Imperial Valley press., 1920-04-09
BUYEVERYTHING ATHOME.
(Copyright.l

4 man could do pretty much as he
pleased. What one man did was OF
little concern to anyone else, for it had
little effect on anyone else. Those
days are gone, however, and they
never will return. Today, no man can
live entirely unto himself. Life Is a
complicated affair under modern con
ditions. No one man in any commun
ity Is entirely independent Of all Others
In that community.
Organized society, In the form OF
governments, national, state and local
have recognized the new conditions
and have decreed that every man must
observe certain rules In his relations
with his fellow men. He must not do
certain things that would endanger the
health Of other people in his commun.
ity. He must not do such things as
would disturb the peace and quiet OF
hts neighborhood. He must remember
that he owes duty to his community.
Not Question Of Right.
A man may say that he has the right
to spend his money where he pleases
that no one can stop him If he wants
to buy his groceries, his clothes and
his furniture in some city miles away
from where ne earns the money to pay
for them. He Is right. There Is no
law to prevent him from doing so, un-
less II is the law of self-preservation.
The man who has the right TO send his
money away to some distant city In
stead of spending 1t at home, also has
the right to send his children to that
city to be educated in the schools
which his money helps to support, but
he doesn't exercise that right. He
sends his children to the local schools
the maintenance of which Is made pos
sible by the men wSo spend their
money at home.
Life in any community today is a
give-and-take proposition. A man car
not take everything and give nothing
and get away with it for any great
length Of time. He can not take his
living from a community and give
nothing back to help the other fellow
make a living. If he cuts off the Other
fellows living, he Is bound eventually
to cut of his own, for unless the Other
fellow has money to buy his labor OF
his goods he cannot make a living
himself.
You may say that what you bu!
doesn't amount to much and the money
that you send away to the mail order
houses in other cities can not have an!
great effect upon the general business
conditions In your town. Maybe II
doesn't amount to much and maybe. II
won't have any great effect upon the
community's prosperity In itself. but
what will be the result If every person
in the community, or half Of them, OF
tenth Of them, take the same view
of the matter. Your business, In 1t
self, may not amount to much, bu
taken together with the business of {
hundred others in the community, 1
amounts to a great deal. 1t amounts
to the difference between a prosper
Gus community and dead" one. i
amounts to the difference, in the end
between good times and bad times fol
yourself and your own family. If 20,
lived on a desert isle, 1t would make
no difference where you sent you
money, because 1t would make no diff
ference whether you had any money a
all or not. But you are not living upor
a desert Isle. You are living in {
modern community. To do everything
possible to build up that community /!
not only n duty which you owe to th'
community, but-more important still
1T is a duty which you owe to your
self.
Taxes viii Increase.
You have children to educate. 70,
want your community to have goot
schools so that your children may hav'
the same advantages that the children
In the big city have. II you live on ,
farm you need good roads over which
to haul your products to market. Yo'
may say that you pay your share o
the taxes out Of which the school
houses are built and the roads con
structed. Maybe you do pay your share
In proportion to the value OF you
worlds goods, but where Is the othe
fellow to get the money to pay hi
share Of the taxes II. after you pa!
your taxes. you send the remainder o
your money to some other communit!
to help build their schools and con
struct their roads. The merchants o
any community pay q very consider
able part Of the taxes collected In tina
community. Go TO the tax books ant
you will find this to be the case. WheI
the business of the merchant falls OF
and he carries smaller stocks and ha
less money In the bank, he pays small
er taxes. and as the amount he pay
In taxes decreases. the amount yo'
pay must increase II the schools ar
To be maintained and the roads KEEP
up. II may be mans own business I
be wants to send his money to hell
build up the big cities where the mai
order houses flourish. but it's poo
business for himself ~ well ~ 10
everybody else In the community u
vhbeh he lives.