Mohave County miner and our mineral wealth., 1921-03-18

hear similar remarks concerning him. and I think 1t poor appreciation of his generosity. AS you say, he's al- ways giving, and it's small business to look gift horse in the mouth, as the psalmist says. If he hires a man with a megaphone to announce his benefactions, he isn't hurting any, body.
 "Caustic things are said of every philanthropist who manages to get some advertising out of his liberality, but it's my opinion that you'll have to hunt long time, with searchlight and pair of gumshoes, before you find the man who enjoys doing good by stealth. If you do find him, he will prove to be freak, and 1t will be your duty to see him returned to the asy- lum from which he escaped.
 "We are all more or less hungry for the appreciation of our friends and fel- low citizens. And am glad it's so. If we didn't care three whoops what our friends thought of us, we wouldn't paint our houses, or mow our lawns, or trim our whiskers. We wouldn't spend any money for flowers or boiled shirts or any of the things which make life beautiful and attractive. If a man spends lot of money for gorgeous lawn, with real trees and expensive flowers, and all sorts of ornaments, he's doing 1t because he wants to be praised by the people who see 1t all. You don't see any such lawns in lone some rural districts. There the front yard always is calf pasture.
 "The farmer reasons that it's no use having pretty lawn, for there's mo- body to admire 1t. Nobody ever goes past the place except an occasional lightning rod agent or man who is taking orders for fruit trees.
 "Why don't you sheer at the town man who puts so much money into beautiful grounds? It's all a grand stand play. He expects to get adver- Using out of it, and he does, and he deserves it. We shouldn't criticize any man who is doing good, even if we don't like his methods.
 Some people say that Skimback is trying to atone for all the sinfulness of his past career. It is argued that until recent years he never gave away anything, but was after the dollars by day and night, and didn't care who got hurt so he overlook and captured them. They tell of mortgages he fore closed, causing unspeakable suffering here and there. He is accused of re- sorting to every dark trick to increase his hoard. Most of the stories prob- ably are bunk, but what if they are true? Now that he shows signs of re- pentence in his old age we should en- courage him in every possible way, and if he gives a phOnograph to the high school, or puts up public drink ing fountain in the public square, we should tell him he's everybody's dar- { ling, and not dig up lot of ancient history for his confusion.
 q haven't much money to give away, but when I do loosen up to the extent of dollar or two like to have an audience. I like to imagine that people are saying, What great-heart- ed, benevolent old geezer he is? The other morning a man approached me and asked me to contribute something toward putting new steeple on the church, and l began to explain that church steeples are out of date, when he interrupted to say that the names of all contributors would be printed in the paper, and then dug up $5 with out further words. And we're all tarred with the same stick, my friends"