The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1921-06-16
COMMUNITY DAYS
FAILED TO ATTRACT
COMPARATIVELY FEW PEOPLE
VISIT SAUK CENTRE FRI
DAY AND SATURDAY
Mr.. KARR Splendid SPEAKER
MESSAGES WERE FULL OF coon
REASONING ON COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT

The community days advertised bv
the Sank Centre business men for
Friday and Saturday of last week
We're not the success the promoters
hoped for.
Alexander Kari, promoter of
Friendship Leagues was the big card
Tor these days, and ne amply sutain-
ed his reputation as being a most
interesting entertainer, and instruc-
tive orator.
Mr.. karr's heart beats for the
great common people, both On the
farm stead and in the rural centers
OF population. He rightly senses
danger signals ahead, because of the
tendency to leave the farm and the
country town for the larger centers
of population. The fact that the
average age of the man on the farm
IN the state of Maine was over SO
years, while the average age of the
men In the population centers as
shown from the survey of 321 towns
and villages was over 81 years, are
dangerous signs of the times.
Lack of working understanding
between town and country, lack of
suitable entertainment for the young
and a wholesome and practical in
terest in. their welfare, are the things
which are driving the boys and girls
to the city. Thousands of dollars are
spent for the betterment of the live
stock on the farm, where not one
cent is expended to make conditions
for the boys and girls of the COM
munity more attractive.
Mr.. Karr shows that a community
building in every center of popula-
tion, owned and controlled jointly by
the farmer and the town man, is a
necessity. This can be accomplished
if every farmer in four townships is
willing to spend few cents each
year for a ten year period on each
acre OF ground owned, the people in
Sank Centre raising a like amount.
This plan is being carried out very
successfully in North Dakota in spite
OF poor crops for several years and
an unsettled political condition.
8 Mr.. Kari deplored the fact that the
town man and farmer and their fam
lies We're not well enough acquainted.
Fhey have much in common and their
interests, are interlocked. He urged
a getting together OH a common
ground for the general good.
The rapidly increasing tendency to
"send away" for merchandise was
deplored and is bound to result dis
astrously to both farm and town if
kept up. He said the local business
men were responsible for this condi-
ton because they failed to grasp the
necessity of persistent publicity-the
methods used by the mail order men
to entice dollars from this community
which rightfuily belonged here. Local
merchants can sell just as cheaply as
the mail order houses but it will
take a campaign Of education to make
the mail order patron realize this.
In his Saturday evenings address
Mr.. Karr secuted the idea that OPP
portunity only knocked once at every
persons door. In this land of OPP
portunity it came again and again.
Because of several failures one was
not justified to sit back, fold their
hands and admit defeat.
The sum and substance of every
one of the four splendid addresses
delivered by Mr.. Karr il Community
Development. 1t will pay big divi-,
dends in happiness and material pros
perity. Sank Centre citizens should
not be interested SO much in making
this bigger town but better one.
He stated that the work started by
the local business men in purchasing
The tract of land and developing it
INTO playground and recreation
bark was one of the finest pieces of
community spirit he had ever wit
1essed, but he urged the citizens to
20 farther-to see to it that suitable
Community building was erected and
for the special benefit of
he young people of the community
where they could enjoy wholesome