The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1910-02-12

prosperity Of every individual in the
community from the boy on the
street who blacks your shoes to the
master mind who organizes your
railway systems or governs your
state the prosperity Of every indi-
vidual, I say. depends upon the eff
cheney of the average man.
The great principle Of democracy to
which our American government is
dedicated, is not confined to the world
OF politics, but applies with equal
force In the economic and industrial
world. We must revise not only our
old aristocratic ideas of government
but our old aristocratic ideas of
wealth and industry as we'll. These
old fatal misconceptions have shack
led us too long, and there is no hope
for us only in realizing that business
is, by nature, not aristocratic, but
democratic.
The poorer every other man is, the
poorer you are. The richer every
other man is. the richer you are
not the reverse of this, as too many
people have long beliveed.
Every man whose earning power is
below par, below normal, is a burden
on the community; he drags down
the whole level of life and every
other man in the community is poor
er by reason of his presence, whether
he be white man or negro, or what
not. Your unframed, inefficient man
is not only a poverty-breeder for
himself but the contagon of 1t
curses every man in the community
who is guilty Of leaving him untrain-
ed. The law Of changeless Justice
cecrees that you must rise or fall, de-
| cline or prosper with your neighbor.
You will be richer for his wealth,
poorer for his poverty.
And so today every man who is
tilling an acre of land in the south so
that 1t produces only one half what
intelligently directed labor would get
out Of 1t, every man who is doing
poor work of any kind, every man
who is creating and earning only so
or rs cents day instead of from three
to ten times as much, as intelligent
labor would do, every efficient man
no matter in what line Of work, is a
burden on the community Is drag
| ging down the level Of life for every
| other man in the communiay.
Suppose you are his fellow citizen;
then because of his inefficency his
poverty, because of his failure to con-
tribute to public improvements. YOU
must have poorer roads, poorer
schools, a meaner school house and
courthouse, a shabbier church, lower
priced lands; your teacher will be
more poorly paid, your preachers
salary will be smaller, your news
paper will have smaller circulation,
your town will be poorer market
your railroad will have smaller traffic
your merchant smaller trade, your
bank smaller deposits, your manu-
facturer diminished patronage, and
so on and on. The ramifications are
infinite, unending
On the other hand, every efficient
man. every man trained to do good
work, whether by the schools or by
hn1 ic
whole community richer. If by doing
better work he earns 50, SO or IS a
day instead of 80 or so cents-does
not that mean your merchant will
nave more trade, your bank larger
deposits, your newspaper better pat
ronage, your preacher larger salary
your county and State better resourc-
es' so that your roads, schools ana
school houses will all feel and show
the thrill Of a new power that has
| come to them.
EeVry man who comes into the
community with new talent or skill
German say, every man trained by
any method to greater efficiency and
dynamic intelligcnce-every such
man lifts the whole level or prosperity
for the community. No matter what
you have to scll-your muscular
labor your skill your scientific know
ledge, your manufacturing product.
your land-you get for il in propor-
ton to the efficiency and prosperity
OF the average man with whom Won
deal and the great masses in the COM
munity must be the INTELLIGENT and
efficient If the general level OF pros
prity is to he high.
THE farmer, the common laborer
ol any sort, needs no training. Edu-