Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1916-12-27
Public Forum
COMMUNITY TEAMWORK,
OR 'PLAYING THE GAME"

luulCdJlV6 OIL us Changing Ofu6F. Inc
words cooperation, federation"
associated" that are on the lips of
all and in the type of nations, are
prophecies and promises of a new So
ciaI order The coordination of all
human interests is evidenced in all
the present world history; all indus
trial progress, all educational enter
prizes and all ethical and moral ad-
vance. Our industry is cooperative.
our schools "cO-Ordinated," our
press associated" our churches fed
Grated" our commerce "inter-natjon-
II. Great brot1e~ly IDEAS are wrappvl
Up IN this terminOlOfy. Ideas that
breath the spirit of Christianity into
our age and that promise universal
brotherhood
But one enigma looms large in all
the horizon OF social order and that
is this gigantic war that has engulfed
the nations. But philosophic thinkers
are agreed that even this is but the
birth pain of a social era, that this
inhuman war is the death grapple of
individualism. Straininge internation-
al law and Jurisprudence as it seems
to, it but reveals how inadequate all
schemes of personal and Individuals
tic interests are to promote universal
brotherhood and universal good This
terrible war is teaching the whole
world the lesson that international
law can never be stable until it be
grounded on international brother
hood that whatsoever stands athwart
the worlds social progress whether
1t be Englands dominance of the seas,
Germany's militarism, or Americas
Monroe doctrine must give way to the
primacy of the brotherhood at large
But to my mind playing the game
does not mean SO much criticism of
the past as it does an adjustment Of
the present; it means the recognition
Of the fact that cooperation is bet
ter than competition and that there
are communities of interest between
all men and bodies of men; that every
man has that which he can impart to
others and in the importation enrich
himself and that our highest interests
are conserved in each other. That the
best man and the best institution of
she community is the man or the in
StltutiOn that serves community at
large best, and that the worst man
or institution of the community is the
one that serves himself or itself only
best In other words, each player is
needed-each in his own efficiency
Tor the efficiency of others and the eff
ficiency of the game.
Other great crises threaten the
worlds social order at the present and
we may we'll expect many others to
follow; such as the present railroad
strike; and all OF these evidence the
same individualist or class interests.
Shall we heed not these great lessons
Shall we be unWise, unpatriotic and
Unchristian enough to neglect these
truths in our generation and in our
community? Then we'll may we ex-
pect sedition, strife and sacrifice. What
| am trying to do is to emphasize a
great principle that we all believe in
but do not believe in enough. The
great and fundamental principle Of
Brotherhood that was the soul of the
Gloria in Excelsus over Bethlehem's
plains, the very heart of the Magma
Charta, the hope of the Pilgrim Faith
ers, the sole contents of the Declara-
ton Of the independence and the
Emancipation Proclamation That
principle that is trying to get and
ever getting dominance in the earth
| write not as a critic Since coln-
ing to Lancaster I have noted with
no ~
munity spirit. To this / would like
to add little impetus and accentuate
that which already prevails among
us.
If the principle already announced
prevails among the nations-if it de-
ies all barriers and brooks no defeat
then we'll does it become us to give
it the largest possible application III
our community life This principle
declares without a fear Of contrOver-
sy that our business men should get
together, that our business mems
Chamber of Commerce, is a step in
the right direction; step that leads
finally to real and lasting success.
There is giving that enriches even
interrelations that finally make for
the good of Individuals No man can
come to final success at the expense
of a brother man There is a mer-
chandizing that makes for manhood
and the highest interests Of the pro
ducer is conserved in the consumer
The Parent-Teacher association is
another community interest that has
come under the observation of the
writer and is likewise an expression
of the social spirit of the community
An association that not only make
possible co-ordinating of endeayors
between parents and teachers, but a
better understanding Of the problems
OF public education and an adjust
ment of differentiated interests. Here
TOO, are wide fields to till and to har-