Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1902-02-06
Vol. xLIII.
The NEED OF PUBLIC SPIRIT.

IN public lecture delivered in St
Louis on last Monday evening by an
ofiicial OF the city y,strong emphasis was
laid on the fact that in many eommu-
mites there is an almost absolute lack
OF civic pride or public spirit. The
speaker referred to this lacking quail
iication on the part OF the citizens as
an evidence OF individual short.sight-
edness, advancing the point and sus-
tanning IL by well-based argument
that the man who will not assist in
advancing the interests Of the com
munity where be lives is simply put
ting a stumbling block in the way OF
his own progress.
He also made caustlc reference to
the habit acquired by some people Of
belittling their own town or city, call
ing them knockers and showing BY
forcible illustrations that their best
success is in knockingsthemselyes.
1t is unfortunately true that in all
communities the knockers may be
found. They profess to see nothing
that is good in their immediate sur
roundings or associations and they are
constantly making unfarorable COM
parisons with other places where they
formerly lived. They would confer a
benefit on their neighbors by return
ing whence they came.
Unfortunately, however, they cling
as closely to their present abiding
place as they adhere to their ilI-regu-
lated opinions and they cannot be
made to move. Unfortunately, too,
they manage to exercise some little in-
fluence on their leighbors, who may
come 10 time to believe that what the
knockers say has some element Of
truth.
Practically speaking, those people |
who are not possessed OF a proper civic |
pride or public spirit are to be Includ- |
ed in the list of knockers. They are
even more, because they practice what |
the Others preach. They will not aid |
the community because they cannot
realize that in SO doing they, will also
aid themselves. When IL is suggested
that new capital be brought TO the
town, they enter forcible objection
on the ground that the improvements
will increase their own taxes.
They protest against the making Of
new roads or new streets, declare the
old ones are good enough and the new
ones cost money.
They will not spend dollar on any
public enterprise and they would very
much prefer not TO pay any taxes
They are non-progresslye back-num-
bers, and IL is unfortunately true that
they are to be found in nearly all COM
munities, no one section OF the count
ry being especially disfayored by their
presence.
Given a town where the citizens are
possessed OF public spirit and the
have a most reasonable op-
for making success of
their business, but where the oppo-
site conditions prevail, where civic
pride gives way to knocking the
have a most reasonable
chance Of making failure. 1t is,
therefore, to their own advantage to
,reate public spirit where it does not
sxist
They are generally the leaders in
he community, men of affairs who
pay a good portion, If not the bulk, of
axes, and who have a right to under
AXE the advancement of that COM
interests. There are some
places where the merchants practical
y control the municipal government;
such places almost always go ahead.
There are Others where the mer-
chants are too much occupied with
their business to pay any attention TO
public affairs; such places may not go
backward, but they are constantly
nanifesting a tendency in that diree-
lion.
The merchants In these places
should awaken to a realizing sense
II their own position and endeavor by
lrousing public spirit to enlarge their
Jwn possibilities.