Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1907-03-14
By GUY ELLIOTT MITCHELL

roads store and the village did There
was pride then, in the native village and
town. Those of earlier foundation could
tell thrilling tales of defense against Indian
attack and repulse. Every place had its
local historian and many regions were rich
in historical lore.
And now to get down to present day con-
ditions. There is the same sort of towns
and villages as there was in past genera
tons and many more of them. They
should all be as prosperous, as thriving, as
making as their progenitors. Why
not? The country is living in a period
of profound peace; there is no necessity
to take time from haying to repel savageS.
1t is not even necessary to haul hog meat
railroads have come to our very doors
The land is as fertile as ever, for while
in some sections it may have been cropped
pretty heavily, better methods of farming
are coming into vogue and the replenish-
ment of soil fertility is beginning to be well
understood. The spirit of cooperation
is still extant. Few farmers are SO selfish
that, upon discovering some better method
of crop or stock growing, they will not
impart it to their neighbors. All this
being so, then, it must be factssthat pros
perity does actually reign supreme and that
every home town is a center of industry
the throbbing, dominating heart of its
surrounding community.
Mutual Protection Still Necessary
And, yet, we do not find it SO - in spots,
here and there, the reverse is the real con
dition. Why? Because, simply enough,
as he who runs may read, the people have
gotten away from the fact that they need
to stick together just as much as did their
fathers in the old days when the town
was threatened by the Indians. The
foes which are threatening from without
nowadays are Of a far more subtle and
enCroaChing nature than even treacherous
redmen. They are working to eat the
heart out of our community and we do not
realize it. Just as in the pioneer days,
it was necessary for mutual protection
from outside enemies that men should
band together, should unite and co cooperate,
now, it is no less SO, if the prosperity of
the community is to be preserved.
In years back it was the = lat
made the farmer dependent upon LIS neigh
Dor and likewise demanded that he should
contribute his own support toward the
general welfare.
It was the savage attack or the danger
of it which caused him to leave the pillow
and grasp the gun to join his neighbors
for mutual protection. But this danger
was something real - tangible There
could be no evasion of it, no lulling ones
self into the belief that it did not exist.
The danger of to-day is different.
Many do not see it; many others refuse to
believe that it is a danger They think
in all honesty that the habit of trading
away from home is a good thing for them,
because they figure out that they can
save some money by it and get probably a
better selection of goods. Or, many of
them think that, at the most, it is nobody'S
business where they spend their money.
They do not realize that in practicing this
habit of trading out of town for the sup
plies and goods that can be procured from
the town merchant, or ordered through
him, they are helping to build up a prac-
tice which, just to the extent it is engaged
in by the members of the town and country
community, will injure, deaden and vitality
hurt it, and individually everybody own
ing property or having any real or other
interest in it.
Suppose every family in the community
had family dependent upon it somewhere