Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, April 8, 1921, Page 8

(Written Specially For The Bulletin.) I wonder if you noticed the recent statement from the census bureau /that 54,314,476 of the inhabitants of ' this country live—or did live When the cen- sus of 1920 was taken—in townme of over 00 population. There are 2,739 munic- i ties of this class I the Ulited States. What is even more suggestive is the fact that about three-quarters of these are crowded in the 287 cities having i rank of a mere minority. over 25000 inhabitahts each. I forget at this moment just what the 1820 cemsugs made the total population of the country, but it is @ir enough, I fancy, to assume that at least one-half of our people now live in cities, vil- lages or other like communities. -~And that a good third of the total popula- tion is congested in the bigger cities. Then the United Statel first beeame a country there wasn't half-a-dozem cities in it and even they were hardly ladelphia was Nee only one with as many as 50,000 inhabitants. New York city had but 22,000, Boston about the same. The vast majority of the people were farmfrs. When to the number of those actively cultivating the sofl were added the thousands of fishermen from every little hamlet along the Atlantic coast, and the other thousands of humt. ers and trappers and lumbermen who fringed the inland fronmtiers and kept steadily further back for the of the farmers moving them— 2]l these were added together the nder, comprising city residents, was all as to be practically insignifi- cant. That was the character of the pepu- iation for which the founders of the new n made a constitution, and planned a scheme of government. The first presidont was & Virginia farmer, who, having led the Continental armies to victorr, promptly returned to his beloved farm at Mount Vernon to resume what he regarded as a much better and more worth-while life. From that farm he was conscripted, sorely azainst his will, to act as the first civil chief maecistrate. And from the presi- dencr. after eight years, he joyfully re- turned o that same farm and took up once more the work of an active farm- er. That wes the way we began; & ru- ral community, made up of simple-liv. ing, hard-handad and hard-hearted coun- trymen, fitly led by men of their own class who were inspired by their own rit. In much the same course wu kept on for th® first half century, As a_singular Illustration of the suceess which we achieved In foreign and impar- tial eyves during those early davs, let me quote an extract from a letter from Sydney Smith, the famous Bnglish es- st and divine, to Lord Jeffrey of Edinburg. The letter is dated Nov. 23, 1818: “I doubt if there ever was an inetance of a new people conducting their affairs with &0 much wisdom, or if there ever was such an extensive eperi another ter to Earl Grey, dated only a week | . the same writer says: ere !s nothing so curious and tn- ng as the ranidity with which the cans are sepreading themseives | that immense continent” + & @ are a very sensible people: and o have conducted their affairs, | n the whole, very well. ® » s} Their economy and their chean govern- ment will do some good in this country (England) by wav of example. Their al- Iowance to Monroe (their president) is! £5.000 per annum; and he finds his own victuals, fire and candles ™ npon You will observe that there has been fome changein the matters of govern. mental nomy”, and ‘“wisdom,” 8o flatteringly described as American char- | acteristies by this critic of a little over a hundred vears ago. Very few people, | whether at home or abroad, would write | In such terms, now. Is it a case of cause | and effect or Is it a mere coincidence that the change should have occurred | simultaneously with the excessive and | top-heavy development of city life? We'll have to leave that to profound- | er students to answer. That the two tendencies have grown. side by side can't be denied, whatever we may think sbont their relationships to each other. The censns figures make eleam at Jeast half the entire povulntion&:: the land is now a eity population. In the eastern states which ¥ou and T know sest. auch as Massachusetts, Rhode Is. land, Jonnecticut, New York, New Jer. ey and Pennsylvania. the proportion is even greater. Tn all these states the city population @ clear majority. ‘What || wae formerly the ta® is now either wag- Eing the dog or perfecH~ canable of do- ing !t whenever occasion myrises, There has been a comvlete revessal in the source of power as well as in the ideals of government from the davs when a nation of farmers, lad by.a practieal