The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1915-06-18
VOL. 25, NO. IL.

man or the man with the Latin ac-
cent, are all one and the same to
him. He spoke them all with their
native force and popularity and he
did it well.
In the evening the SaVranoffs ap-
peared again, and Frank Dixon fol-
lowed. Frank Dixon may come next
ION the program, but his work is
never second on any platform. He
is probably the best orator on the
platform, the Redpath or any other.
The Redpath people selected Dixon
because of his ability to handle the
community end of the chautauqua
work. At his best he is in the DO
litical field, but he made more of
Taking Stock of the Town" than
even his foremost admirers had ever
imagined. Part of the address is
quoted. 1t is hard to put the Dixon
shafts of comment and criticism i'm
cold type. 1t cannot be done in his
own inimitable way, but the ideas
are embodied in the following:
The building of the town or city
IN which you live is the biggest en-
terprise in which any man of you
Will ever have hand. Your pri-
Vate business, however important, is
but fragment of the communal in
terest. Your welfare is bound up
with the happiness and prosperity
OF your neighbors. The citizen who
seeks the common good is struggling
most intelligently for his own pri
vate gain. In the field of community
interests the great law of the spir-
| Iitual world is likewise dominant,
He that seeketh to save his life
shall lose it." That man is great
est among you who serves.
Most towns grow up by chance,
not knowing from one year to the
next what the outcome is going to
be. Everything that is done is apt
to be wrongly done, aimlessly and
extravagantly done. Yet the oppor-
tunity for replanning, and correct
ing the errors of the past is always
ours.
The energies of a community are
largely wasted, because of a lack of
knowledge of the local needs, and a
coordination Of the constructive
forces which everywhere exist. If
people are to build town or city,
hey must map out the lines of
growth years in advance that their
esources may be conserved and their
wisely directed.
Business firms to-day will spend
thousands of dollars for the services
+ experts from outside who come in
nd examine their methods and pro-
esses and tell them where improve
lents are possible. A town ought
do the same thing This is a So
lal survey. 1t means a searching
1Vestlgation into onditions-phys-
cal, industrial, commercial, sani-
ary, educational, recreational, re-
gious-all the conditions affecting
1e welfare of the people in the COM
lunlty Such an investigation
lust be the result of an intelligent
upon the part of all the peo-
Le, and must be backed by perma-
ent local organization whose aim
the welfare of the community.
Examine your assets:
1. The plan you are pursuing in
lllding town. Most towns have
It dreamed that they could have a
an. They have simply added house
house, block to block, street to
rect. No man builds a private
me without plan. He knows his
iividual needs and directs his
'ces towards their satisfaction.
by should not people build
Vn just as intelligently as an in
7idual citizen builds a home? Ger
n interests are vital to all the
izens and they can only be con-
we'd by community action.
Economy, Beauty, Permanency.
entity - these are obligations
ich rest upon all the people who
tribute towards the growth of
town in which they live. They
only be secured thru co-opera-
action. The freedom of the in
idual must be subordinated to the
fare of the group.
I. The health of the community.
'roperty values in your town are
ntained only as you hold disease
check. The sickness of one man
menace to all men. Clean
cts, clean alleys, clean back
is, clean kitchens, clean grocery
es, clean meat shops, clean wa
these are community assets of
lculable value.
'ience is concerning itself more
more with the prevention of
ase rather than with it's cure.
best doctor is not one who curas