The Newtown bee., 1906-07-06
LITCHFIELD COUNTY.

LITCHFIELD COUNTY.
 BETHLEHEM. AN ADDRESS DELIVERED AT THE |
 MEMORIAL SERVICE OF THE BETHLE-
 HEM GRANGE, BY REV CHARLES M.
 GOOD.
 Among men the cooperation Of one l man with another is the only sure way l of protection or progress. One man entirely separated from all other men may eke out bare living like the brute, but he can have no culture; l there would be nothing to stimulate moral sense; no occasion to cultivate the mind beyond the best method to capture game for food. In such isola- tion there can be no societies for mu- tual improvement. In order for self improvement . man must come into contact with his fellow-man. By the union of two the advantage is more than doubled: one has qualities which the other lacks; this makes improve ment possible. Association develops moral obligation. Rivalry stimulates ambition. Excellence is revealed by difference and comparison. Opportu. ity Is afforded for instruction so that others may profit from the knowledge of their contemporaries. Hence 1t is only by man coming into contact with man that improvement is possible. It
 Ia altogether natural for men to form unions, societies and organizations for their mutual advantage. Men at first
 united for the common defense, then for war, and then for purposes of gov ernment. In later times, when compe- tition became sharp and the strong be- gan to oppress the weak, business men
 united for mutual protection, labor and capital soon followed suit. These and their like are societies for the pro- tection of life and property. Asecond class of organizations isl not so much for the protection of that which we have as for acquiring that which we do not have. Such is the educational system. Success demands knowledge. Our obligation to the youth requires us to train them. We must point out what in life is dangerous; what is wise and safe; we must point out if we can the way to success; they need the ad- vantage of our experience. Life itself Is but one prolonged training school, but experience is often hard school master, and proper training saves many hardships for those who follow.
 l might easily speak at great length of religious organizations; their pur- pose to ameliorate the ills of human life, to elevate the moral tone; to bring man spiritually back to his true rela. tion with God. might speak at great length of what this most powerful of all organizations has done for the world; how, by gradual steps, the world has constantly improved under the churches leadership, politically. educationally, socially, morally, relig- tously, for there is no relation of life into which religion does not enter. This would be most inviting subject upon which to speak, but to-day am to speak of another branch of these or ganizations.
 If understand the purpose of the Grange, 1t is to combine business pro- lection with that of education and the elevation of the social life. To- day we commemorate the names of those who have identified themselves with this cause, but who have ceased from their labors and left their man. ties to fall upon others. Their mem. ory is sacred to us in proportion as we esteem their characters and value their labors. We cannot pattern our lives after the models of men we do not ad- mire. We cannot gratefully cherish the memory of one who has been a use- less burden upon the community. The one with whom it breaks your heart to part is him in whose presence you al- ways felt uplifted, in whose presence you could not think of anything that was wrong; one that made the con- munity better because he lived in it. And there are such men. With such you can i'll afford to part. Your heart goes out after them and your tears flow when you think of them. Those | are your models; those you cannot for get. You do not need marble slab to | mark their resting place. Their mon uments have been erected in your af. fections; you cannot forget them until you take your place by their side. May God give us many bright examples of such characters; we always need them. | In Centerville, Penn., man by the arduous labors of a lifetime accumu- lated fortune of s35, ,O0O. He put all | that, the savings of a lifetime, into a | granite monument in memory of him. self; and there it stands, that tall | shaft, visible for miles around, cold, solitary and useless, lasting testi- monial to the loveless, lonely bachelor, who spent his lifetime in buildin g not for others, but for himself alone.
 Man is monument builder. From the cradle to the grave he consciously or unc0nsciously writes his epitaph and traces the print he must leave on a changing world. Man builds in his own image. His work lis his monu- ment. The more love, the more reach ing out in sympathy with his brother workers that goes into his work, the more beneticent, athe more enduring