Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1909-11-11
THE LIBERAL SPIRIT A TOWN NEEDS


Liberality never killed a town.
Every public enterprise ought to
receive substantial aid and en-
couragement. When you give
dollar towards improving the
town, you do not throw away your
money, but simply make a good
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS News.
The more this truth is driven home,
not only in Fitzgerald but in Ameri-
Gus and every town of South Georgia,
the better. 1t cannot be too frequently
repeated, nor can it be presented in
too forceful style. Liberality is what
every one of the towns OF this section
needs, the cultivation of liberal spir-
it on the part of it's people, the spirit
that will lead them to be willing to
encourage, not only by words of
mouth but by cash contributions, the
various movements that have the up
building of the town as their purpose.
No city can grow without such
spirit existing among the mass of it's
people. and more especially among
what are popularity termed the mon
eyed class" If those who have made
money in the past out of their bust
ness interests in city proceed to sit
down on the money, content with its
interest earning powers, afraid or un-
willing to use it for the further up
building of the place, they not only
fail to do their own duty but they dis
courage others and act like a blight on
the future progress of the city. Every
city has some of this class, but the city
where the bulk of the men of means
are possessed of this spirit has
gloomy outlook as to its advancement
in industries, trade and population.
1t is unfortunately true that in all
towns there are many men who are
unwilling to put any of their money in
an enterprise that does not guarantee
heavy rate of interest in return al
most Immediately. They look not TO
the future. If they can lend their
money out to farmers and others and
make ten to fifteen per cent a year,
while it may be actually doing nothing
toward the future additional prosper
lty OF the community, they are salts
fed and refuse to go further. They
cannot conceive that they owe any
duty to the town at all. A cotton mill,
a hosiery mill, any industry that is
projected, does not appeal to them be-
cause of this fact. They are apparently
afraid to entrust any Of their accum-
ulated capital to new enterprises, 40
matter how successful such enterprises
have been at other points They pre-
fer the old way of using their money,
even though the old way really does
not in the slightest promote the well
fare of the city. Boiled down, isn't
this, after all, merely a species of sell
fishness, of shortslghtedness that sees
nothing beyond the immediate person
al interests and immediate personal
profits?
The cultivation of a broad, liberal,
progressive spirit, that is willing to
enter new fields of investment, to
postpone immediate profits for future
greater good, is the spirit that must
be cultivated if Americas, or Fitzger-
aid, or any other city, is to prosper and
grow. And this spirit must be culti-
waited mainly among the men with
money, but also in the community at
large. The city where such a senti-
ment is in the atmosphere, where it
makes up the daily environment of it's
people, is the city that has a contin-
uously progressive future. It's chill
dren grow up approaching what is
expected of them, what they should do
to be live, potent factors in the devel-
opment of the place, and once the
town is thoroughly saturated with
this spirit there is no fear of its ever
losing it. 1t is self perpetuating
spirit, that thrives upon itself and
grows stronger and more triumphant
with every day. Isn't there some way
we can cultivate this spirit here? Cam
didly, don't you think it Is the spirit
we most need?