The Blackfoot optimist. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1907-1918, 1912-06-03
WHAT ABOUT .B0YS2
Parcels Post Bin Would Bar
Them From an Education.
MOTHERS SHOULD ORGANIZE
Auburn likened to Your Town-What
the Mall Order and Parcels Post
Mean to You and Yours and Why
You Should Get Together and
Fight.

you SnoOJ0 Get Together and
Fight.
Agrippa gave the endeavor OF her
life to see her son, Nero, on the throne
of the Roman world. Agrippa was no
whit nobler than you, mother. Your
dream for your boy may not be 80
ambitious but It 10 In your breast.
1t was born with the babe, and as
your heart throbbed with the ecstasy
of motherhood there came to abide
with you a great hope-a hope that
has been and is your dream! And
the dream is that the boy shall be
noble and upright and true and sue
cessfdl. No matter what individual
things you may hope for in the boy,
your dream is that he shall be all that
have enumerated above. And to
help him be what you want him to be,
you will show Spartan's courage,
Withstand Savior's cross. Mothers
have suffered and died for sons
throughout the worlds hlstory-and
you are a mother!
In life you are for everything that
helps the boy, against everything that
binders him. And above all, no mat
ter how poor you are, you want your
boy to have an education. You pray
that he may have just little better
| chance in life than his father had.
You want him equipped with the train
ing so necessary in the game of life.
| You realize, in vague sort of way,
| what the struggle is among men, and
you would press your heart against
| his armor and buckle on his sword
| with clinging fingers Of love.
Monster Stalks the Land.
Mother, there stalks through the
land today growing power to defeat
your dream, a power which If given
rein will take from your boy the
chance you have prayed and hoped
| and petitioned for-the chance Of an
| education. That power. mother, is
THE PARCELS POST. The name
| should be forever hated by you. 1t is
| the tool of greed, the means by which
the Midaslike mail-order houses may
gather into their Golfers more gold at
the expense of you and yours.
| Let me tell you why the parcels
post. now proposed as law, strikes
at your hopes for the boy.
The parcels post is being backed
by the mail-order houses. Building up
the mail-order houses means tearing
J down the home town. Tearing down
the home town means taking away
the high school. Robbine you Of the
high school means that your boy will
| fail IS
money to send him to collegel
And the sad part OF it is, you-and
there are thousands of you over this
land-have not the money to send the
boy away to school!
Samuel Eels says the hope Of the
nation lies in the boys and the high
schools. What about the nations hope
when the high school Is taken away
from the country town because the
people of that town have made 1t pos
sible for the mail-order houses to rob
the children of an education?
Suppose We Study the Situation.
Mother, let's look into this thing a
bit. Let's you and sit down here in
the cool shade of the veranda and talk
like human beings who are trying
earnestly to get at the truth of things.
Let's be honest with each other. Let's
| get the kernel of truth from the shell
of ignorance.
For the time being you and live
| in Auburn-once the fairest village
OF the plain. And 1t Is hourishing
now as we talk. Auburn has four
dozen stores, blacksmith shop, livery
stable, real estate Office and all the
other places of business common to a
typical country town. In fact, Auburn
has about all the stores 1t can sup
port. -
And at the time we begin this talk.
Auburn enjoys the trade OF all its peo-
Pile and the farmers from the sur
rounding territory. . Auburn is not a
large town, but it's residents are rea-
sonably prosperous. There are the
provident and the improvident, the
enterprising and the plodders, the
town drunkard and the town gossip
but nobody is really in want Occa-
sionally some unlucky person gets
struck by the tail Of the financial kite
and is temporarily in distress, but the
l
and care for that mans family and
get him on his feet again.
What Happens to Auburn.
And Into this ideal country town
one day there stalks the destroyer!
The parcels post bill has passed (God
grant that 1t never shalD and the mail
order houses are at the throat of Au
burn. From the mail car OF the one
train a day there is thrown a wagon
load of catalogs. The curious people
of Auburn take them home and tina,
night In Auburn every unthinking in
habitant is engrossed in the pictures
and prices. They are gratified and
outraged to learn that certain bal
of soap can be bought for half cen,
cake less at Bingbang & Co.'s, Chi
cago, than from Brown. their home
grocer. There are few other prices
| 49, oorool IN Thorn Soma If them <r