The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1906-04-20
books FOR NORFOLK.


the affair, however, but in the book.
Norfolk is a city of 5000 people and
a community proud of its advance
ment toward a higher civilization
Norfolk claims a prestige such as is
known to few cities OF its size in the
country, by virtue of being the me
tropolis of the entire northern half OF
the great state of Nebraska Norfolk
has future before II, IL believes and
hopes, and therefore is ambitious But
in one respect Norfolk is lacking. For
Norfolk lacks a library.
II is said that the most potent fac.
tors in civilization are the bath tub
and the library Norfolk has passed
the Center (Neb) stage of advance.
ment so far as the bath tub is con.
cerned, for Norfolk has dozen or so
of these modern conveniences hidden
in its exterior. And last week the
city voted bonds to the extent of $4O.-
600 in order that those bath tubs
might drain out as well regulated bath
tubs ought to drain out, and there.
fore that proposition is pretty well
taken care of and we may lay claim
to at least a half-civilized state
But in the other essential of the
higher type of life, Norfolk can per.
haps claim no prestige over Center,
For Center is a county seat town and
has, at least, the books of the county
treasurer, while Norfolk can lay claim
to no public set of books worth men
tioning.
Norfolk is made up of highly intel
igent people and people well educat.
ed. Perhaps no city of Norfolk's size
could be found in the state where there
are a larger number of persons who
can be said to be well educated. There
are attorneys and judges here, there
are doctors and ministers, there are
college and university graduates and |
there are many other men and women |
who are eminently well equipped with
liberal educations. Most of them have |
comparatively small libraries of their |
own, which they enjoy and which per.
haps suffice in individual cases, but
this is not taking into account the
hundreds of other people who have
no books and yet who would, with the
proper incentives, be glad to learn to
love the right type of literature. And
it is the moral duty of these people to
push the library.
There are young men and young wo.
men in Norfolk who find themselves
lost for things to do. They spend
many, many idle hours during the days
and just as many during the nights.
These young folk, once they learned
the JOY of reading good stuff that is
written by men and women who can
make other people think, would begin
to frequent the reading rooms during
their evenings, and the whole moral
tone of the city would be lifted up and
made better than it is today.
In almost every little town there
are number of young men and young
women who go down to the railroad
station in the evening to see the train
come in. That is all the excitement
they have in the world, and they are
not to blame for their energy. But
books might be made to take the
place of trains in their minds. In I
Norfolk, they don't go down to watch {
he trains come in, but they do other t
-hings that are emincntly as vicious
and perhaps more so.
Down in East Aurora, in the state /,
Df New York, man with a very ad-
nirahle idea for little sociological
experiment of his own, and the first
hing he did after building a build.
ing in which the members of the {
little colony would make perfect {
books, was to install a bath tub
and library, with up-to-date and ,
charming literature and with a piano l,
n the corner. An artistic atmosphere i,
began to circle around that communi- =
y until. for a little while there was I
almost halo over East Aurora. 1t {
would have been there yet if the !
eader, himself, hadn't gone wrong.
Norfolk needs little of that atmos. t
)here. We ought to turn on the pub
ic library and get it going. Tomor,
'ow night Is the opportunity to make
/ starting, and it is hoped, for the :
sake of Norfolk's moral tone and com. l
ort, that the social will net loads of t
rood books and, more than that, a gen L
line interest among the people of the d
,ity. O
THAT LIBEL CASE. e
No Question About Cussina. p
Stanton RpOictar. Trborp ic No onaS Z