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Show OPPORTUNITY OF THE WEST Mr. Ratcliffc, the promoter of the condensed milk faetqry at Richmond, is authority for the statement that In parts of the East with which he Is familiar many families arc becoming nearly extinct. In a ceitaln district there have been forty-four school houses built, and out of this munber forty are closed, only four of ihem being be-ing needed to supply the educational necessities of the children. This statement is Indeed astounding to western people, and should be to those living In the East ajso. If this course is pursued for many jearsto come, the West will certainly cut more of a figure- in population and votes than It does at the present time. It Is evident that in some of the aristocratic aris-tocratic circles in this nation, European Eu-ropean Ideas are being Inculcated and emulated. In this wc believe the American people do wrong, and In the distant futurc.may realize this fact in various ways that may bo felt keenly. While It is true that great responsibilities responsi-bilities arc attached to the rearing, training, and educating of families aright, those assuming these responsibilities re-sponsibilities have tho satisfaction of knowing that they are compljlng with at least one command of their Creator "to multiply and leplenish the earth." This mandate was not given to any particular sect or the followers of any particular creed but to our Hist parents and all of their ofTspilng. Those who Ignore this law In its entirety may find that they have not pursued the proper course. Imagine peaple living through life, possibly acquiring a good portion of this world's goods to make themselves them-selves happy as they think, and at tho last hours of llfe not have a child to solace and comfort them. We all know parents to whom have been born In the course of ten, fifteen or twenty j ears, butonoor two children, child-ren, and either by accident or sickness lost these, so that in their declining jears they have been left childless and alone. It is also known that these parents would give much they possess If they could but be given another Increase to their posterity, but by the Inexorable provisions of nature the boon is not granted. Wc believe It to bo the Imperative duty of those who Join in wedlock to bring forth an issue, that their names can bo perpetuated In and through generations gener-ations to come. In pursuing this course wc help build up and maintain our government, and furnish the sinews that are needed to stienghtcn the community of which wo foima part. To stifle the feelings and sensibilities so that unnatural acts aie committed, thus bringing about a condition not In the original plan, shows a depth of depravity fiom which really sensible people need not be warned. If the mind and heart of the p.uent is right, the bringing up of a family of children Is the gicatest blessing that can come in life, and parents should not shirk the responsibility responsi-bility Incident theieto for fear that the blessing will not prove equal, to epcctatlous. |