A.B.C. OF ANARCHISM .are personally interested in the health and safety of their families and friends. This system worked much better in Russia than .the suh5equently established regular police force. The latter censisting mostly of the worst city elements, proved corrupt, brutal and oppressive. • The hope of material betterment is,' as already mentioned, a powerful factor in the forward movement of humanity. But that incentive alone is not sufficient to inspire the masses, to give them the vision of a new and better world, and cause them to face danger and privation for its sake. For that an ideal is needed; an ideal which appeals not only to the stomach but even more to the heart and imagination, which rouses our dormant longing for what is fine and beautiful, for the spiritual and cultural values of life. An ideal, ' in short, which wakens the inherent social instincts of man, feeds his sympathies and fellow-feeling, fires his love of Uberty and justice, and imbues even the lowest'with nobility of thought and deed, as we frequently witness in the catastrophic events of life. Let a great tragedy happen .anywhere-an earthquake, flood, or railroad accident-.and the compassion of the whole world goes out to the sufferers. Acts of heroic self-sacrifice, of brave rescue, and of unstinted aid demonstrate the real nature of man· and his·deep-felt brotherhood and unity. This is •true of mankind in all times, climes, and social strata. The story of Amundsen is a striking illustration of it. After decades of arduous and dangerous work the famous Norwegian explorer resolves to enjoy his remaining years in peaceful literary pursuits. He is announcing his decision at a banquet given in his honour, and almost at the same moment comes the news that the Nobile expedition to the North Pole had met with disaster. On the instant Amundsen renounces aUhis plans of a quiet life and prepares to fly to the aid of the lost aviators, fully aware of the peril of such an undertaking. Human sympathy and the compelling impulse to help those in distress overcome all considerations of personal safety, and Amundsen sacrifices his life in an a,ttempt to rescue the Nobile pa:rty. · Deep in all of us lives the spirit of Amundsen. How many men of science ha\·e 'given up their lives in seeki~g.knowledge by which to benefit their fellow-men-how many physicians and nurses have perished in the work of ministering to people stricken with contagious diseases-how many men and women have voluntarily faced certain death in the effort to check an epidemic which was decimating their country or even some foreign land-how many men, common workingmen, miners, sailors, railroad l'TJ\Ployees-unknown 88 B1bhoteca G no Bianco
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