The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1902-12-19

MIS-. Il. ~. Nldrh, VI NeruOu
Pages could be written on this sub
ject, or it can be answered in q few
words. shall choose the latter.
Many of you no doubt. have thought
about this topic since the program
was printed some days ago., and you
have probably drawn many pictures
in your minds of an "ideal commu.
nifty"
Webster defines the word commu.
nifty as "a society Of people having
common rights and privileges OF
common interests, civil, political OF
ecclesiastical, living under the same
laws and regulations.
Please follow me on an imaginary
canvas and I will endeavor to draw
picture of an ideal community in
the country. In fact, I think ii
would be almost impossible to draw
such picture in any of our large
cities, where so many places of in
iquity are sand wiched in among the
good. But out in the country, where
the air is pure as the breath of lily,
where the green meadows and hillsides
stretch away as far as the eye can
reach, broken only by beautiful
fringe of trees; where the music from
the throats of many birds repder a
concert man cannot initiate; where
the sun shines in all his glory, and
when evening drops her soft curtain,
the silver moon peeps through the
rift of fieecy cloud. and the whole
country spaikles with diamonds form
ed from the dewdrops, here and there
on this beautiful landscape are groups
of buildings that tell Us they are the
homes of the farmer. 1t is among
these farmers that we can have an
ideal community il we will.
Ir the first palce, we must have har-
mony. for without it what a condition
of affairs would exist We should have
"malice toward none, but charity for
all" With the mantle of charity we
must cover over our neighbors' faults
and they will be less liable to discuss
ours.
To have thriving and prosperous
county there is one thing that is abso-
lutely necessary. and that is work.
1t is right we should be obliged to
work. Work is the birthright Of the
human race. President Roosevelt says
he despises anyone who will not work.
We must instill in the minds of our
children that work is not curse, but
q benediotion. There can be no
growth or development of either mind
or body without it. Whatever your
position in life is, be assured, first of
all, that all honest work whether Of
hand or brain, is noble. 1t is the
worker who dignifies the task, and
not the task that ennobles the worker.
Christ at the lowly carpenters bench
was grander far than he who swayed
Caesars scepter,. Very much of the
forgery and embezzlement of today is
due to the desire to maintain false
dignity of position without hard work.
The wise content with frugal living
and modest competence has too largely
departed.
The spirit of helpfulness should pre-
dominate. Some one has said, "The
best way to help yourself is to help
others. I have often listened to my
father tell that when he first came to
the wilds of Michigan the neighbors,
though few and long distance apart,
were ever ready to render assistance
to each other if needed. When I see
the utter disregard some people have
for their neighbors in their hurry and
rush to get rich, I almost wish
might have lived half a century ago.
Lincoln said, "There is something be-
sides making living in this world
making life" Don't be in such a
hurry to acquire riches that y,u for
get anyone else exists.
We muse be honest with ourselves
and our neighbors Don't take advan-
tage of neighbor because he is oblig-
ed to sell an article, and not pay him
the market price for it, thinking you
have made great bargain. Your con-
science will tell you it isn't right.
A clear conscience wins the goal of
all men-happiness.
We must not be too quick to crit
icize our neighbors' mistakes and
failings. for it is much easier to be
critical than correct, and he who
never made mistake probably never
made anything
We need not fear we will turn
peoples heads by little praise; we
are in far more danger of hurting
them by withholding just commenda-
ton.
An ideal community should have
some kind of literary society or circle,
If nothing more than clubbing to-
gether and securing all the magazines
and periodicals possible. These may
be exchanged and passed from house
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