The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1909-08-05
AN ADDRESS
ON MAIL ORDERS
Delivered BY George A. Peterson
At Sterling, Ill.

of Aesop. The story ran something
like this: The different parts Of a
man quarreled among themselves.
The legs said they were doing all the
work, while the stomach did nothing
but stuff itself with good things to
eat and drink. and the stomach
growled because it had to work
nights. The arms said that they
had to do all the lifting and carry
while the mouth did nothing but
taste the good things that the man
ate, and the mouth complained be-
cause it had to chew and break up
the food and make words all the
time. Finally they agreed to put it
up to wise ass to properly divide
the work among them.
The ass told the stomach and the
mouth to stop working Tor while,
and give the legs and arms a rest,
too. 1t didn't take long for the legs
and arms to find out that the stom-
ach and the mouth really did some
thing to make them able to perform
the work that they had been doing
and this was what the ass told them
the ne,,t time they appeared before
him:
You legs thought that you were
doing all the work but you found
out that somebody had to give you
strength to do that work, and the
same applies to all of vou--if any
one fails to do his share, the thing
that he is especially fitted for. the
whole BODY suffers and each indi-
vidual part suffers"
Old Aesop in his fable preached
the doctrine of reciprocity. and al
though many onslaughts have been
made on this doctrine since that
time. it stands today as one of the
chief tenets OF civilized and uncivil-
lied humanity.
Politically, we here in America
are coming to realize that it is not
d good thing to say to other nations:
1--WE are too big to care ANYTHING
for you've will paddle our own
canoe, and you will have to do the
best you can. If you want to sell
goods to us, you will have to pay
whatever we please in duty before
you can land any goods on our
Shores
The other countries have shown
us that two can play at that game
and if we want favors from them,
we can't play dog in the manger
policy, In other words, we are
moving toward reciprocity in trade
relations nationally.
Economically, labor and capital
are coming to the point where each
can see something good in the other
Labor does not claim today that it
alone is right and that capital must
bow to every demand that some la
Dor leader may make. Capital ac-
knowledges that labor has right to
demand the enforcement of certain
rules in regard to time and wages
or for the safety of the man who
works in the mine or the shop.
occasionally we see outbursts
against the rule os reciprocity but
they never last long and only serve
to emphasize the more that man
feels his dependence upon his fel-
low man. We are getting away
from the theory of every man for
himself and the devil take the hind
most"
These Introductory remarks of
necessity are general in their char
acter, but am going to give you
special instances taken from life as
have observed causes and effects,
during the fifteen years that have
lived in this country working in var
ious capacities ranging from the day
laborer to the position occupy to-
day.
While | may have some criticisms
to make they are uttered only to
make us all feel more keenly (for l
believe thoroughly that every man
wants to be of as much use in this
world as he CAM. that our individual
failure to do certain things hurts
the community in which and the
people with which we live fully as
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