The sea coast echo., 1906-06-16


The growth of the cooperative
stores in England has been something
marvellous. Starting with practically
nothing in the way of capital, in
comparatively few years they have
built up a business aggregating mil
lions of dollars year.
But they began right.
They began at the small end.
They began with the acorn and they
gradually developed the tree until it
has become a great strong oak.
If they had begun at the big end,
and subscribed capital stock as large
rs their present capital, and gone out
into the highways anC byways to hire
men to transact their business, form
ing a great organization in which no
man was trained to his duties. they
would have failed hopelessly and
mfserably failed.
And so would any great business
enterprise started in that way.
Cooperation can be no exception to
the law Of evolution.
You must begin with the seed and
let it grow gradually, as they did in
England with their cooperative stores.
THE MAKING OF MEN.
The great central thought which
should be the pillar of fire by night
and the pillar of cloud by day to lead
the American people out of the wilder
ness of the corruptions and dangers
of accumulated and aggregated wealth
should be great public movement in
the line of making men" rather than
making money"
Our government is upheld upon the
shoulders of it's own people.
And as our citizenship is maintained
at high standard of moral and phySi-
cal strength on the part of our mon
and our women, just to that extent
will the strength of our nation be
maintained.
If we would be sure of this, we
must keep our young men from flock
ing to the cities.
The way to do it is to train them
through a system of education whit
will equip them to solve the problems
Of the country, and plant the idea in
their minds that the country after all
offers a greater stimulus for mental
activity than the city.
PROBLEMS OF THE COUNTRY.
The most attractive problems of
this generation are in the country.
The building of good roads, the build
ing of better farm homes, the engineer
ing problems of the farm, the applica-
ton of power to the needs of the farm
and the farm home, the lessening of
domestic burdens through better
domestic arrangements, the construc-
ton of rural electric railways and
rural telephones and farm irrigation
systems and the application of machin-
cry to all the uses of the farm, offer
a field for effort and invention and the
application of energy to the farmers
boy which no city can offer to him,
provided he has had the opportunities
of education to qualify him to solve
these problems.
There should be in every county in
this country a school where every
farmers boy could, without going any
farther from home than the county
seat. learn to do all the things which
| have mentioned.
AGRICULTURE AND MANUAL
TRAINING.
We have schools where a part of |
this training may be obtained. The |
Throop Polytechnic Institute at Pas |
adena. California, and the Stout Man. |
ual Training School at Menominee,
Wisconsin, are of this class. But,
coupled with them should be the agri-
cultural training which a boy gets at
the DOylestown National Farm School,
or in part at the summer school of the
Wisconsin State University at Mad
isOn.
And every girl should have an equal
to fit herself for her duties
as the mistress of a farm home.
Out of such homes will come a gen
GRAFTON of strong, conservative and in
telligent men who will solve the great
problems of this people, and will solve
them so gradually and steadily that no
radical methods will ever need to be
adopted.
They will put out of business the
politician who wants to ride in blood
up to his bride bits, like an erstwhlle
governor of Colorado, or the present
day politician who seeks to ride into
public office on a wave of prejudice
and champion the peoples rights with
his voice. while his hand, like as not,
is in the pocket of some corporation.
"Put not your faith in princes
nor in politicians.
''The Lord helps those who help
themselves"
SO long as the people depend for re-
lief upon politics, just that long Will
they be disappointed.
THE LARK IN THE MEADOW.
When they learn the lesson of the
fable of the lark in the meadow, and
go to work to do things for them
selves, talk politics less, and train
themselves to do things by co-opera-
ton more, they will be surprised at
the progress they will make in the
right direction.
Politics, and a dependence on the
part of the people upon politics, are
the hope and the salvation Of the cor
ruptionists and the trusts, and OF
every combination of capital which
lives by skimming the cream from
the industries of the people.
If you want the cream yourself you
must do your own skimmlng.
You must not imagine for moment
that what | have advocated is mere
+baorv If iS E Ir more than that. 1t