Henderson gold leaf., 1911-08-03
THE CALL OF CRITICISM.
Some Latter-Day Parallels Anent the
Freer Use of Paint and the. Health
of Our Town-Let Us Cure, Not
Cover lin


of Our Town-Let Us Cure, Not
Cover Up.
Once upon time there was a doc
tor who had patient with a cancer
The doctor applied external remedies.
ointments and patches, finally cured
the outer surface of the cancer and
pronounced the patient well. The
evening OF the same day, which was
the last day-of the patient-the un-
dertaker came along and took him
He was dead.
This story of the doctor illustrates
the attitude OF the people of Hender-
son, in at least some things. We
have chamber of commerce now ad-
vertising the town by the external
application method-trying to per
suade outside people and capital to
come to Henderson and hollering in
is all right and prosperous. Would
it not be equally as well for us to
get ourselves right inwardly first.
What good does it do to tell a astran-
ger how great and prosperous we are
when he can see with his own e. es
that practically every business block
in Henderson needs paint. Why try
to conceal this fact by sticking our
heads in the sand. Paints certainly
an advertisement of prosperity. You
can't fatten old Dobbin without
making his hair shine to save your
life. | never could understand why D
man would not paint his own prop
erty.
The newspaper in any communit y
is the mouthpiece of the community
The policy of the newspapers of our
town for years past has been to
patch up our infirmities outwardly
rather than to make it hot for our
folks on the inside. For instance,
there has been criticism of our town
government for years. enough to ex-
haust the dictionary of the devil, yet
no reports adversely have been made
by our papers and our town govern
ment, the most public thing in the
town, has been neglected by the
press. 1t is the duty of our newspa-
pers to punch as we'll as to pat.
The latest illustration of our atti-
tudes to conceal rather than to Grad
icate is this: The health officer OF
the town has just made his report
for the last twelve months. OF the
seventy-one deaths during the year
tWenty-eight of them were preventa-
BILE. That is to Say, if our SANTA
tion had been better We might have
saved twenty-eight lives, worth finan-
cially to the town, according to the
government appraisement, between
forty and fifty thousand dollars.
Now there is q sentiment to conceal
these and other facts because it is
bad advertising for the town An
other instance of where we try to
show wholesome body when as a
matter of fact we are dying and rot
ting within. The disadvantage oi
concealing these things makes it very
hard for the health officer and town
government to convince the individ-
ual of the Importance of sanitation
and makes it harder for the officers
of the law to enforce the laws of re-
form along the lines of sanitation
such laws as are likely to be enacted
in the next few months.
The point | wish to make is this
In all things relating to our town we
should root out the evils rather than
try to cover them up. Let's cut out
all cancers rather than cover them
up. Let's be sound in body from
bone to skin and the investigating
investing, outside public will be able
to detect our growth, prosperity
and health by the roses in our cheeks
S. II. PEACE.