The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-07-02
ON THE WING
What is the Matter With Birming gham?
? The Age-Herald. A

l To the Editor of The Age-Herald. The main question before the people now
 seems to be, What is the matter with
 Birmingham"
 l I might dispose of it promptly by re-
 plying that there is nothing the matter with Birmingham. She has many things
 to commend her. A lovely location, good water and aplenty of it, fine climate,
 beautiful homes, excellent streets, an
 honest and capable city administration, a. patriotic citizenship, many churches, which are well attended, splendid schools under the very best management, and might enumerate a number of other ad-
 vantages, which anyone can realize who will give the subject a thought, but it is all summed up in the conclusion that l would rather live in Birmingham than die
 in any other city ever saw, and have ] travelled all over the United States with my eyes open.
 | But as the question has been asked me
 many times within the last few weeks
 and has been propounded to the public l generally through the press, am going to make few suggestions which, if gen. l orally followed, will result in making Bir- mingham a much more desirable place in which to live by adding to it's already attractive features.
 1 suggest, first, that the community as
 a whole turn to the ten commandments, which were through Moses given to the people many centuries ago, and which have never been, so far as I know, re- pealed, although frequently broken. They l have never been improved upon as a | crv1fd tn " ha | of time, and been found as good code 1 on which to base the laws of the coun- | try as any that has been suggested or presented.
 l If these ten commandments are memo I rized and kept in mind and obeyed, the ! result will be most gratifying.
 I Secondly, I suggest that we carefully I consider the first principles of arithmetic, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, which many of us seem to have | to a considerable extent forgotten how to use advantageously.
 As to the ten commandments, put first: "Six days shalt thou labor" Hon. est work is one of the best cures for l hard times and unsatisfactory conditions 1 of which I have any knowledge; it is panacea for all ills, for, while an idle head is the devils workshop, a busy mind is a blessing to the whole com- munity.
 By the sweat of thy brow shalt thou earn thy bread" was rule promulgated by master mind, and whether the labor l is done by the hands only or by the brain, I or by the combination, honest sweat is good for the soul. No man who does not labor in some way has any right Tn busy community. The loafers and idlers should be put to work; if no other em- ployment can be found put them to pick l ing up rocks, or with small hammers bro oIriv nf are to be found in the valley into sizes which can be put through one-inch screen, and afterwards used to mend or build good roads for honest and indus trious men to walk on. Pay them mod
 crate wages, make them work, or if they decline force them to hit the trail out of town. By this means we will either solve the problem of roads to the river I or we will get rid of heavy tax on the community.
 Don't forget this; that every idle man 1 and woman in Birmingham is going to have something to eat place to sleep and clothes to wear and if they do not earn them by their own enorts, someone else is going to suffer either by stealage, straight out, or indirectly by having to furnish necessities which will never be paid for.
 Y I put next in importance among the commandments, Thou shalt not covet !" The man who has always got his eye on somebody else's property will after awhile begin to think he has right to it and will endeavor to procure it by foul means if he cannot get it fairly. Poor folks ought to be satisfied with being poor folks without adding to their troubles. piling up a heavier load envy ing the successes of others or desiring their property without properly compen- sating them for it. Coveting the display made by the rich, who can afford it., puts many a poor man in debt and in the hole trying to keep up with a procession which it was only intended he should have the privilege of watching from the sidewalk as it passed him by
 If your income does not permit of your having an automobile, thank God for
 that and that the price of gasoline does not worry you and that you can walk or ride in the jitneys for nickel a shot. If you can't afford silk, wear cotton,
 and enjoy seeing the clothes of the other folks as they pass on parade. If you
 can't dres as well as your neighbor, en-
 joy the satisfaction of knowing that you
 have paid for what you have on and that
 nobody will dun you for the bill Re-
 member that worry kills more people
 than work, and that "Godliness with con
 tentment is great gain"
 AS to the rest of the ten command
 ments, you won't have to worry about
 them if you labor six days of the week,
 and don't covet anything that is your
 neighbours; for illustration, if you don't t covet you won't be tempted to steal either directly or indirectly and if you work
 hard all the time, you will soon have enough to feel independent and when you feel that way, you won't feel sore enough to want to kill anybody
 Now, as to the arithmetical proposition.