Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1917-01-09
BABSON IS HEARD
BY LARGE CROWD
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u l. A11SOG O1GOV II
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who developed and improved the coun
try, and were willing to put into it an
amount equal to that which they took
out
That the future of the city does not
depend on its buildings or streets, its
shops or banks, it's railroads or public
utilities. was the theme of Mr.. Bah
sons talk. By numerous and interest
ing illustrations, he showed that the
future depends not on the material pos
sessions, but on the people, especially
on the ambition, initiative, enterprise
and faith of the people.
ut is the intangible and unseen
things which really count in develop
ing a great city," said Mr.. Babson.
Buildings, boulevards and banks are
but barometers and symptoms of con-
ditions. They do not make or cause
conditions. Moreover, population is
not the determining factor; otherwise
the city which was first the biggest
would always remain the biggest and
there would be no chance for the
! smaller places. The things that make
for real prosperity are ambition, in
itiative, imagination and enterprise
These are the great dividend payers
and the great income producers. More
over. these are the real factors which
determine business conditions through
out the country as whole.
1.-TWO men are of the same age, in
herit the same amount Of property,
weigh the same and receive the same
diplomas from school and college. Yet
one is a great factor in the growth of
even miss. What is the difference?
The difference is that the successful
man has initiative, imagination, ambi-
ton and enterprise. while the other
man has not. The same thing applies
to all your people. The growth of your
city is dependent on the initiative, i'm
agination. ambition and enterprise of
your people, not on their property or
their diplomas
The speaker then went on to show
that what applies to individuals is true
of communities and that cities thrive
or fail according to the amount of in
itiative, enterprise, ambition. etc, that
they demonstrate.
Churches Are Assets.
But physical and mental vigor are
not enough to make a city prosperous.
Such vigor must be supplemented by
spiritual faith. When endeavoring to
forecast the future growth of city,
I always want to know the condition Of
its churches. No city will long grow
whose churches are asleep. Live
churches mean good business. Talk
about undeveloped resources! The
greatest of undeveloped resources is
the latent and unused faith Of our COM
nunities.
1.-THE spiritual faith Of community
is the greatest factor in its growth.
Courage, perseverance. and self con-
troll are the natural reactions from
spiritual faith. Spiritual faith is to
your city what spring is to clock,
or what that indescribable germ of
life is to an egg. Statistics on the
growth of cities demonstrate beyond
any doubt that the greatest asset of
city is its spiritual faith. This is
what determines whether city Is
conner or has BEEN"
'Tn short, the future of your city de-
ponds OH the attitude of the people
1t depends on whether they are will
ing to load the gun first and then fire
it, or want to fire 1t first and then
load it afterward. 1t depends on
whether your people are earnestly
striving to be more useful than the
people of competing communities, or
are simply seeking profits, rendering
in return as little as possible The at
titude of your people on this question
Of usefulness Is very dependent on
the spirit pervading your public
schools.
How About the Schools? ,
Are your public schools emphasiz-
ing this great law of equal reaction?
Are your public schools teaching your
that they can prosper in the
long run only by first rendering SER
vice? Are your public schools max
ing your children more or less anx-
ious to be more useful and helpful?
Are your schools getting the idea that
that they should work for the COM
nunity or that the community should |
work for them? What is their atti- /
Jude toward life when they graduate? |
Your schools are a great big factor in !
the prosperity Of your
city.
The cities whose school teachers.
business men, and workers understand
his great law Of equal reaction are
he cities which are growing today
These are the cities whose people
-ealize that to grow they must first
10 something, because growth is on
y reaction from doing. These are
he cities whose people realize that
very act Of theirs reacts to their
'wn advantage or disadvantage, ac-
,ording to whether it helps or harms
he community. Hence cooperation
s their watch word, and prosperity
heir reward"
Many in Discussion
Following the lecture, Mr.. Babson in
rited his hearers to submit questions
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