in that rich beautiful life of the Master.
Humility, self-sacrifice and love, all that appeals to the
noblest instincts of our nature, are to be found in the character
of that perfect Man, who was 'despised and afflicted, yet opened
not His mouth.'

"Trammelled by a liberal share of human weakness, an unfortunate
combination of high ambition and a tendency to frivolity, I
can only hope to come to realize gradually all that that life
represents. When one considers the wide-spread influence which
even a comparatively obscure personality yields in this world,
the awful responsibility which is attached to every act of
volition, to every word and deed, is forced upon one. These and
other weaknesses I must control, and my character I must seek
to strengthen in order that my life shall not be useless, in
order that I may realize dear mother's last wish, that we may
meet 'There.' I must try, with the help of God, to more and
more conform thought and act to the model of the perfect life
of Christ, a life that if men and States would imitate, there
would be an end to viciousness and of man's inhumanity to man.
To be brought face to face, daily, with Hoffman's beautiful
representation should make strong resolutions stronger and more
possible of realization.

"It is a beautiful day, the first really cold day of the winter.
Rarely do I remember a clearer air, a brighter sun. To me, it is
as if God smiles His approval on my resolutions. Pray God, I may
be able to live them out in practice."

* * * * *