The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1908-01-31
His Duty and Ours.

w. L. Harrington came among us
4 stranger. He owed us nothing,
and we were not indebted to him.
He presented himself for service at
Blackfoot and we gave him the
usual welcome. He brought with
him a wealth of study and observa-
tion, and proceeded to give us the
benefit of 1t. He carefully studied
US and our Environments, and seeing
how we were hampered, he diagnos-
ed our case and planned to apply
some remedies. He worked under
direction of the school board, he
talked to them and to the teachers,
he talked to the individual citizens
and he won and he received the aid
and support of the local press in ad-
dition to the others mentioned
Many Of his plans were approved,
and through the hearty response Of
the people, old ideas were broken up
and leavened with better ones, and
the educational interests and the as
sociations for the benefit of youth
were advanced FIVE years in that
many months. Dr.. Harrington work
ed hardest of all, injured nobody,
and took little or nothing away. The
extra work which he did out of
school, to build the gymnasium, was
voluntary, and was undertaken as
all such work must be, subject to
encouragement by aid and kind
words, and subject to criticism and
opposition of those who do not ap-
prove of or appreciate it. In this
case, appreciation far outweighed
criticism, and he was ultimately sue
cessful. If lack of appreciation with
a few caused feeling of bitterness
in him, 1t should not have been al
lowed expression toward the whole
town.
In regard to that old trouble back
in Boston, there Is written and an
unwritten law, that a penalty paid
once, shall not be exacted again, un-
less the offense Is repeated. What
ever it was, he paid the penalty by
the loss of his position and his good
name, and in the far west where his
skill was needed, in town where we
felt that his coming was good for
tune to us, he worked with unusual
energy, and no accuser has risen
against him. And granting that he
was guilty as charged, he must have
obeyed that Divine Injunction: 60
thy way and sin no MORE" and you
and could not have done better.
Therefore we question the wisdom
of embarrassing a man with an airing
of his past record unless there is dan
ger of harm growing out of it by
a repetition of the offense, or bad
IhOl oil ChCCI oh IuC NY
having knowledge of it and treat
ing 1t with forbearance. This was
the danger in Boston, but not neces-
Sarily SO, here.
He did wrong in leaving without
notifying his employers, the school
board, if he did not intend to return,
and it was an affront to his friends
and business associates to go away
without taking leave in the usual
way or by the exchange of some cour-
tesy.
Whether his leaving Blackfoot in
jures us as community depends
very much on the way we take it.
There is an old saying, THE evil that
men do, lives after them, the good is
oft inferred with their bones Now
that DR.. Harrington has gone, and is
in sense dead, If we bury the good
that he has done, and think only of
his weakness and his unceremonious |
departure, it will have damaging |
effect upon the community, and will !
be subject to discourage good ef-
forts in others hereafter, as well as
undo some of the work he has done.
We prefer to take the other view
of it. If he fell from grace or made
some mistake back in his old home
that brought sorrow to himself and
others, we are sorry but do not up
hold him In it. We commend him
for his good work here and for the
hard struggle he made to redeem
himself while working for our good.
We are glad circumstances cast his
lot among us for season, and are
sorry his stay could not be longer
and mutually helpful to him and the
H0In Wanted