The Llano colonist. [volume] (Llano, Calif.) 191?-1937, 1922-07-01
YOUR NEIGHBORS PART
in COMMUNITY LIFE
By Abraham Mondamin

1t IS safe to assume that your income
arises from some reputable enterprise
in the town in which you live proba-
bly, a good position, or maybe a bus
mess venture Of your own. But how
long would your job and income last
if you had no neighbors2 Not very
long. So neighbors are rather neces-
sary, even if some of them are nui-
sance at times.
You probably live on a good street.
have pleasant home and grounds, due
almost entirely to your own efforts.
Many another family might have had as
fine place had they been willing to
work as hard. You have right to be
proud Of it. But what would it be
worth to you if your neighbors were
gone? You could still live there, of
course; no one would dispute your
right. But it would be bit lonesome
if you didn't have that dandy new car.
That makes you sort of independent.
OF course the streets you drive on, the
water, the lights and other such things
cost like sixty in cash and taxes
far more than they ought to cost
probably due to inefficiency In fact.
if everybody had been as thrifty and
full Of pep" as you are, it could have
been done for half.
Come to think of it, tho, you would
have had no taxes at all to pay, if there
had been no neighbors. Why do we
tax ourselves and build sewers and
streets and bridges and light plants !?
Of course it is because those public
services are pleasant or convenient to
us and it is cheaper to pay for them to-
gether than for each to build his own
plant and serve himself. You could
probably light, in some way, the store
or factory where you work, and many
another enterprise could do the same,
But what good would it do you, if you
had no neighbors, no streets, no trans
portation?
What We are getting at is that the
most enterprising, the most energetic,
the most thrifty man in town must de-
pend upon his neighbors for almost ev-
erything he has. Not only are the
streets, the water, the lights, the trans
portation, Of service and value to every
resident and every owner, but the job
at which you work and the home in
which you live would be non-existant
without the cooperative service OF
your neighbors.
Now. if you chance to be OF those
worthy but self-sufficient ones who
have been inclined to look down upon
cooperation as simply a poor mans
scheme to reduce his grocery bill, as
something people of your skill and abiI-
ity do not need or care about, isn't it
nearly time you get broader view OF
what it really means even to you
and what the lack Of it would mean ?
1t makes you feel more neighborly like
in your home community, to realize
that every one of those neighbors-
good or bad-has helped to build your
home, your income, your community
life, and to make these the worthwhile
factors they are to you. And you begin
10 wonder if even finer things than
those cannot be done comparatively
You cooperate with your ghbors
to build road. to haul your garbage,
to train and educate your children
and, on the whole. that is the best way.
.If the quality or the expense OF those
services does not quite suit you, it the
method is wasteful or the burden UNI
fairly distributed, may be it is because
YOU have been letting George do
part Of your thinking and leaving HIM
to substitute his own wisdom and mis-
takes in place of yours. There are
some services which we cannot dele
gate, some which require the wisdom
and cooperation of ALL the people;
"A few can often perform the actual
service for thousands if the real spirit
of service prevails. But MERE MON
Ely cannot pay for benefits such as
these; only service In return can can.
eel the obligation. Some scheme OF
mutual exchange must be worked out
and watched-in thotful, tolerant,
neighborly fairness if worthwhile re-
suits are to come. If all were thus
working in cooperative way-per-
haps not even trying to value their eff
forts in terms of money-did you ever
stop to think what wealth OF graft
flying service there would be in that
well-filled basket, the common
good''9 No one has yet guessed 1t
fully-"Eye hath not seen nor ear