The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1907-01-17
Build Up Your Town.
Don't Be An Everlasting Kicker
Strive to Contribute Something
Toward the Improvement and
Aettermrnt of the Community in
Which You Live.

Mt. Olive Telegram.
When Cain had killed off one-fourth
OF the people on the earth-leaving
only three, then went into the land
of Nod and builded city. it is evi-
dent that he did not sit around like
a bump on log, and growl about
the Nod real estate and people. He
was not himself, perhaps, the most
exemplary of men, and if he had
some reason to emigrate from the
land of his birth, he did not NOPE
and whine, but got hold of Il piece of
ground and went to work to do some
thing. The man who could build up
a city under such auspices is the kind
OF material we went in Mount Olive;
and we will not inquire too minutely
into his antecedents, just SO he
takes hold like u man and be good
at last.
But, what is more, Cain did not
advise his son to ''go west. and get
out Ofthe old dead town." He named
the city after him, believed in it,
worked for it, bought his goods
there and kept his money at home
Does anybody suppose that when
strangers came to Enoch, with any
notion OF going into business there,
Cain told them it was a dead old
town" that it was established by a
murderer, that the water was bad;
its merchants all sharks, and its me-
chanics botches-that the town was
not healthy and would 'never
amout to anything no how" Does
anybody suppose that when he
wanted to invest few dollars IN dry
goods he hustled off to the city,
or that he only went to merchants
of "Enoch" when he wanted a favor
wanted "a little more timer"
Do you think he ever went away
from home to get lumber that could
be had at better rates in "Enoch'
than elsewhere, or to Cincinnati for
cheap buggies when the "home
manufactures" could meet every de-
mand with more stylish and sub
stantial rigs?
Do you suppose he went moping
| around about taxes being too high
in Enoch and no one there knowing
Ianything about business? No, sir.
| He evidently wasn't built that way.
If taxes were high, he got up and
hustled to increase the value ofprop-
erty, SO that there would be greater
values to tax He built houses and
encouraged others to do so. If city
lots got too low he bought up a
dozen or two, scattered here and
there, for the double purpose OF
personal profit and strengthening
values. On these he put up plenty
of houses at reasonable figures, good
ones, too. SO that when any one
came to Enoch he did not have to
move into an old tumble-down
(shanty or move on. He improved
and beautified every lot, kept the
weeds down and set out trees on the
lots and in front of them, even where
he did not build, thus adding to the
value of each lot and adjoining
property as WELL He found that it
did not take so much money to run
a cOmely, we'll kept town as it did a
dilapidated, God-fOrsaken one, and
there were four times the values on
which to raise the required money.
That's the way he lowered taxation,
not by sitting on a stump and howl
ing about it. If a man wanted &c
run factory, or some other enter
prise, he was not afraid the fellow
wanted to make some money, but
told him to "sail in and I'll help you
all | can. A business that does no,
make money is no good. We wan,
every legitimate business in Enocl
to make money, and piles OF it."