Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1914-04-17

|
Life-AI Are Factors In Favor Of
the Mail Order House and Against
| Local Merchant.
| copyrighted. 1914. by Thomas J. Sullivan1
| Weather, books and roads contribute
largely to the influences OF rural life.
Bad weather and bad roads mean
books.
And books they say are the light
houses erected in the great sea OF
time. They are masters who instruct
us without rods or ferues. without
words Or anger. without bread Or
money. If you approach them they
are not asleep. II YOU seek them they
do not hide. II You blunder they do
not scOld. If you are ignorant they
do not laugh.
But the worst rObber in all the
world is a bad book. 1t has long been
the DEVILS policy to keep the masses
Of mankind in ignorance; but. finding
that they will read. he is doing all in
his power to poison their books. Now.
let's see what our rural friend is read
ing. Oh. rara avis. Oh. book without
parallel in the history Of commercial
destruction: 1.-The book" is huge pic
torial. tricolored retail catalogue.
The catalogues of mail order houses
are a kind Of leaky boat on the waters
Of temptation; some of the temptation
will get in anyhow.
Mud a Great Help Too.
What is more natural with gloom.
darkness. rain and mud surrounding a
farmer or suburban dweller, when to
venture forth means either a sacrifice
Of self or faithful horses, than for him
to turn to the alluring catalogue for
both pastime and means Of prOcur-
ing the necessaries of life? Thus It
can be seen that the third and best
factor in favor of the catalogue houses
is mud
Man is measured by his deeds. and it
seems strange that after mastering the
art of reading the stars, discovering
the course of the planets. controlling
the iron monster. the lightning. the
sea and the wind, man shows his in
ability to conquer the one great prob
lem which is proving such a draw
back to the best expression of his life
in rural districts as far as social and
commercial conditions are concerned
Poor roads seem to be his heritage. his
master.
A country's stability is measured by
its agricultural Importance. as the
we'll being Of nation is like tree
agriculture is it's root; industry and
commerce are its branches and its life.
If the root be injured the leaves fall.
the branches break away and the tree
dies. Community pride begins where
agriculture leaves of. and both are
equal and inseparable in their impor-
lance to healthy. happy, successful
existence for man.
| Blue Grass Roads Are Best.
1t is IL pleasure to drive through the
blue grass district Of Kentucky. where
they have what they call macadam-
lied turnpikes. These roads are the
equal of any paved city street and
Of course are paSSabe ut all seasons
Of the year. They cost approximately
$1,000 per mile. The highways in Ken
lucky are from thirty t" sixty feet in
width. 1t is estimate! t'.it We're the
highways of lllin"i. ic:nni d t., fifty
feet $21.O00tNE' could !r added tn the
wealth of the f.;rll. r t" III" state.
That alone would b' lid II, ~ than $500
miles Of road.
Spend $15o,occ COO.
| This country today has about 1o10
900 miles OF I,nl,Iic highw.,. on which
1t is estimated that the rH'lDe OF the
country are spending $l1A.,hki.thm an
nually Statistics say We al:o spend
| 81. 200 COO. 600 for alcohol. %.'tEh,.to 100
| for tobacco. and it Is said that The
ladies' spend %.aIIINW.Mn ycrrly for
candy II all this money >orid 40 APP
proprinted for road buih..n- we could
have Il turnpike to the moon.
The principal cause of the Roman
empires downfall was it's neglect Of
| agriculture-th the exodus Of its men and
women from the farm to the city. the
life there to be spent in extravagant
and rotous living. Go to any Of our
CItIeS loudN UHu view Tue eNtTuNuSuut
dress and general trend Of life for
pleasure and you will feel that the old
Roman times are being repeated.
1t would seem that the remedy lies
in building good roads. narrow II ad-
visable, but firm and hard. and have
them all lead to your trading center
and to the doors of your local mer-
chants. Then on gloomy. rainy days
you can do your marketing. and then
back to the farm" without sacrifice to
self or injury to beast.
Nothing tends to make man good
citizen SO much as cooperation with
his fellows. No man can live for him
self alone. Selfishness leads nowhere
but to destruction. strife. bad feeling
and disorder. 1t is one Of the mean
est of all the vices.
The farmer and the town consumer
who patronize the retail catalogue
houses also assist materially in the de-
struction of the local market and trad
ing center. This practice Of sending
local money to out OF town merchants
Is n dangerous habit