Putnam County herald. (Cookeville, Tenn.) 1903-1922, 1916-03-09

thy with the church, q community
whose adults are all members of the
church and whose children are taught
the Word of God in the church's Sun
day school. Such cooperation as this
last is a long step toward the ideal
community life. Furthermore, this
begins to reveal to us some of the
things necessary to be done if we
would make our community an ideal
one. Is there a family in it who is
not in sympathy with the church? or
whose children are not in Sunday
school? There are no divisions IN
the ideal. AS long as community
is divided in its church loyalty and
cooperation, so long will the commun-
ity fall short of the ideal, and so long
will there be an obstacle to overcome.
The Ideal School
All. that has been said with refer
ence to the church equipment and
church cooperation will apply to the
school. School days constitute a dis
tinct period in the life of everyone,
and it has often been said, and per.
haps with reason, that school days
are the happiest days of life Ger
tainly comfortable, convenient, and
beautiful surroundings, together with
the cOmradeship of cooperation will
add to the happiness of school days
as well as the influence they will ex-
ert upon after life.
The Home and Its Surroundings
What makes land that produces 40
bushels of corn per acre sell for 500
in one community and only $1O0 In
another community? It cannot be the
difference in productivity, because IL
that were altogether the standard OF
value, it would sell for the same The
answer to this question is growing
more complex. While the answer to
this question will include the church
and the school together. with their
equipment and cooperative spirit, It
will include the character of the
homes, their comfort, their conven-
fence, their appearance; it will in
clude their other farm improvements,
such as barns, fencing, and state Of
cultivation; and reaching still beyond
these conditions, it will comprehend
the question of roads, a question that
enters into every question of real es-
tate value and of home building, be-
cause no community can overcome
the handicap of bad roads by any
short cut or anything else except tina.
Of taking the matter in hand andbuild
ing good roads. Every church and
school and home ought to be good
roads booster and enthusiast, because
the time has come when the success
of all three depend very largely upon
good roads. This one question, as
much as anything else, is at the bot
tom and will be at the solving of the
country church problem of the South.
But suppose we start out with a COM
munity that has not risen to the ideals
outlined herein. How may 1t hope to
attain these ideals. The answer Is
found in one word, cooperation. On
ly by cooperation Of the people may
they obtain the equipment of which
we speak, especially of equipment of
a common. or public nature, such az
church house, school house, and good
roads. With proper cooperation
among all the people. under average
conditions the proper equipment may
be had, and when the proper equip
ment has been acquired, a continue
tion of this cooperative spirit, individ-
ually and collectively, privately and
publicly. from the various standpoinls
of church, school and home, will con-
tribute largely to make of any COM
munity what we have termed herein
the ideal community, And in this
onward progress toward the ideal, the
preacher and the teacher should be
such as that they can assume their
proper place as the real leaders OF
thought and action in the community.
But in order that the minister and the
teacher may enter into the full spirit
Of church. school, and community CO.
operation they must have their homes
in the community. The time has
co qe in the problem of rural life /,
when minister and teacher. in order
to be of the most service to their con- /,
stituency must be able to set an ex-
ample In hons making. and they must
be able to assume real leadership |
In church, school and community or
ganization. The time has come when
Droarher and fonrhar a1.ns,1A ~ oh1o :