Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1908-01-25

supplies - clothing for the family,
household utensils. food that is not
raised at home, farm implements, etc.
This is the average. Some buy more,
some much less. Now, this means a
large circulation of money, perhaps
100000 or 100000 expended annually
by the farmers within five or six miles
of any small town. How and where do
they spend it? Is the town itself such
as to impress them with the feeling
that it is the real heart of their COM
munity? Is it pretty town, beauti-
full town, in which they cannot but
feel just pride? Has it wide, well
kept streets and good roads leading
into it over which it is a delight to
drive either with a light buggy or
heavily laden wagon carrying a load
of produce to market? Has it long
rows of shade trees and some public
parking to make it attractive? Are its
citizens taking pride in making their
own grounds and yards beautiful and
their houses vine covered and not COM
monplace? In short, is it such a place
as man may be glad to visit, to pat
ronize and to call "his town" and
where as he retires in his later years
from the active work of farm life he
may move or look forward to moving
into and becoming himself resident?
The poorer classes of Italian and
Chinese laborerS earn their wages in
our country and send it away-tO their
homes. For that reason they are not
desirable citizens. The member OF the
community who sends his money out
of the community either for invest
ment or to purchase the necessities and
luxurieS of life is pursuing a course
as detrimental to the community as
does the foreigner who sends his mon
ey away. And he is acting against his
own best interests. Take the outlying
farms of any small town. They will
not have to be exceptionally rich to
produce half million dollars value
from the soil in year over and above
the home consumption. Can any one
doubt that with that sum flowing
through the heart of the community
year after year the heart will not
strengthen and grow-double-and be
able to send back through its channels
a stream of prosperity and increased
value to the farms out of which it is
the growth, that the entire community
will not be the stronger? The commu-
nifty will become better place to live,
in both the town and country section.
The town will afford a better market
for the sale of the products of agricul-
ture, and it will be better place in
which to buy things. 1t will have
better schools, more churches, and if
the spirit of local civic improvement
is fostered it will become constantly
more beautiful, more attractive, more
influential.
With the spirit of cooperative effort
stimulated in a community, great
things have been accomplished.
Through persistence in pulling to-
gether communities have grown and
thrived where the natural advantages
have been poor. They have forged
ahead and passed other communities
with far greater natural advantages
where the spirit of cooperation has
been dormant.
The man who has pride in his home
town and who, if it does not meet his
ideal, works and strives to arouse en-
thusiasm in others to make it such is
the best Of citizens. He is worth dol
lars to the community. He may be
advancing his own interests, but he is
likewise increasing the market value
of the community. He is helping his
town, the heart Of the community, and
therefore the community. He is en-
titled to the support Of it's citizens,
their enthusiastic support and coop
Grafton