The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1921-01-27
STIGKFASTTOYOUR
OWN HOME TOWN
Make IL the Best and CIeanest in the
a Chance IL Has to Grow.

Address before the Corvallis CONNER
cial Club. Tuesday. January is, 1921,
BY Herbert Cuthbert, Executive Sec
rotary, Pacific Northwest Tourist As
ISOLATION.
The prosperity Of a state as a whole
depends upon the prosperity Of each in
dividual part Of II. II is not sufficient
that the larger cities should increase In
population and In the volume Of bust
ness transacted in them. 1t is of equal,
il not greater. Importance that every
small community Increase in population
and in production and in general bust
ness.
II every rural community can pro-
duce more, can procure more settlers,
more residents, it will mean more local
prosperity, a greater buying power. and
will add to the wholesale business and
general commerce of the larger cities,
hence the entire state will advance and
prosper.
1t is the aim of the Pacific Northwest
Tourist Association to develop every
portion Of the state from within as well
as from without. There is no better
way of doing this than to seek to ere
ate a forward movement in every com
munity, no matter how small 1t may be,
The starting point for such a move
ment is to have every person already In
the smaller communities determine to
stick to his owa home town, to grow
up with 1t. and to become a booster fol-
II. 1t is better to be a. prominent citi-
zen In your own community than to
lose your identity in a big city. II we
can eradicate from the minds Of the
residents. and particularly of the chill
dren, the idea that there are greater
| opportunities, and that it is ~pleasanter
to live In a large city than in their own
town, the foundation Of the future
prosperity Of that town is already laid
There Is a grave and fundamental
| danger not only to the well being OF the
| smaller communities, but to the state
as a whole, II this attitude of mind Is
not changed. a danger SO great that
! when II is seriously considered. 1t Is
appalling.
During my trip east l heard one
speaker make the statement that ninety
years q the population of the United
States in the largest cities was AZ per
cent OF the whole, and s5h per cent in
the smaller cites and rural districts
Twenty years ago the largest cities had
grown to SO per cent, while today they
have so per cent. 1t is estimated that
If this rate Of exodus from the country
district into the larger cities Is main
tanned, in twenty years so per cent OF
the entire population will be in the lar
ger cities, leaving the rural towns and
districts almost without population
He also stated that in a public schoo
in one Of the smaller cities all the boy:
and girls who contemplated remaining
there always were asked to put up theil
hands. Fifteen per cent Of them did
He asked those who contemplated a
some future time leaving their home
and district to live In the larger cities
to raise their hands, and Sc per cent Of
them raised their hands,
He also stated that the business Of
these rural districts, through the activ'
tiles Of the mail order houses, vas go
ing to the larger cities not In their owr
state, but to other states Of the Union
in the same proportion.
Our association wishes to inauguratt
a campaign throughout this state ant
the state Of Washington that will stor