Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1886-11-26
OWN A HOME.

From the Atchison Champion.
There are doubtless some men OF prop.
erty who find something attractive in Mr.
Henery Georges theories; or even sympa-
thize with the wilder views Of the long
haired gentlemen who come from monarch
ical countries to teach Americans what
liberty is But we are of the opinion that
very few men who have a home propose to
throw it into any general joint stock ar
rangement for the general benefit Of man
kind
! Lord Bacon has said, He that hath wife
and children hath given hostages TO fort
une; for they are impediments to great en-
terprises, either Of virtue or mischief. To
these hostages" we would recommend the
addition Of a house and lot, because, while
a man may drag wife and children all
over the world, he is anchored, so to speak,
by even a one-story house and the ground
on which it stands How many men
spend years in reviling the town in which
they live, and swear that they would leave
it if they could sell their real estate, and
yet never sell, never seriously try to- but
remain not exactly agreeable, and yet wor-
thy citizens until they are taken to the
local cemetery?
The ownership of real property usually
disposes the owner favorably toward the
upbuilding of the town Of which he is an
inhabitant This is especially the case if
his estate is but moderate. a man who
owns half the town usually kicks at any
thing that involves taxation, but the man
with the house and lot is willing to bear
his share Of the burden. In fact it is
scarcely possible to inaugu;ate any scheme
of public improvement by which he is not
benefited prospectively as property
holder, and individually and Immediately.
Occasionally, however, the possession Of
a house and lot makes Il man an extreme
conservative He becomes extremely
jealous Of his rights as a property holder
and falls into the pernicious habit of writ
ing cards for the papers, signed Tax
Payer" whenever it is proposed to put up
street lamp or drain q mudhOle. If any
Improvement is suggested by some citizen
who is not possessed Of house and lot,
friend gets hot with great suddcnness, and
inquiries with extreme severity, ''What has
a man who has no stake in this community
got to say about it, anyhow
In spite of this exception, the man with a
house and lot can be relied on to stand by
the general inteTets of the community, by
the law, and by the structure Of society as
it now exists. He feels the full meaning
of the declaration that "a mans house is
his castle He understands the signiti-
canoe Of the word home" and his heart
grows fonder with every day the same roof
protects him from the summers sun and
winters Storm He may wish well to all
the schemes for the promotion of the broth
erhood of man, but he will not abandon
for any Of them the frame house situated
on lot 5, block TO- He draws the line at
that
The men who propose the ''nationaliza-
ton of land are not usually land holders.
The men who regard marriage as an op
pressive monopoly which ought to be
abolished, are generally unmarried, or
wish they were, or are supported by some
woman on the fruits Of whose washtub or
sewing machine they have really no claim.
To the young man who feels in his breast
the uneasy moving of that spirit which
makes bomb throwers, we would say:
Buy house and lot No matter where
you are, buy house and lot if you can
get one. Do not invest as 4 real estate
speculation, but buy with the intention Of
staying with the tenement till death doth
you part. or until you remove TO a larger
house with more lots. Thus shall you give
hostages to fortune and grow solid with
fimp