Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1922-10-13
Home Owners Bulwark
of Community Progress
CIVIC PRIDE CENTERS AROUND
THE PERMANENT RESIDENTS
OF OLD HOME TOWN

Home is where the heart is" is a
definition largely tinged with senti
ment, but it is none the less true
Many a resident of Gillett bears
strong affection for this community be.
cause for him it holds all that is dear
to him. He is resolved that he will
leave nothing undone that will make
Gillett a better town, so that his home
and those who are in it may be sur
rounded by all the loving care that he
can bestow on them.
On the other hand, the man who is
wanderer is without abiding interest
in any town. Nothing holds him to
this or that place, and it is Of little
consequence to him whether he resides
here or at the next place
The ties Of home are stronger than
any material ties Home" is merely
a name, like country" but any hus-
band or father will pour out his last
drop of blood in fighting for either.
Never was a greater truth propounded
than when the poet wrote:
BE it ever so humble,
There's no place like home.
You cannot translate it into terms Of
money, for the meanest hut may
breathe more the true spirit of home
than the richest palace.
When you talk to a hard-headed
business man about snch intangible
things as "love" and patriotism you
have to show him." Mere words do
not go very far when it comes to
matter of separating him from his
money, yet no man who maintains a
home and does not neglect those in it
need hesitate about approaching such
a business man for an extension of
credit in case of necessity. Surprising
ly large sums are advanced on a
small amount of tangible security to a
man building a home because such a
man is a good moral hazard"
The men who own their homes are
the backbone Of such a community as
Gilett They must own them, because
the business of renting habitations to
others, which has been largely devel-
oped in big cities, has happily not
spread to communities the size of ours
The homecoming citizen is the bull
=
wark of the nation. The nations of
Europe in which Bolshevism is unable
to make any Roadway are those in
which the people own their own homes
while the ones in which its ravages
are greatest are those where turnout
the years it has been impossible for
them to acquire even SO little property
as this. The scourge, therefore, has
had little menace for the United
States, because so many people can
own their own homes, or if they do
not own them, they know they can
any time they want to, and nothing is
to be gained through violence on
others in the possessor-class.
This is of great significance to Gil
lett. No man without coercion estab-
fishes a home in any land except the
one he considers the best on Gods
green footstooI. Those, who are tran
sients in our land, live at rent, and
return to their native land when they
have amassed what to them represents
a fortune. They are negligible ele-
ment when it comes to citizenship.
And he who in turn selects Gillett, Of
all the communities in this country,
as his home, he does so because he
believes it is the best among all those
communities, or he wiuld not stay
here.
Where there is a large percentage
of home-owners, as here, the communi-
ty spirit is as strong as the combined
''home" spirit in the breasts Of its re
spective citizens. The pride they take.
in their homes is only a part of the,
pride they take in their city. Where
lawns are neatly kept and houses
well painted, there you will find good
streets, corner lights, fire protection
and honest officials. The presence of
women and children spells schools and
churches, libraries and clean civic
life. The man who owns his home is
the best booster town can have
he is never sick of his bargain, and he
is a living argument why a man