San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-10-21
Declares San Antonio Has
a Great Past to Live Up
to-Spiritual and Gull
tural Things Should Be
: Cultivated as Well as
Business Growth.

Aspects of the development of n
civic spirit were discussed by Rabbi
Samuel Marks in his sermon before
the congregation of Temple BETHEL
Friday night on the subject, The
City Beautiful"
In his sermon. Rabbi Marks said
that San Antonio has great past
to live up TO. and that she should
develop the spiritual and cultural
things as well as the material.
The sermon in part follows:
"When, with reference to cities,
we employ the word. evolution, we
mean from stage In stage. from
growth to growth, from the lower TO
the higher. from good TO better.
Communities are but groups of
men. and man himself passes from one
stage of appreciation to another. Ii
was n notable day, therefore, when
man learned TO hunger for the beauti-
ful. Such hunger is an urge of the
soul and. as man learns TO feed that
hunger, he learns also TO discriminate
and development is the result. Thus
il was that the slave became wife
and the rude shelter, in turn,
home.
Must Show Hospitality.
"The passing of city commercial
to a city beautiful is but develop
ment of this fine vision. Great cities
Of the past Travelled this highway
that we have defined. Rome and
Athens were the first large CONNER
cial centers and Phidias and Peri
cles began to adorn the streets with
trophies obtained by conquest. First,
there is business, commerce. wealth I;
then culture. beauty and civic pride.
THE thinking people of San An
tonic are making a common urge for
such development. They are proud
of our past; inspired by our present,
and ambitious for orr future. and TO
the end that it shall be so. they are
committing themselves to generous
outlay of money and time.
They know full well this progress
sive element of our citizenship, that
peOple must he attracted here and,
when they come, that their expecta-
lions must be justified. This means
more than material delivery OF the
attractions our spokesman promise. Tor
that delivery will not be enough TO
make the stranger who comes.
friend. We must make that stranger
welcoiIe. receive him as human be.
ing. and make him "fcel at home.
We must make him realize the mean
inc of that far-flung regional prom
Use, Southern Hospitality. The
Southern cavalier made his visitor
an bono I'd guest. and that is the
sort OF hospitality that pays enormous
dividends.
4 Story Dramatic.
alt may appear trite TO repeat thai
We Judge the future by the past.
but by this standard, the physical
gr 18th and material prosperity, 81
San Antonio have been nothing short
of wonderful. Consider its rise 10
pre-eminence and great influence. Its
story is q story dramatic indeed IN
intensity. It not only astonishes; 1t
overwhelms Such has been its
metamorphosis within the last quar-,
ter of a century. I have observed
this evolvement in growth, for | came
TO San Antonio % years ago. AS
| rode from small depot (now re-
placed by stately edificel To the
Menger Hotel. my first impression
was formed. That impression. candor
impels me to say. was not favorable
Coming, as / did. from large cit!'
San Antonio appeared a Struggling
village, n mere assembly OF houses
that one would flatter to call a
town. 1t did not require long. how,
ever 10 learn that my hastily formed
impression was no true index of the
neople. for | found them TO be pure
gold. Since that day. San Antonio
has hurried forward like a giant IN
seven-league boots.
"San Antonio. remember, is not
alone in its effort to invite the
stranger TO its gates. There are other
ambitious cities and some are doing
their utmost TO make their dreams
of civic greatness come true.
awe do not wish TO be misunder-
stood rs belittling our need of bust
ness: we need big business and have
II but such business alone is no
criterion of our growth nor does It
establish the position our city should
occupy. The larger question is: How
do we treat our fellows? Do we
heed the calls of distress? What
reply do we make TO claims that are
made on our righteousness? To what
extent do we observe the Golden
Rule?
"Along our streets We hear the