The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-08-31

nd the Spirit of Its Citizenship
man shiftless and worthless is to put him on a
good big allowance or to promise him deed to
a good farm or the key to safety deposit box
full of bonds as soon as the farm or the bonds
reach their highest value.
But this sort of philanthropy does not always
pauperize every individual to whom it is ap-
Piled There have been persons whom it was
impossible to pauperize because these persons
had character, and energy and independence
sufficient to keep them at work. There is a man
in almost every community who If he were given
100000 would keep right on as energetically
as ever in his chosen vocation merely lncreas-
ing his business by the use of additional CAPT
tai which had fallen into his lap.
THEOREM-The worlds greatest water
power won't elevate real estate values in Keo-
kuk unless there is as much energy on top the
bluff as down in the company offices.
Once man fell overheard from a great
steamship. The man drowned because each of
the five hundred persons who saw him founder
ing in the water did not wish to get his own
clothes wet and waited for somebody else to
jump in to the rescue There was big. row
after the man had disappeared beneath the
waves. All Of the five hundred people stood
around in groups declaiming how awful it was
that nobody in that other group over yonder
jumped in to save the drowning man.
QUERY-Why can't married men in har-
town as well as at home?
In 1850 it was certain that Iowa, Nebraska
and the middle west would be honeycombed
by railroads-but many people said this was
absurdly chimerical In 1916 it. is equally GER
tain that Keokuk will be one Of the greatest
manufacturing centers in the United States
Right here every reader is mentally shout
ing: eve have heard that before, but when will
this be-"
If Keokuk will initiate Newton and Des
MONIES and take care not to initiate the farmer
who got an immensely valuable farm for moth
ing then the thing all Keokuk people desire will
be obtained several decades sooner than if
Keokuk initiates the farmer and his bad sons,
fails to initiate Newton and Des MONIES and
allows itself to be pauperized by getting the
biggest thing in industrial America today Tor
absolutely nothing.
Keokuk is far ahead of most other Iowa
cities in some things and not ahead IN Des
Moines' very valuable characteristic of blowing
the horn. Good taste is of little value in horse
trade with a Yankee. Because Blackie DaW
plays the saxophone is reason why the saxo-
phone should not be heard in symphony
orchestra in Boston,
Business in Keokuk today is as good as IN
other Iowa and Illinois cities and better than
in many of them. The spirit Of the citizenship
of Keokuk is better now than it was two years
ago.
Keokuk is all right Her only fault is her
failure to drown in Lake Keokuk any man who
from selfiShnesS meanness or ignorance hurts
the town with his mouth, or creates discord.
A hundred thousand population IN 1880 for
Keokuk!
1t is a good deal easier for Keo1uk at one
end Of the big dam to attain that than it was
for Des MONIES at the mouth OF Coon river to
attain that population within thirty years OF
real hustling, strenuous growth.