Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1898-04-15
Time for Action.

Alter all tie effort made To enlist n!
ii and marketing Thur,ton county
lHmlHc>, lo>> than fifty people rc
>I"udcd to the call for mass convcn
ton Saturday afternoon, and they
were mostly from the country. When
II is taken into account that tho
weather was decidedly inclemcnt, the
farmers deserve credit for coming
some oi them many miles at personal
discomfort, while our townspeople de.
serve ccnsurc for their apathctic re.
ccrtion of proposition that, with
unity and zeal, cannot fail OF success.
The plea that individual business
ties man SO closely to his bench OF
counter that he cannot without loss
get out to rustic Tor more, is illogical
and dclusivc. The idea that other PEG.
pie will willingly carry burdens that
all should share is based upon an al
together too high conception OF earthly
philanthropy. The impression which
seems to prevail that the object is SC
mcritoriouS everybody else will respond
and lift the burden from self, is toe
widespread for the plan to survive
such treatment. Too many, unfortu-
nately, have adopted that plan. Like
the donors to the dominie's wine-but
when each emptied a flagon of water
into it under the impression that all
others would deposit wine, and the
reverend gentleman found that each
having conceived the same idea, he
had cask of sparkling water as a re
suit of the bencfaction, our people
stand back, when nothing is asked but
the inauguration of cheering voice OF
the magnetism of personal presence
to start the project into activity, and
rely with the most complaisant conf
dence upon the belief that no neighbol
will be so mean as to shirk his share
of the labor and responsibility.
1t is q patent fact that unless some
well-drected effort is made to keep the
trade We have-to say nothing of ex
tending its scope-the time may come
when even the few brisk hours on Sat.
urday, which our people show the ASST
duty of the busy bee to improve, may
not continue to be shining" hours OF
prosperity. The temper of quite a
number of our country people, we fear
is expressed in a communication by
"a Farmer Fruit Grower" to the daily
paper. in which it is broadly limited
that a cooperative Cor rather com.
pany) store may be the result of fur
ther apathy of our business men
While we deprecate retaliatory action
in business matters, it will not down
at mere bidding, when prejudice is
aroused.
On the other hand, the attendance
of the farming class was not what il
should have been, even considering the
inclemency of the weather. One o.
these gentlemen declared that he hat
obtained no knowledge of the meeting
until he came to town, which is moi
speaking in very flattering terms o.
the circulation OF Olympia's five news
papers; or it may be that the gentle
mans ambition to be enlightened by
the local press is not of very higl
order, and if he is a representative o.
the rural class (Which we do not con
cede) that it accounts for the "milk
in the cocOanut."
Let us hope that the example OF q
few of our enterprising citizens in sub.
scribing to the capital stock of the en-
tcrprise, Saturday, may awaken a
spirit that will carry the project on tc
successful result.