Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1914-09-19
Dam the Draws. Plant Trees and Sum
ruer-Fallow

hear anything like that, if not, per-
haps you have heard many say. IT
have lost many chances, or if had
done so and so, or if l could live. my
life over again.
Well you are just wasting your
time, opportunities are fitting by
you every moment of your life, there
is hardly a day passes that good
chances for you to do something, Is
not knocking at your door. You don't
need to live your life over again,
what you need to do is to improve
the balance, the chances are that if
you get real busy, and do the things
that you can, your life win be
| heightened several years.
There are opportunities for indi-
viduals and for communities, but we
usual get in a hurry and pass them
| up. For instance did you ever hear
party say, o, Well, if / plant these
trees it will take several years before
they are large enough to do any good,
and may bel will be away or be dead
before they grow up to be useful.
/ 1 remember 20 years ago, hearing
just such remarks from persons of my
acquaintance, and who are still my
friends, and to this day they are
still putting off doing anything worth
while. 1t will be long time until
this country is developed and made
into fit place to live. So they say,
and reply a tremendous long time
if they are to be depended upon.
The fellow ! ike to meet is one
who is busy, he is trying, he may say
the country is not what it ought to
be and may never be, but as long as
/ stay 1 am willing to do what 1 can.
If leave next Jear perhaps what
have started will be finished by the
other fellow aud it will not be a
total loss. To be sure, / may not be
here next year, but there is splen-
, did place to build DAM and if
sell and leave X will help some. ]
intended to build it last year, if ]
!, had, it would lie lot of help now,
! but neighbor jones said If built it,
the chances are that it would stand
there several years before there
would be rain enough to fill it, and
t my work would be lost, so here / am,
S but it seems neighbor Jones was mis-
4 | taken, for if 1 had put in that dam
!, it would now be running over, so I
am going to WORK this very morning
" and build the dam. Quite true.
O Smith has just left and ne told me
he had lived here twenty-five years,
l. and the country was no better than
a it was when he came, in fact he said
was better then than now, but when
ii / ask him what lie had done to make
a it better, he seemed to stutter a.
round as though the country would
- make its-self without any help from
A them.
= If you stop to phiIosophize on past
q opportunities ana past chances, and
20 spend your time grieving over them
the chances are that other opportuni
ut ties are fieeting ~ that you cannot
grasp because ~our mind is full OF
grief too full to Grasp pleasure,
Last week l So W case in point, il
is so aptly represented that I mus
tell you about it. Olathe is a tocr
ne OF many past opportunities, it is our
about 80 miles from Kansas CITY
10 For years anu ,-Aars we have heard O
e Olathe, because they would hse
ne water famine every year some wears
IL would be lntolerable, for instance
e. last year was Inc worst of all, fol
IL months they hal to ship in water fol
the town as high as twenty cars q
a day; L tel you this put the people
rs to thinking, neany every year, wher
20 they run short, mere would be a Io1
:; OF talk, but wLe-i the dry spell was
- broken, then they would forget
~ The water problem last year got sc
S. big that it Attracted thoughtful men
. but what were they to do. 1t wa:
Two miles to any creek. and the
III pesky creek was as dry as the town
a 1t was still further to any Sign oi
at water TO go str~-sht down. 1t was
Il thirty miles to tie Missouri river.
There was a fCliow in town who
III had read Dam the Draws he came
forward and said, Lets dam the
creek, but the doubter came forward
and said the creek and dam will q
dry just when &c want it. then in
at rusJling around they found others
who had read = m the draws ant
Ia had needed rho advice and they
le found these satisfied farmers
smoking the ripe of peace, while
ST their stock was drinking from the
n. pond, and neI,-.Jors hauling water
5 50 the doubteE I'D to hide out while
3 the ''I'll try fe'loBs' got busy Il
le 1t looked for a time that the fellows
IF who always know that you can't dc
- it, its too big : job, it won't work
;, anyhow. y GU are fooling your money
IL away. was in the majority, but finally
ar they got the committee of examina
- | ton appointed. hey got the creek
- surveyed, they pot the bonds voted
e The result is Lnat they have dam
to on Cedar creek tno miles from town
but the water caught covers twenty.
m five acres, a seat pleasure resort