The Monte Vista journal., 1917-02-24
LOYALTY LACKING, SAYS
LOCAL SCHOOL GRADUATE
Editor of the Monte Vista Journal,


largely upon the degree to which
that person has been or is inspired
with his work. AS we glance over
a long list of names of the men in
the world who have been successful
we can hardly find a single instance
in which an individual has really
been successful unless he has been
inspired commensurate with the de-
gree of his success. We may Won
der why these men have become in
spired with their work. Is it be-
cause of the pleasure they get out of
their work while do ing it? Hardly
true. They are inspired with their
work and derive pleasure from it be-
cause they expect it to in some way
benefit another or others. Society
even believes that the best way to
make a hero happy is to feed him
in other words to give him some
thing. We can hardly deny that one
of the greatest pleasures that can
come to us comes to us when we
give something to another. And the
more we feel that our gift will be
appreciated the more we are going
to tax ourselves in the giving. This
is true whether applied to a single
individual or to group of individ-
uals.
AS preliminary statement to ex-
plain why the author has desired to
write this article and as a connecting
link between the above paragraph
and the ones to follow I will state
that I had the pleasure of witness
ing the basketball game recently
staged in the city of Colorado
Springs between the Colorado
Springs high school and the good
old Monte Vista high school. 1
noted the excellent fight character
istic of all the Monte Vista high
school athletic teams that the pres
ent basketball team put up against
their opponents, the Colorado
Springs boys. And as an alumnus
of the Monte Vista high school 1 do
not hesitate to say that the students
and people of Monte Vista can right
ly be proud of those six or seven
boys who played in that game in the
kind of scrap they did put up against
their opponents. But, unfortunate
ly and much to my regret, it has oc-
cured to me that you, the students
of the Monte Vista high school and
you, the residents of Monte Vista are
not as proud of your high school
team as you should be, and that you
do not care as you should whether
they meet with successes or not when
they venture outside the Valley to
meet other high school athletic
teams. Perhaps ! am wrong in this
assumption and l sincerely hope that
| am. l have only judged from gen
eral appearances.
l have said that the more we feel
that people will appreciate some
thing we are doing for them the
more we are going to tax ourselves
in the giving. Tell me where we can
give this a better test than in the
case of an athletic team represent
ing its school. You must agree with
me that an athletic team canot pro-
duce the best that is in it before an
empty bleacher If an individual on
track team is Loyalty supported
and is encouraged as he should be
encouraged you can be assured that
that athlete will be inspired to put
every bit of energy he has in the at
tempt to win his event, and more
than that he will put every bit of
energy he has into his work. And
why? Because he knows that his
classmates and friends are depend-
ing upon him to win for them some-
thing which they cannot win for
themselves. And he also knows
that he is going to be praised and re-
ceive his due credit If he does his
very best whether he wins or wheth-
er he loses. In this / am con6dent
because l have had experience.
What is true of the individual is
also true Of group of individuals
What is true of one of the members
OF the Monte Vista high school ath-
letic team Is also true of the team