Show HOME TRADE FABLE HOW THE TRANSFORMATION OF A TOWN WAS EFFECTED I II I I I A STORY WITH A MORAL I One Public Spirited Citizen Who Realized the Big Possibilities and Cultivated the Field to Advantage Ad-vantage Onco upon a time there was a Man who In his youth Was reared upon a farm located near a Small Town of Great Promltin Two weeks In each year when ho was not sawing wood feeding the Block or picking potatoes ho was allowed to attend the little red schoolhouse In the town fly hard la her during the day and persistently reading a few old hooks which were heirlooms In his family and each week absorbing the Intelligence contained In tho Weekly Mirror he by the time ho could mark down his age at 18 years had accumulated sufficient knowledge to run away from home He wandered to a large city and there his great muscular power assisted to gain for himself a position as Chief Scrubber In a large store Ho had not acquired tho cigarette habit and his faithfulness to his scrubbing brush and his unwillingness to know all about his employers business soon attracted at-tracted tho attention of the Old Man and at the end of a year ho was promoted pro-moted to Head Rustler In the shipping department at the largo salary of eight dollars a week His disregard for scooting when the closing time came and his total lack of swelled head so pleased tho Old Man that from time to time tho ambitious ambi-tious youth was advanced until at tho ond of six years ho was drawing tho biggest salary paid by tho house and soon ho was taken In as a member of tho firm Age and hard knocks and brushes with tho business world developed de-veloped In him marked business acumen acu-men lie forged to tho front as a financier and a publicspirited citizen As years passed ho prospered Early and late ho was ever looking after his vast business Interests There were times that he longed to bo again In the small home town Often In his youth he dreamed of some day being chairman of the village board Only once since parting from tho old homo had he returned and then to find the town Just tho same only a little more delapldatcd and In tho weed overgrown over-grown klrkyard the neglected graves of his good parents Strenuous business life and nssld Ions attention to the accumulation of capital without vacation caused him to buffer from what the doctors pronounced pro-nounced neurasthenia and advised total rest from mental effort The manhunt man-hunt labored too diligently In amassing amass-ing m noy Residence in a quiet place was recommended and retirement from all commercial worries Tho Great Merchant sold his vast Interests to a combine and after careful thought concluded that he would seek rest and a renewal of health In tho town where he at ono time attended the little red schoolhouse and where In childish imagination I im-agination ho would bo powerful and famous by becoming chairman of tho village board Accordingly he retired from tho city purchased tho old homestead home-stead where he was reared and picked potatoes and also built a resilience and became a Great Factor In the town Time had made fow changes In the landscape Buildings and streets wore tho same only showing tho ravages rav-ages of decay Tho old stores were In possession of tho descendants of the owners who conducted them when ho was a boy They were not doing tho business that they should Ono great intunntlon was the town had a railroad rail-road All about was suggestive of peace It was an Ideal place for a man who desired to pass his declining days In contemplation of tho bee utter There life was much like unto death There was fresh air In abundance abund-ance All of nature lavishly spent Its beauty over tho country and tho town and oven the weeds on the streets were allowed to spring up bloom and reach maturity without Interruption by the scythe or the slclo Wlthlu a year the Retired Ruafjoss Man had regained much of his old time spirit and health Habits of activity ac-tivity and love of business Impelled him to once again seek work thai He would keep his mind occupied loved the old town HP saw that It needed new life Ho figured out that there were 600 farmers In trio neighborhood neigh-borhood Koch farmer surely spent 50 a month somewhere for supplies This meant u total of 30000 a month hun Then the few 360000 a year U In the town would add tired PlOIII t other thousands to the volume of business busi-ness Wh > not build a great store and supply the wants of tho people Ho would spend some money and build ull the town lie bought half a block on which three of tho stores stood HP erected n largo brick building and soun ho had Installed In It great stocks of goods Other merchants In the town shook their heads The Public Spirited Man was certainly crazy Farmers l when they came to town looked up the big building with wonder won-der The Weekly Mirror had to send away for typo to set up the page advertisement ad-vertisement for the new store and to get a new press for the printing of circulars cir-culars and posters One month after the opening of the store the graveyard quietness of the town had passed away Streets were lined with the teams and the wagons of the farmers A new elevator for grain had been started The railroad placed n now switch In the yard to accommodate ac-commodate the Increased business The son of the old town blacksmith reopened the old shop closed for years because of no trade New life was rapidly being Injected Into the place There was an election A lot of newcomers selected tho Public Spirited Spir-ited Citizen for chairman of the town board He was elected In six months the streets were paved an electric lighting plant was In operation along with a water works The Great Storekeeper Store-keeper had a way of doing things and ho did them News of the activity of the town reached nearby villages and the people came to see the nlg Store and to buy goods A cold storage plant In connection with a new commission com-mission house operated by friends ot t E 1 I a iI II U tACq Ili III l IiilIr I I amq ll l dyIIVith nl f IlJllr IS4 N I NalStt 4rPNl I II h l ifLl I n + l I l IIIiI i Ifu I7 hilliTlpIjll IIII I r rl r I it h IIII I I II rll l iily ll I I iI I ritl i ° tul I II Zia r ° ih q I hii + i I I II i rnIii7I I l q n I i n ila w fed i ll Iq hj l + I I I I l a Ih Ii17i1 I Ildi Ilvr h1li h IItN I H li flu + ft l a I 9 dq II lId S Ail I IIII I V ° I Ii elp Vi IN i iIII Ql i III d le II e t i aalhast i PiI IIiI IIII l h I y j I Ih IiiL p ll ll IIriih Ily j P IIC lhlp ll llh a > > ijli ryNIIt4 till I ij rid f w s sii NtaG4ru fl + ySalh I Ipi pm7 Ilnr v4 am d 1l The advertising magnate will draw trade to the stores of our community just as the advertising of the catalogue houses Is now drawing it away from the home store The people are interested In the store news of this town Will you not give It to them 7 the Storepeeker caused Farmers to bring In tons of butter and hundreds of thousands of eggs and chickens and other produce The transform tion was quick from a Dead Town tc a Lively Small City A high school was established new churches built and some of the pious people were shocked to see an opera house erected erect-ed The Pan flandle Skedunk railroad rail-road which for years had been running run-ning 20 miles from the town so changed Its route as to have it on tho main line so the place had two railroads rail-roads Enterprising men who wanted to locate In a Live Town turned their eyes toward the place Soon thieve was smoke from a half dozen big fac tories and in live years after the Pub licspirited Citizen had started his store his old home town has Increased its population 1000 per cent It was no longer printed in little type on the maps but in capital letters MORAL Do not underestimate the possibilities of your community or fall to develop them No city was ever mado great by Its people buying goods elsewhere D M CARR |