Putnam patriot., 1920-03-05
THE COUNTRY PAPERS
OPPORTUNITY

Editors Note,-Mr. Rhodes,
who is one of the most widely
known magazine writers and drz-
matisss in the United States, has
frequently Waited in this part of
+ Windham County and Is |. sub
scriber TO The Patriot. He is prob
ably best known as author Of The
f Gentleman from Mississippi" the
comedy of American political life
in which Douglas Fairbanks and
f Thomas A. Wise starred with great
success some years ago.
Never before ~ this eountry's
history was there period when 50
much as now il is important to
know the opinion Of the whole
country. We do not want the
/ United States to be town2ridden. %
F be dominated - the great cities
Through the great metropolitan
dailies, whfsh now 20 70 the re-
mote reee ses u the country, the
tom seems TO lay its hand on
Amerieau thought and feeling and
mould r. Or try 10, 70 its Own pat
tern
N9a o8e-haif Of the population
Of the United States is engaged in
agricultural or allied pursuits and
when YOU add 70 this the popula-
ton inhabiting market centers and
the smaller industrial towns it is
evident that the majority Of Amer
leans do not live IN the great cit
les palaces or their Sums. By
force of numbers they can. by the
theory Of democracy they should,
rule The country.
1t would III become town
dweller, such as ! am, not to feel
that in the cities exists more in
tense intellectual life, that there.
indeed, perhaps, the new theories
of national reconstruction must be
threshed out--fthe only kind of
threshing they do in towns) But
| see also that in the machinery of
wheel of non-urban thought and
feeling which exists 10 prevent
sudden alterations of speech and
their attendant disasters. | see
how, little remote from the tur-
moil of the great towns and their
great noisy newspapers, new theo-
ries may be. not holly debated, but
cooily meditated upon | see a
wisdom of the fields and the nils.
and Of the neighborly American
ism of a little city to which the
great towns may turn for help in
need.
see Putnam, for example
though know it maialy from the
columns Of The Patriot and from
some motoring in it and the lovely
Connecticut hill country which sur
rounds it. as a community where
I'll the different elements Of Amer
lean life meet and blend as they
cannot in the bigger towns. It IS,
is il not. an agricultural center
and an industrial town as well.
with millwarkers and their prob
lens Il stands. as the stirring
name of its newspaper indicates
for that original Americanism,
that fine patriotic New England
belief in character and our coun-
try, but it has, too, its foreign
born population to assimilate. The
town and country round about
have their millionaires. but have
also modestly well-otf people. II
IS America in small compass, small
enough for people to know each
other and to talk things over.
To talk things ever is the best
way out Of difficulties. individual
and national You can do this in
Putnam and in all other towns like
Putnam-(or, perhaps, there is no
town like Putnam If you think
so ! am glad to agree with you)
and you can let Us know your con-
illusions.
Rather let your newspaper let
us know. 1t is time for the really
American country and the really
American small town TO be a force
in the national life. luis time for
what we eall the country newspa-
per- to come into its own Il can
represent mere than half the
Americans Everyone should read
it, Aslor writing for it, |, for one,
am glad to be in the columns of
The Patriot. The more alive, the
more in touch with their readers
the smaller newspapers are, the
safer is the country.
HARRISON RHODES