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Show Do You Remember? ... By MAUDE H. BENEDICT Seems we started something! Since this column aired its views on the attitude of strangers in our midst, "the Forum"; "Letters to the Editor", and "The Public Looks On", have published more and more letters of disgruntled and lonely out of Staters. For instance, comes a letter in the Tribune Forum from an Eastern Eas-tern woman, now living in Richfield. Rich-field. Utah. "They came here", she states, "not because they wanted to but because the Government sent her husband here to do important im-portant work that is not only helping help-ing the people of Utah now, but will help them after the war. "You would think they would welcome us with open arms," she writes, "but not so. We only get an unwelcome unwel-come reception wherever we go, and we make a special effort to be friendly. They don't seem to realize that Utah is only a very small portion of the United States! "Now, we, the people of other States, can see how dearly the people of Utah are going to pay for their present attitude toward strangers, for when their Johnny comes marching home from war where he has met and mingled with other people, he is going to blush with shame for his parents, and for his native State!" (We think this pretty strong). "Many will bring home brides, r who, when they see what Utah is like, will turn and flee back to their native States, taking Johnny with them!" Another woman from Salt Lake City, there with her family from out of the State, writes that she has never been invited to church! We are sure if she wished to go to church the doors are open, and she would be welcomed. Does she go to church only to see the people? peo-ple? Does she realize these are unusually busy times when people do not even have time to visit their old neighbors, nor their relatives, rela-tives, but rarely. After all, Utah has churches of almost every denomination, especially espec-ially in the defense areas, from the Holy Rollers to Jehovah's Witnesses. Wit-nesses. And so if the lady does not go to church because she has not had a special invitation, it is quite evident that she is not a very staunch member of her own church. Why all this piffle, anyway, in wartime? We do not resent newcomers. new-comers. We are just as busy in war work as they who have been sent here from other States. We are most assuredly not worrying about our boys coming home to blush with shame for their parents! par-ents! On the contrary, we are all putting forth every effort to help them win this war, and to be forever for-ever proud of their native State. The lady infers that none of our boys have been away from Utah welcome, so long as you are a loy-4 yourselves. We are people like you, and you, and you. oYu may be better in many ways than we are. Perhaps we could follow your example and be helped greatly. We believe we rate with the average citizen of other States in mentality, hospitality hospital-ity and friendliness. So, out-of-Staters, we do welcome wel-come you and realize that you may be lonely sometimes. You need not be, if you will come half way we will meet you gladiy, and may form such a friendship that you will regret leaving us. Stranger things have happened, and why have war on the home front as well as all over the world's battlefields! Do you remember, dear readers, that this column is sometimes anything, any-thing, but Do you remember? before the war. She does not give us much credit for being progressive! progres-sive! Many of our sons and daughters daugh-ters have graduated from colleges and universities in almost every state in the uniion. So we do get around and meet a few people out of Utah. If we would only stop td reason that we are all brothers and sisters sis-ters under the skin, all with good American background, and ideals, patriotism and love of the constitution consti-tution of the United States, we might be better neighbors. We have friends here from Texas, Tex-as, who breezed into Utah for war work, the most friendly people you could meet anywhere. They came with a smile on their lips and joy in their hearts. They hailed everybody every-body with a "Howdy, eve'body," and they love Utah. They say we are the most friendly of people and furthermore they are planning to buy a home here after the war is over. They brought an unbiased, unprejudiced attitude with them. They are just like "eve'body.!" Consequently "eve'body" likes them. So come on over, stranger in our State, and we guarantee you a al American, honest and friendly |