The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1905-12-21

!
he good citizenship of this community
hat what has been accomplished by
faithful teachers in the past will be the
earnest of greater things in the future.
What are some Of the needs of our
public schools? More teachers and |
are an immediate neces-
sity. Think of one teacher having 140
pupils. True that huge number is di-
vided into two sections, one q morning
and the other al afternoon class, but
trust the day is near when such thing
will be q vague memory. Let us be
faIrer to the teachers and our children.
Put up a school building in the Cd
ward, where one is so badly needed.
Give us a better high.school building.
Lend hand in this great work, and
the children of our city will rise up
and call you blessed.
Before concluding, may I say word
in behalf of that which is closely relat
ed to our schools? / refer to O free
public library. 1t is crying need of
our city. The Monday Club, with its
library of over 1900 volumes, stands
ready to cooperate with the citizens.
Let us ask Mr.. Carnegie to renew his
generous offer. Let US assure the
Board Of Aldermen that the good citi-
zenship of the city is with them. Let
us urge them to make the necessary
appropriation, that this library may be
blessing to the working boys and
girls. Make your names immortal by
writing noble ideas upon living hearts.
THE TOASTMASTER:-If there is
any one topic that should be assigned
lawyer in preference to all Others, il
is one to which there is no end. While
admitting that johnson City has many
desires, we beg to enter a plea of "not
guilty and have retained the worthy
president of our local bar association,
Hon. S. G. Williams, to submit briei
upon our "Needs." he said:
The season is at hand when our little
ones gather about the evening lamp
and write their letters to Santa ClauI
in which they pleadingly lay before hin
their hearts desires, fully confden
that the great Santa will in due tim,
fill their stockings with good thing
and their hearts with JOY.
So are we come tonight to con owe
johnson City's longings and need
around banquet board.
The child, in trustful innocence, OK
poets the response to its appeal to com
out of some far off realm of abunbanc
and helpfulness; but in fact, the child
letter finds the answering Santa in il
own home.
SO our needs whatever they may b,
are most likely to be met, not by som
great and benefcent influence comm
to us from distant sections of our coui
try, and our Santa must, like til
child's be found at home. If OF
stockings are to be filled what clail
have we on outsiders that they shout
| fill them?
The greatest need of Johnson City
that its citizenship should ha'
Self-reliance and self-confidence. r.
, twenty long years we have been iii
fedgelings in a nest, with mouths wit
oden to receive the morsels that othe
were expected to bring us. We hal
waited for competing railroad to
built, for capital to come to us, Fl
Congress to make appropriations tn
3 would build up and prosper our tow
Seriously and deliberately I say TIL
nowhere south of Mason and Dixon
line has any town, the size of ours, hf
as much done for it from the outsit
as has johnson City. Millions ha'
! flowed and are flowing from the Fe
| eral Treasury to us, resulting in o.
betterment; industry after industry b
been established by outside capitt
But what has been done by us or Il
from the inside? Almost a blai
stares us in the face ii we seek
Q frame an answer.
I Are we weaklings? No, if we won
only believe that we were not. Y
need, | repeat, most of all, a faith
ourselves and in our town; relianC
: upon what some great capitalist in q
It East may or may not do, but up'
o ourselves.
i We need to canvass the situation al
fix upon some industry that can
made to succeed in Johnson City,
for example, suggest knitting m
that would employ labor factor til
now goes practically to waste in O
midst that Of girls and women. v
. need, then, to raise the required fun
o in our community and ourselves sta
A one wheel of industry to humming
. aid Mr.. W. B. johnson in enlargil
. his plant and business. This is on
4 one OF several outlets for us.
8 It seems that johnson City is from
! railway standpoint, in crisis. B
! things sre scheduled to transpire wit
! in the next sixty days. Decisions a
- to be made that mean much for go,
2 or i'll, to our town. What are we doil
to aid in solving the problem in Il
2 towns favor? We need, in this crisi
z to call to our aid our best and wise
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