Disquisition by Scripps, E.W., A practical utopia, April 12, 1912

              Ohio University Libraries, E.W. Scripps Papers, MSS 117, Series 4, http://bit.ly/scripps_mss117
A PRA.CTI C A.L UTGPI fl.
Tha trouble with most Utopias' is 1 that thty I,re not obtain ...
able, and that even providing they are 0 bta.ined , they are undel.lirable.
The Utopians want so much of a good thing that its very
amount rHakes it undesirable, if not absolutely unpleasant.
,~ongst other thir~s, Utopians seem to desire universal
peace, and coupletepeace. The state of peacefulness 1S synonomous
with a condition of quietude; inertia; absence of all forces.
The small boy and the small girl whose parent<s are unable
or unvdl:;'ing to furnish hiul or h6r ~Jith all t,ll€; cciJl<lj' or other sweet
things that he or she wants, feels that bliss only depends upon an
inexhaustible supply of nice things to eat. But once give to the
youngster all the sweets, and every kind of sweets that he wants
and his first experience is physical discomfort, and his next is a
loathing for sweets~ and a desire for almost anything else.
To the hard-working man or woman, nothing else seems so
desirable as freedom from the necessity of labor.
But any man or woman who has once obtained wealth and the
freedom from the necessities of labor, first suffers ennui, then
next ,i. driven to indulge in all sorts of excesses -- actual or
passi V6 e::r:erc;is6s Q.nd exci tment$ that are unnatural and hence result
so()n enough in extrerliphy$ical disepmfort.
Our Utopians ale like clliluen craving for ,and being denied
eweetei lik.ote'~~ l$>Dorere who seek eurcease of labor.
~ .. U~»,ans well enough understand tbat the present
condi tions are unpleasant and they recogni ze the i~lat8 apparent
flt t.he mxplea.ant condi tiona lies in th~ not be~ng ace.tuntj~e
~~~< peopcle. many things that are desired. 21