The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1907-03-14
What We Might Gain.

" nht w . I'VE = HI 0hlu.
In applying ourselves to business or
in gainful occupation, most of us have
regard, first, to the well being of our.
selves and our family, second to the
prosperity of our immediate friends, and
thiSd-a consideration which reacts up
on both-we desire the material progress
of the community In which we live.
From the fact that most of us pursue
the first named object unremittingly,
striving with ceaseless activity for our
own immediate advantage. it often hap
pens that much that we might enjoy,
by cooperation with our fellow towns
men for the public good, Is wholly lost
sight of, and that the broader form of
selfishpess known as public spirit ap.
pears to be diminishing virtue In this
as we'll as in most of our New England
communities. Public spirit of the kind
we have in mind, is here called broad
er form of selfishness' because it is prac-
ticed only by those who are willing to
which we live and from the prosperity
of which they may reasonably expect to
benefit, but while it is not generous
enough to extend much beyond the cir
Gle of the daily life of the possessor, 1t is
so much more admirable than that spirit
controlling the citizen who does not even
recognize duty toward his town and
never lifts his hand except for his own
immediate profit, that we regard public
spirited man as towering monument to
virtue.
Now an entirely selfish citizen may
often contribute somewhat to thu pros.
perity of the town in which he lives,
even though he has not the slightest re.
gard for anything but his own affairs.
1t 80 happens that he cannot engage in
business at all without comforting bene-
fit on somebody, much as he may dislike
to do so, but this incidental benefit is
small compared with the good that the
same man could do if he had measure
of generosity in his nature ard town
which numbers none but wholly selfish
men among her citizens will enjoy very
limited prosperity.
There are over two hundred firms and
individuals engaged in manufactures,
mercantile pursuits or in the profes
sions in the town of Skowhegan. We
do not recall that, during the last five
years, that we have averaged to con-
tribute two dollars in cash or days
| work annually, to- forward the material
interests of this community. Now have
VT? Be gentle with yourself, if you
choose, and, instead, think of the first
ten citizens that come to mind, and see
if you can reckon up $40 per year, or ten
days in time, annually, that they have
contributed to any object outside of
their own immediate concerns that
would add, to the prosperity of Skowhe-
& in a commercial sense. Now these
lines are not written in a spirit of
criticism and they would fail ut.
telly and in double sense If they re-
suited in arousing only feeling of in
dignation, but they are penned with
some slight hope of showing how much
we miss by the short sighted policy, nay
the entirely blind policy, of individual
sefishness. Fifty dollars year apiece
would be a small sum for each of the
200 firms and individuals of Skowhegan
to contribute for such an object, and
yet even this sum, backed up by the de-
votion of slight amount of energy and
time from each contributor, would un-
doubtedly double the population of
Skowhegan in the next decade. In the
prosperity which must attend such a
growth everyone would be sure to be
rel bursed for both his time and his
money, many fold.
We presume that >kowhegan is not
more conspicuous for lack of public
spirit than some other communities but
we should not be content with that,
which is very lame and Improbable
sort of satisfaction. We can if we choose
prosper nightly by even little cooper
alton and we should all enjoy doing it if
we only really tried. Shall weP