The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1918-05-17
City Versus Country Life.

/ .. pupllS VI mlSS AiASh' hS'A'A
teacher:
Resolved, That country life is bet
ter than city life for physical, men
tai and moral development.
Affirmative-Lois Carpenter.
Fellow students, teachers and hon
orable judges: My colleagues and
stand before you to-day in order tt
prove conclusively that the country
which God made, is better than the
city, which man made, for physical
mental and moral development.
First, let US consider the physical
side of the question. The thret
things most essential for physical
development are wholesome food
proper exercise and pure air.
The country and not the city is
the source of all our food. Diaries
are not found in the heart of large
cities but in the suburbs or country
Thus, milk used in cities must be
| brought first from the farms to the
railroads, then shipped by train
| again taken to the milk supply
| depot, there bottled and again ship
ped to the consumers. So, you see,
most of the milk used by people in
| the city is at least forty-eight hours
old before it reaches the consumer.
On the other hand, people in the
country have their own cows and
do not have to depend upon milk
transported from some other place.
Their milk is fresh and clean and
free from any contamination.
Not only dairy products, but fruit
and vegetables also come from the
country. The city fellow must get
his fruits and vegetables from mark
cts and stands which arc often ex-
posed to dust and germs and are very
unsanitary in every way.
All of our food comes from the
country, but the most important
product of all is the grain from
which our bread is made. If it were
not for the farmer the world would
starve. Someone has said:
Never Sultan or Dey
Had such power as they
To withhold or offer bread"
"You can write it down as gospel:
With the flag of peace unfurled,
The boys that run the furrow
Are the boys that rule the world!
1t is written on the hilltops,
In the fields where blossoms blend;
Prosperity is ending
Where the furrow has an end!
The glory of the battle,
OF clashing swords blood red,
Is nothing to the warfare
Of the battle hosts of bread!
The waving banners of the fields,
Ger the broad land unfurled-
The boys that run the furrow
Are the boys that rule the world"
Then, as far as exercise is con-
cerned, there is a great deal more
freedom in the country than in the
city and better opportunity for ex-
ercise The farmer boy can plow
and get plenty of exercise and be
learning something about agriculture
at the same time. City children must
depend upon Fairgrounds and parks
in which to get their out-of-door ex-
ercise. Well, it is artificial at best.
Any boy had rather go out in the
country in the pure air and fish by
a running stream than to play with
the gold fish in city park.
True, thre are gymnasiums, Y. M.
G.. AS, Y. w. G. AS, etc., in the city
phich which provide exercise for the
city boys and girls, but that is only
canned exercise, and who does not
prefer the original goods to the
canned?
The air in the country is much
more invigorating than the air in
the city. This is due to the fact
that there are more plants in the
country which render the air pure by
giving off oxygen and by taking up
the impure air; while the air in the
city is filled with smoke, cinders and
dust from the traffic and manufac-
lures.
Then, too, diseases have a better
chance to spread in the city and are
more prevalent because of the un-
sanitary conditions of the crowded
tenant sections. All of our i'm
portant sanitariums are in the coun-
try where there is abundant light
and fresh air. No one ever heard of
person being sent to large city
for health or for rest. Instead they
are sent to the country away from
the noise and hustle of the crowded
city.
The Government did not place the
training camps in the heart of the
city but in the country where our
boys might have plenty Of fresh air
and ample room for drilling.
The slogan of the world to-day
is to return to the simple life, and
the simple life can be found only in
the country.
Well, so much for the physical
side of the question. Now let us dis
cuss the mental.
Probably there are more schools
in the city than in the country, al
though many of our universities and
colleges are in rural surroundings,
yet there is a vast difference be-
tween schooling and education.
Everyone who wants an education
can get 1t no matter where he hap
pens to be. Statistics show that
boys and girls coming from the coun-
try to the city and entering schools
make use of their opportunities and
soon surpass the boys and girls of
the city.
All of our greatest men, as rule,
came from the country. Burns,
Whittier, Lincoln, Washington,
Cinncinatus, Jefferson, Shakespeare
and Wordsworth are notable ex-