The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1897-12-19


There is nothing ieither good or bad
but thinking makes it so.--Shakespdaie.
-OLY writ contains nostruth more
wholesome than the statement
(" that as man thinketh so is
Il Il he. 1t is a text upon which vol
umes could be written, covering the
range of metaphysical speculation; but
for the purposes of the present article
let its significance be broadened only
into the general fact that within the
thought of the people lies the charac-
ter of the commonwealth. That business
prudence which once a year at least
leads every man to take an inventory
of his material affairs. suggests to many
the equal Importance of measuring the
pathways of the mind that from the
character of the thoughts INDUCED, the
impressions gained, the beliefs discard
ed or imbibed, the heights and depths
of personal citizenship may be correct
ly adjudged. AT the end of a year a
man is a better citizen or worse one
than at the end of the previous year,
his mentality responding to environ
ment just as surely as his physical
system or his pocketbook.
That which is interesting in the de-
tail OF citizenship is no less important
in the aggregate, and as grey-headed
the aspirations of the new year 1t may
not be inappropriate to briefly analyZe
the composite expression of Montana
character and compare it with other
types. The units of commonwealth
may recognize its averages and in a
vague, indefinite way accept conclusions
as matters of fact. permitting the why's
and wherefores of environment to re-
main undisturbed by query and unin-
vestigated by thought Possibly
broader and better citizenship could be
evolved from the raw material in every
community IL causes We're as earnestly
investigated as conclusions are dis
cussed. Communities, like men, are
actuated by motives that come from
the womb of environment and attain
maturity and strength from the nu-
tritious qualities of their surround
ings-
Some one has said human nature is
the same the world over. and while this
statement is fundamentally correct its
expression Is governed by conditions
that give to one locality a civilization
quite unlike that of another. Thus
Montana. an empire without an en-
peror. nesting in the American Alps,
is as remote from the Atlantic sea-
board in sentiment as 1t is in longitude
These differences are due to causes
that make them radical. and which will
in the course of time compel recogni-
events. The prophetic eye that foresees
a New England civilization in Montana
or In any other portion of the inter
mountain region, belongs to a prophet
who is without honor in his own or
any other country. AS long as climatic
and other conditions affect racial ex-
preston the line of demarkation be-
tween the civilization of the East and
that of the great Middle West will
broaden. g..
The commonwealth of Montana Is
created of material drawn from the
best and most courageous blood of
every land. Men of this type only
braved the dangers of the earlier days.
or in later times grappled with unde-
veloped opportunity. The timid. con-
seryative man remained where condi-
tons were settled and where he could
with safety follow the footsteps of his
sire. Thus it happened in the nature
OF things that the population of Mon
tana was made up chiefly of men of
great mental, physical and financial
courage. with all that those attributes
imply in the development of a new
country. The conservative sentiment
dominant in the East. was almost
wholly lost sight of in a community of
stern, determined. courageous men.
with whom self-reliance naturally be-
came the greatest of all virtues.
J Montana character therefore in its
composite sense represents a spirit of
Independence impossible to find in the
East. This self-reliant characteristic
gives an individuality to the common
wealth in refreshing contrast TO the
spirit of servility and humble depend
ency observable in many localities. The
average Montanan thinks for himself
along independent lines, and never over
looks the fact that official position does
not increase the magnitude Of a mans
brains. He is never obsequious to the
-
alone Is required. Office holding in the
East is a badge Of social distinction,
but the man who has nothing but a
pedigree 20 exhibit had better keep out
of the show business in Montana. A
man cannot do business in this coun-
try on the reputation of his grand
mother. If a man bristles all over with
honorable instincts, and has plenty Of
red corpuscles In his blood, the fact that
he descended from a pirate viii not de-
stroy his eligibility to the best plum
pudding on Montana's platter. The
Western mans credentials are written