Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1921-12-15

Don't Be a Community Stacker!

OQ it d SldChtI. VOW, now III
hurts! The fellow who had "You'rs
a Stacker" hurled at him during the
period of the war was the recipient o1
about the most insulting remark that
one might make about another. Wow
how it hurts! But generally the term
was correctly applied and the person
to whom it was said had no comeback
A real man would rather be dead
than be a Stacker and all that the hurt
full word means. There are slackers
and slackers. In the past two years
| the term has been used most COM
monty in connection with the man who
tried to crawl out of fighting for his
country, through various subterfuges.
We marked him as about the lowest
down type of citizen. We marked
him as the parasitic type of indilid-
ual who would enjoy all the benefits
| that this wonderful country bestows
on its inhabitants without giving the
last full measure of devotion in re-
turn. You know the type. We all
scorn him, loathe him and would that
he might be deported from the coun-
try as an undesirable, as an alder of
the enemy and-in fact, we stamp
him as little short of traitor
Among other kinds of slackers, we
have the Community Stacker. He's
the type or she's the type of person
who buys his or her merchandise out
side of the home town. You know the
sort. You probably have them right
in your own town. You know them
as the individuals who made their
money through sharing in the advan-
tages and opportunities that your
good town offered You know them
as the persons who accepted liberal
credit and financial assistance from
your home merchants and bankers
when they were getting start on the
road to fortune. You haven't much
use for them now, have you? They
are doing all their buying out of town
They are doing nothing to show the
merchants and bankers their appreci-
alton for favors so cheerfully render
ed but few years ago.
We never think of these COMMUN-
ITY SLACKERS but what we call to
mind recent editorial that appeared
in the Saturday Evening Post on the
subject of Slackers and Pacifsts. It
is decidedly apropos to the subject of
COMMUNITY SLACKERS, which we
are discussing 1t follows:
Here is little story which was re-
peated many times IN American hist
Dry as white men pushed across the
continent from east to west: The set.
tlement received Warning-perhaps
from the sole survivor of the next
settlement-that the Indians were on
| the warpath It's members hurried in
to the stockade and made prepare
tons such as were possible for its
defense. They had all too many rea-
sons for supposing that if the Indians
got in every man, woman and child
would be slain-very likely with those
gruesome Celebrations the Indians had
| always affected. In the seige every
hand was needed. Women loaded the
muskets; children brought food and
water.
But say there had been one able
bodied male who refused to take part
in the proceedings. Suppos when be-
sought thereto, he said, 81 have con.
scientious scruples. Our Master
taught Love your enemies; do gooc
unto them. If your enemy hunger
feed him; if he thirst, give him drink.
Of course | expect to eat my share OF
the scanty food. | expect you to pro.
teet me from the Indians. But if
load your rifles or fetch your ammuni
ton or bring up food and water, an
assisting in killing; and it is written
"Thou shalt not kill" Probably whel
the Indians were driven off severa
weary men would have found time t,
kick him over the fence, and to tn,
end of his days he would have com
planned that he had been prosecuted
for his conscientious scruples.
That was brought to our minds tn
other day by a bundle of press clip
} pings showing that the mayor of
) town had refused to buy any Lib
erty Bonds or to speak for the Bond
or in any way to encourage the sal
of the Bonds-quoting scripture copi
ously in support of his refusal. Her
and there you will find such char
Mostly, according to our observation
they were openly pro-German befor
Dur declaration of war made that at
D titude dangerous.
They are grafters-expecting sus
tenance and protection from the com
munity but refusing to defend it. A
for their scripture, any novice in cas-
= uistry knows that no great ingenuit
in distortion is necessary in order t