Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1910-03-24
TOCATCHHOME TRADE
Team Work on Part of Local
Merchants Necessary.
STRIKE OUT CATALOGUE MEN

ssc3SStiSsiS IuSlSdo VI EISHIInS CdCb
Other. Might Cooperate In a Cam.
paign Against the Mail Order People
n Profit Thereby.
Team Work-did you ever hear OF
that? 1t is team work that wins. In
sports and in business It is team work
that takes the penuant, knocks the
persimmon. bags the game.
The baseball teams OF the big leagues
have gone south to practice team
work. BY the time the ball season
opens every team will have become
a unit Of efficiency. Every man on
the team will have studied thoroughly
and c~onscientiously every other man.
All will have come to a mutual under
standing. The catchers will know the
kinks and curves of the pitchers. the
shortstop will know how to cooper.
ate with the basemen, and the base
men and the outfelders will be in
complete articulation for skillful plays.
1t is just the same in football. Every
man on the eleven must be thoroughly
drilled in team work before going on
to the gridiron for a big game. Ii any
man is found deficient in his ability
to cooperate with the rest of the team
he goes off the eleven in a jiffy. So
it is with the members of the varsity
Fights who row for college honors. If
No. 4 can't hit it off with the stroke
oar, out of the boat he goes. A long
pull, a strong pull and a pull all to-
gether-and it's the pull altogether
that shows proficiency in team work.
CO-operation-team w~ork-ought to
be the watchword in any line Of hui
man endeavor where it is DESTROYS that
community results be achieved. No
man lives for himself alone, we are
told. Ii he tries it be is not likely to
live to old age or to be very happy
while be does live.
All this little preliminary preachment
I wish to apply to the problem Of town
improvement. Every citizen in the
town should be a member of the team
and should study assiduously to de-
velop work to its highest eff
cheney. In toe many towns there is no
organization whatever, and even where
there is organization of some sort there
is too often a lack of harmony between
individuals.
The merchants of every town ought
to get together and do some team work
against the greatest menace to their
prosperity-the mail order trust. The
mail order people are fully organized.
They have their employees trained to
do fine team work in advertising and
exploiting goods. The home merchants.
instead of lighting each other. might
pull together in a campaign against
the mail order people and profit there
by.
This is a world in which system
rules. The stars In the heavens do
splendid team work. Each keeps to
it's appointed orbit, so that it will not
Interfere with the progress of any 9TH
there would be collisions and chaos,
The difference between civilization and
anarchy is a mere matter of system
team work. cooperation. organization.
The wisdom OF the ages has developed
certain laws. We must obey the laws
if we belong to the team. II we dor't
We'll belong to The lock step process
sion or the chain ganh.
System .runs through. the whole ga
NUT OF human institutions. No mar
or firm a build up a successful bust
ness without Insisting upon team work
on rhe part of III employees And no
town can make any definite progress
under average conditions unless the In
dividmals comprising its citizenship are
willing TO sink their individuality to
q certain extent and work with the
team FRO right along in harness
| know towns which are d delight to
the eye-well kept Ireer well built
houses. up to date public buildings.
tidy stores. and all that. They possess
an air OF general prosperity and pride
| find that III most of such towns there
is a considerable amount of prelimi-
nary team practice on the part Of the
citizens before anything definite is
achieved in the town improvement
line. On the other hand. I know towus
just as advantageously located and as
promisingly environed which give an
outsider the impression of a shoe run
down at the heel or a last years birds
nest.
Upon investigation l discover that in
the towns of this latter class there is
no community organization whatever,
except in some instances where there
exists a dormant Commercial club or
something Of the sort, whose members
have put it to sleep by pickering
among themselves. In other words.
they never learned team work. AS a
consequence the town creeps along in
the same old dusty ruts.
Those American cities which in the
past quarter Of a century have made
the most surprising development are
the ones in which cooperation has
been uppermost. Their citizens have
pulled together.
Any person who does not take pride
in the place where he lives should