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Show YOUR OBLIGATIONS 80ME OF THE THINGS YOU OWE YOUR OWN TOWN. YOU SHOULD EUY AT HOME The Country Town Can Be Made the Very Best Place to Live In the United States. (Copyrlnlit. by Alfrl ( Clnrk.) A preacher who wus u crank on doctrine wearied his congregation by constantly harping on baptism. A brother that longed for n rest handed him a text ho thought safe, "Tho way of the transgressor Is linrd." "Friends," said the preacher, "thero nro three things suggested by this scripture: First, the transgressor. Second, bis coiivcimIoii. Third, bin baptism. Wo wtll pass over tho first two and come nt once to the third." Many reasons why people should trade at home rather than send their money away have been given, but suppose sup-pose wo pass them all by nnd come at once to tho one vital reason: It Is tho right thing to do. For after all tho fundamental question ques-tion In every transaction Is whether It Is right or wrong. Not will 1 save money, but Is It Just? Not Is It more convenient, but Is It falr7 Not whether Is It good business, but whether It Is good morals? For you and I know, nnd all tho world Is coming to know, that not oao dollar Is over saved or made by unfair means that docs not curse tho possessor. And a man may be as drs-honost drs-honost In saving money ns ln getting It. It Is right to spend our money with tho home town nnd wrong to send It nwny because wo aro under obligations obliga-tions to the homo town, but not to tho mall order hoti30. Financial Obligations. In tho first plnco tho country Is undor un-dor financial obligations to tho town. Of courso tho town Is also Indebted to tho country, but tho town cannot help but pay Its debt, Its vory existence exist-ence does that. Hence we are merely discussing the country side of tho obligation. town you meet your neighbors Saturday Satur-day aftornoons and exchange news and experience. You go to It for a day of recreation whon tho enow comes, tho fair, or on holidays. There durlni; tho winter lecture course you hear great orators and excellent ex-cellent musicians. The political rallies, tho church conference or association aro held there. ' Ily and by In tho protty little village vil-lage church, whoso spire you can soo from your farm, you son will preach tlm gospel. In tho brick building two doors from tho cornor, a farmer boy will open a law ofllco, and In tho llttlo frame two blocks away another son of tho soil, Just back from college, will begin the practlco of medicine. There is tho high school to which yon send your children, and thcra after nwhlle your daughter will teach, And some day whon you find the farm work too heavy for your age, and watfit to got near the children, you will build on that grassy cornor lot two doors fiom the Methodist church and move to town. Yes, the town in n mighty good thing to have, a ploasant thing; and the more you put Into It the moro you get out of It. For It grows nccordlng to the trade It gets and tho more It grows the moro it can buy and the higher will go your land. The Moral Obligation. Hut the last and strongest reason why It Is right that tho country people peo-ple spend their money nt homo Is tbo moral obligation. Tho town Is yours, yours to rnln or prosper. The snmo BenBO of obligation obliga-tion should prompt you to support It, ns prompted our old Teutonic ancestors ances-tors lu tho forests of aermany to stand elbow to elbow In protection of their village. Tho samo spirit of loyalty loyal-ty should Inspire you as fired the Highland Scot to spend his blood for the welfare of his clan. The country town with all Its faults Is the best governed, most enlightened, enlight-ened, most moral, nnd happiest spot In American .civilization. It Is a good safe place. Not too swift, nor yot too slow. In touch with tho current of progress, but not racing with greed. Tho place from which como nearly all tho great business men, lawyers, scholars, prenchcrs, physicians. Tho place where men aro neighborly and helpful. This town, my farmer friend, Is yours. But tho city belong to tho Don't Let the Catalog House Batter Down the Wall of Civil and Industrial Solidity That Makes for the Safety of Your Community Interests. Find 2i'0 acres of gout laud almost anywhero that Is 20 miles from town nnd you can buy It for !2G nn