farmer, started out on its new career. We of the farms think what ‘we plena- ed about the healthfulness of this change. That is our privilege and onr right. But, whatever we think, we ean’t change the fact. And, as this Iife is. in the main, a very practical affair, built on and de- Low Cost Life Insurance ‘for Chicks Gl:eciiocuer baby F Pratts Buttermilk Baby Chick i livable chick. Prevents diges- itive troubles. HE: « Your Money Back it YOU <" Are Not Satisfied” o TO FARMERS THE SHIFTING OF POPULATION TO CITIES AND ITS EFFECTS ) sweep back the Atlantic ocean we were still in the majority, with all} more than would be called villages. now. | centers. pending on hard facts, the sooner we ac- cept it and shape our habits accordingly the wiser we shall show ourselves. We whe diskpprove the growing tendeney towards city life can no more cheok it than Mrs. Partington could with her Kitchen broom. We couldn’t halt it when a majority’s power. We certainly can't stop it,- now, when we have fallen to the| One question which we shall have to ask ourselves, sooner or later, and which we might as well begin asking, | now, is just what changes of method and administration the new control is going to bring about. It is fairly clear that institutions desizned for the service of a rural population in a new country liv- ing on scattered farms cannot be ex-: pected to answer perfectly, the needs of an entirely different population, con- jested in big cities and manufacturing The more wisely those insti- tutions were designed for their original purpose, the wider they straggle from present needs. I don’t know but some of you will think I am “way off my trolley” and mixing up with things which a mere farmer, talking to other farmers., should let alone, but T can’t help thinking that the farmers whose forefathers founded the nation must still have a deep inter- est, if not in partisan politics, at least in the larger problems of statesmanship, involving the country’s future. It has been a long time sinee I have read anything with as much interest as a_recent editorial by William Alden White, the famous Kansas journalist. It is entitled “Why Is a Legislature?” I do not approve of its tendency to profan- ity, any more than you, bwt it has a vigor of thought and a raciness of language which I feel sure some of you will find as bracing as I did. And it probes Wwith a keen lancet one of the public sores. which have developed from our attempt to continue feeding a 1921 country on a 1789 diet. Mr. Allen answ- ers his question “Why Is a Legislature? in this way: “Take 175 mem out of all walls of ' PRESEVERANCE A swallow in the spring Came to our granary, and beneath the eaves Essayed to make a nest, and there did bring . Wet earth and straw and leaves. Day after day she toiled With patient art, but, ere her work was crowned, Some sad mishap the tiny fabric spoiled And dashed it to the ground, She found the ruin wrought; But, not cast down, forth from the place she flew, And with her mate fresh earth and grasses brought, And built her nest anew. But scarcely had she placed The last soft feather on its ample floor, When wicked hands, or chance, again laid waste, And wrought the ruin o’er. ’ % But still her heart she kept, r And toiled again; and last night, hearing calls, I looked, and, lo! three little swallows slept Within the earth-made walls. What truth is here, O man! Hath hope been smitten in its early dawn? Have clouds. o’ercast thy purpose, truth, or plan?, Have faith, and struggle on! (R. S. S. Andros in the Philadelphia Bulletin) A trolled tion. - oy city government. When eities and P men,” ate, tion. Several hundred have abolished it. stituted \ life: in Kansas a majority of them farm- er?, Give 75 per cent. of them a sev- enth-grade education and 15 per cent. college degrees and let the rest strag- gle from the third grade to the high school. Round them up in a strange town, under strange influences, all of the bunch strangers .to each other. Put them in two rooms, where" one-third never does get acquainted with the oth- er two-thirds. Organize them into com- mittees and in the backs of the heads of about forty of them inject a mean, nasty, selfish yet sneaking ambition to hold a state job and move to town. Then bang! Slap down on them from the outside about 100 questions of statesmanship, questions that most of them néver heard of ; things involving millions of dellars, and the good fortunes of a million peo- ple. Then let the outer circles of the strange place in the strange town be filled with greedy wolves seeking spe- cial privileges of various sorts. And on top of all this give them ninety days in which 40 eolve these questions. ‘‘What infernal nonsense to expect good resuits. What a damnable scheme that is to guarantee mis-government. 