Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1907-10-12
WELCOME! WELCOME E!
Old Drummer Suggests Plan For
Holding Newcomers In Town.
THE WELCOMING COMMITTEE.


Even if the Mayor Has to Appoint
Handshakers-Sermon on SociabIity.
what some towns need as much aS
anything else in the world" said an
old commercial traveller recently, lis
n welcoming committee. Did you ever
hear of n welcoming committee for Il
town? No? Well, | never did either.
But that is no reason why we should
not hear Of such a committee frequent
ly hereafter If the smaller towns which
want to grow and prosper have any
gumption Yes, sir, there ought to be
a welcoming committee in every town"
What for?" innocently inquired a
bystander
why, to do the welcoming, of
course" the old drummer answered
Il suppose | have visited a thousand
towns in the course of my thirtysIX
years on the road. Some of these towns
didn't need welcomers, but many others
needed such officials badly What |
mean Is simply that the tendency in a
small town or city is to refuse fellow
ship to newcomers until they have been
in town long enough to become part
of the general landscape. In many in
stances the newcomers are frozen out
by tie chillincSS Of the population to-
ward them before they stay that long
Then the town loses them. They 20 to
some other town, where the right hand
of fellowship is extended to them the
minute they announce their intention of
becoming citizens.
Il have been in some towns time and
again that seemed suspicious of any
stranger who happened along | have
been In towns that seemed not only to
suspect strangers of being crooks, but
appeared TO dislike outsiders merely
because they We're outsiders. In small
communities. you know, the tendency
is to become clanniSh. Everybody knows
everybody else and his unclcS and his
cousins and his auntS. Why should
anybody want to make friends with
any rank outsiders? That is the way
they look at 1t. AS consequence when
a new family moves to town there Is
'
that family and man who has
sncakIng notion that he would like to
blow the place up with dynamite and
get rid Of the natives and then invite
sociable people to come in and occupy
the site. Time and again | have met
men on rains who have LETT certain
towns lust because they found that the
natives didn't care to have strangers
settle among them.
"On the other hand there are plenty
of tDWIIs that are eager for new popu-
l2tion, but don't know how to keep new
'nll;S when they get 'cm. These towns
; rd the welcoming committee. The
local board of trade or commercial
club, if there is one, or the mayor If
there isn't, should appoint few
broad minded citizens to do the wei
coming. These men-and women, too
should make 1t their business to give
tho glad hand whenever Il new family
moves to town. Tell the man you're
mighty glad to see him and hope he'll
like the place. Tell the woman about
the churches and the schools and invite
her to attend the sewing society meet
ing. See that some of the town women
call on her before she is In the place
long enough to get lonesome. Tell the
boys where the best Swimmin' hole is
located and where they can Dig bait
for catfish.
"Oh, tell YOU, gentlemen, there's
nothing like little simple human CON
sideration for a stranger to make him
take t. n new town rs Il duck takes to
water, and. on the other hand, there's
nothing like a chilly reception to make
him feel like pulling up stakes and tax
Ing the next train out bag and bag
gage. I've seen it work. both sys-
TENS.
zone reason many of the towns I've
been making ON my business rounds
are small and sickly looking is just
this they don't extend the glad hand.
1t costs nothing to say, We're glad to
have You settle here, Mr.. Jones' But
It's worth whole lot to Jones.
"Yes most towns need a welcoming
committee. | haven't got this idea pat
cnted You can use it if YOU want to
in your town. and | won't sue you for
infringement. Try ii for Il few months
and see If your burg doesn't begin to
grow"