acre. The same land within ten miles will bring $35, within live miles its valuo Is $C0, within two r.illcs $85 an acre. Thus that town has Increased the land within n radius of ten miles nn average of $35 dollars an acre. As that Is about the ago of country towns generally, you may figure that it town, ns long as It Is fairly prosperous, Increases In-creases ttin Innd around It an average of one dollar nn ncro overy year. Not considering staple articles like cattle, hogs and grain which can bo shipped and sold anyway, tho town ns u local market Is worth at least $7f a year to the ordinary farmer. For oxniiiplo: This year tho peach markets were so glutted no ordinary fruit would pay tho express, Around the llttlo town In which th writer lives nirxit farmers have a fow peach trees, Tho 4,000 Inhabitants houcht nearly ovory bushol In the vicinity nt from 40 cents to a dollar a bushol. More than ?4,000 wns paid for peachos wlthlu three weeks. That wns clear gain which must be sot over to tho credit of the town. Plums, cliurrlvs, early vegetables, scores of llttlo odds and ends, perishable perish-able stuff that the farmer could not or would not ship he turns Into cash nt tho homo town. So It a man owns 200 acres within reach of town, ho will rocolvo $27C a year direct cash valuo from that town, nono of which ho would receive from tho mall order houso. To bo sure, tho tovn does not do nato him that amount, tho town wns not built for tho purpose of philanthropy, philan-thropy, yot he recohes an actual cosh benefit because tho town Is thero; and ho Is undor actual financial obligations obliga-tions to return that benefit by spending spend-ing his money at homo. It Is not an obligation that the law would recognize, but It Is one that appeals ap-peals to tlioso Independent, cloan hearted inon of high honor who fool that perfect houosty demands that whon benefits nro recolvod from strangor or brother, friend or foe, benefits should bo returned. Social Obligations, It Is right for tho country to spend Its money with tho homo town because of the social obligations between them. The town Is tho center of your community. com-munity. From It radiates your rural mall service: In It center your tele-1 tele-1 nuono systems. On the streets of the a mail ordor houses and tho dovll. With Its corrupt government, Its overflow of population, and Its vlco, tho great city Is tho menace of our morals and our liberties. Tho city llko tha dragon swallows tho vast throngs of country boyB and girls that flock Into it, and by and by when health, nnd vlrtuo and hopo are gono, spews them out to die ln want, or wnnder as derelicts over tho face of the earth. And don't you seo, my friend, that when you take tho money from the country town, you dostroy tho chance of success there, nnd tho boys and girls will follow where you bavo sent tho money? This town of yours was rounded on faith, on tho faith In tho customs of men for hundreds of yearn to trado at the nearest town. Thcso merchants nnd carpentors, masons nnd editors aro your neighbors. They bavo grown up amongst you or amongst others like you. They ltavo put their all In a little buslnoss, monoy, time and hopo. Around tho cornor thorn Is a llttlo cot tage, nnd tho wlfo nnd tho baby It may bo your grandbaby wait; and there Is a smile of happiness when "business Is good," but tho troubled look conies when business It poor. They nro struggling to llvo, nnd pay for the llttlo home, and by and by ed-ucato ed-ucato tho children. Thoy aro your neighbors nnd frltyds, not your one mlos. They work liard you scarcely roallzo how hard and are not living high. They have pinned their faith to tho town your town. Their success or fulluro Is in your hands. For your trado thoy will glvo you good returns, and all will prosper together. If you withdraw your trado, failure must follow. Some poor strut-gler strut-gler must go dawn facing bankruptcy. Thu light must go out of soma woman's wom-an's eye, nnd hardship bo laid up for tho child. Km If you could aavo a llttlo by sending your patronago to tbo city, do you not think It the fair thing, tha just thing, the right thing, to trado at the llttlo homo town with tlioso you know, those whoso prosperity and happiness aro In your hands? For It Is written, "Thou thalt love thy neighbor as thyself," WILLIAM II. IIAMDY. |