The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1897-06-24
sECTIOyALIsM NOT ALTOGETHER
REPREHENsIBLE.

Some of our southern exchanges are
crying out against the evils of sectional
ism. while they forget Tat scctionaliSm
is the parent IF patriotism ana the ami
mating spirit Of competition and lauda-
bic rivalry that makes ones own hJmc or
locality the best Of all others. \ section
alism that arrays the cou1try against he
town. n set of states divided by gcOgrarlI-
ical lines against another set Of states in
local hostility, is to Dc Jeplorcd in any
country. but while god and evil are in
timatcly associated in everything, the fact
that the evil exists in anything should
not incline us TO condemn the whole thing.
1t should rather inspire us TO eliminate
ing good.
Love of locality is one Of the sweetest
sentiments that animate the human heart.
Love of city, state and section is laudn-
bic in any people, not TO the extent of
sectional anmosity, but the kind Of feel
ing that would advance and improve the
city, state and section of which one is II
native There are peculiar customs in
the southern states that are dear to every
southern man, but that is no reason why
he should not feel glory in his country,
that is national in patriotism. There are
some customs in the southern states that
perhaps incline us TO icthar2y inimical
10 progress, but there are Others peculiar
to this section, as there are customs in
the eastern and northern states, which
are dear TO the people of these respective
localities. which we would not like to lose
in the warfare against sectionaiism. Such
local customs, however, are not prcjudicial
to national patriotism.
In fact, love of locality is II natural
sentiment that can not be eliminated from
people that have anything to he proud
of, and we do not care to eliminate GER
tam social customs in the south that are
dear to us. A city without the local love
and local pride to which we refer will
never improve. Without that sense of
Il laudablc rivalry which springs from
IL local pride, a cry will fall behind its
sister cities and become bywurd of moss
backism. Therefore we say that section
alism has great good in it and should not
be abused with wholesale denunciation.
Sectionalism or pride of locality invigor-
ates and unites the people of any city in
public enterprise, along many different
lines. Individual enterprise can do but
little good where it is not banded together
with others, and from that kind of unit
ed effort alone can general prosperity
take firm foothold in any city, and this
must come from the very thing that some
of our cotemporares condemn, to-wit, see
tiOIalsm. But for the love of home. Aus
tin would have never been what it is nor
have advanced to the front rank of the
say this in irony, for Austin is the center
of learning in the great state of Texas
and having attained its high rank in that
respect by aiming at the highest mark, its
citizens will follow it up in Il united eff
fort to increase its Importance and de-
vclopmcnt in more material affairs. So
il will be seen that after all. many cities
and states have developed an excellence
that could only have been attained by
that love of locality and pride in ones
native or adopted city that is the basis
for sectionalism and rather TO be com
mcndcd than condemned.