Connecticut western news., 1910-08-04
BOOST YOUR VILLAGE.

Friends, just word. Bear it ip mind. Say of your village and town, all the good you can, to all the people you can, in all the ways you can. By so doing, you will impress the stranger within your gates that you are progressive people.
 Your town or village may not, in. all things, be counterpart of the kingdom of heaven, but never mind that If it were, you and might not be here. You can't improve its conditions by running it down. Boost, brother Boost Strive by every earnest means in your power to build up the village, then watch the result in it's growth and prosperity
 Don't be a Pharisee and stand back and criticise every measure of progress that is advanced for the good of your town: Don't set that little, petty, in cipisnt judgment of yours up in defiance of God and the. entire universe and think yourself infallible and all the rest of humanity row of eiphers to increase in value only as you appear at the head of the row ag the potent tigurehead, and snumerating power.
 There may be little things, now and then, in the life of the village or town that you don't like. Gan you improve them by getting grumpy and soolding about it and running down the town and telling everybody what consummate fools and asses the men are who manage town or municipal affairs?
 My dear fellow, if the good Lord has given you such superior wisdom that you tower head and shoulders in intel 1ect and executive ability above your fellows, rest assured that sooner or later your, neighbors and fellow townsmen will find it out and will not bs slow to reward your merit.
 But if they are a little slow in so doing, and you are so positive of your superior talent in the line which needs that .astute thought and management which you alone possess, or think you do, you are out of your sphere hiding in the background and sending out those little petty envious shots from ambush at your fellow men.
 Quit sniping Get out into the open 1! Take off your coat Put your shoulder to the wheel of the old car of village progress and give it boost Help get it out of the ruts and the mire, and then see whether your fellows will fail to ap- prsciate and applaud your merits.
 There are scores of tallow candles in communities masquerading as electric lights, but when the census taker of will lage progress is on his rounds, trying to locate them, to set them at work in such places as Athey gre suited to fill, the twinkllng of their light is, so feeble in it's reality, disrobed of it's sham, that somehow he passes them by, and they feel that the community suffers and they get grabbed and pessimistic and growl about it to their neighbors and tell what ought to be done, but when the cry goes up from suffering Macedonia, Come and help us," they never respond, but hang back in their lair and growl and snarl.
 Come out of the fog Get into the sunshinel Take the cookie burrs out of your heart Fill it with the milk of human kindness Y Smile-don't snarl Say a kind word about your neighbors once in while Don't be eternally spy ing on hIm or her with a microscope, anxious and eager to find some fault and flaw that you can carry to the neighbors and retail throughout the community as choice morsel of gossip. .
 Instead of hunting high and low for your neighbors' faults, dig up some of his or her. virtues and tell the nelghbors about these, just for a change. and if you did, you wouldn't know your com munity in six months time If every man, woman and child made practice of commenting upon the good qualities of their neighbors, life would be moro worth the living. 0F A'
 What is true of individual. life. is equally true of community life. for com munity life is made up of individual livess When you talk of yourlsown, let it bewith enthusiasm. The towns all right, It is you, ofttimes, that is off the hooks, and you imagine the town is. TakeSoff your saffron -colored glasses.
 The man who prates loudest of his re- ligion and his virtues is more likely to have ,dispepsia than either. Don't be ' microsthsnic in sizing up your commu- nity nor think it,a putrid kakistocracy can improve it, it's your duty to If you do sos Do your duty! ... l.. .tt.