1f the devil himseif planned it, he couldn<t bhave done better, “It was designed for another age, and it worked well in the country that was fifty years ago. But it does not work now. It only plays well. “The first thing to do ‘with the leg- islature is to abolish jt.” ‘What do you think of that for a “breezy” Western expression? We are drifting towards s eity-eon- Cuticura Soap ——1Im The Velvet Touch frtip oo e g i OUR 48th These lines were very much business career. And there are two PRICE 5 YARDS FOR 4 YARDS FOR 20 SARY PRICE One ANNIVERSARY PRICE mer prices 25 pairs of Sample Blankets, $7.98 a pair—AN Bread Boxes, _ename ........................ Tt AR TR Mo (ODRSIAT Rides © -inch Dress Percales, new Spring designs, in checks, stripes and ° Higures, light grounds—ANNIVERSARY PRICE 3 YARDS FOR. ... s ke . 98 : : > RERAgT Willow Clothes Baskets, medium Best quality Apron Gingham, good selecti f ious sizes in blue i checkeANNIVERSARY PRICE 3 YARDS FOR. .o Sze in® S0 g i szt valBE RS tak Copper Bottom Wash Boilers, 27-inch D Ginghams,, fine quality, newast Spring designs, in No. 9, regular $325 value, at checks, plaids and stripes—ANNIVERSARY PRICE SNARDG FOR 48c %fJS—Ne- 8, regular $3.00 value Best quality, 27-inch Outing Flannel, checks, stripes and plaids— . b o ANNIVERSARY PRICE 3 YARDS FOR rrsrrsirs s ass fiiinhaceal Braad Misemy Your Pegay Cloth, 32 inohes wids, stripes and plain_colors, for Children Sheldon’s Electric Iron, with wear—ANNIVERSARY PRICE 2y YARDS FOR..r.v oerseires 480 | cord and stand, value $5.95, us 3495 THE PORTEOUS & IMITCHELL Co. ONLY TWO MORE DAYS OF . FRIDAY AND SATURDAY We arranged an extraordinary store-wide celebration of our Forty-eighth Anniversary. Selected lines of most desirable merchandise were assembled in every department. for us to make them—we aimed to make this the most successful birthday event in our are Special Anniversary Values for Friday and Saturday. Anniversary Sale Specials In HOUSEKEEPING GOODS 36-inch Brown Sheeting, very special value — ANNIVERSARY 36-inch Brown Sheeting, heavier grade—ANNIVERSARY PRICE beautiful “Monroe” pattern — at 43¢ | very special prices. ................................ 48c Silverware Specials dozen of the well-known “Pequot” lot of Unbleached Shests, with no center seam, medium grade— o8 each 120 Bleached Pequot Sheets, size 81x30—Alse 100 Pepperell Sheets, size 81x99—Very special value—ANNIVERSARY PRICE‘ 80 dozen Turkish Wash Clothes—ANNIVERSARY PRICE 12 FOR 48 Size 15-inch Napkins—ANNIVERSARW PRICE EACH............. 8¢ Gravy Ladles, value $1.50 — Price each el $110 One lot of Fancy Jacquard Turkish Towels, assorted eslorings, for- Tea Spoons, value $1.75—Set of high as 69c—ANNIVERSARY PRICE 2 FOR 58-inch Bleached Table Damask—ANNIVERSARY PRICE A YARD 43¢ 66-inch All-Linen Table Damask—ANNIVERSARY PRICE 100 Bath Rugs, assorted grades, subject to slight imperfections, - ular value $198 to $3.9—ANNIVERSARY BRIGE T F ] 24 Hemmed Satin Bed Spreads, full double-bed Value—ANNIVERSARY PRICE ......... rted IVERSARY PRICE .. 1AS ;‘A‘fil of Wool Blankets, white and gray—ANNIVERSARY PRICE Anniversary Sale Specials In SPRING WASH GOODS 27-inch White Domet Flannel, good quality — ANNIVERSARY PRICE 4 YARDS FOR THE PORTEOUS & MITCHELL CO. ANNIVERSARY SALE reduced in price—the values are as good as it is possible more days! Ineverydepartment there SILVERWARE During Anniversary Week we will make a special offering of Oneida Community Plate Silverware —the Sugar Shells, value 60c—Pric 43 | each .. 45¢ Butter Knives, value 65c—Price 80 ow Cases—ANNIVER- Cream Ladles, value $1.15—Price each .- Cold Meat Forks, value $120 —Price each ... six for $1.30 Berry Spoons, value $200 — 48c | Price each Loty C Dessert Spoons, value $3.30 — 43¢ | Set of six for . $2.50 Dessert Knives, value $330 — Set of six for ... $2.50 Table Spoons, value Set of six for ... X Dinner Forks, value $3.50—Set of six for .... Bouillan Spoons, val 50— B SR Ao Dessert Knives, value $4.15 — Set of six for $3.10 Dinner or Medi $# former val ANNIVERSARY SPECIALS IN KITCHENWARE Galvanized Wash Boards, dou- ble, value 59¢, at .......... Decorated Milk Pitchers, one- quart size, value 75¢, at......... 65¢ Bread Boxes, white enameled, SNETSTHSHSUST =SHSUSTHSRSMUST AT AR SSNSTASUSNSNSSTHSNSTASTHN SN COLUMBIA The state highway department has closed the road being bullt from the Cénter towards Hebron at the four cor- ners west of the residence of L. E. Winter, during the comvletion of neces- sary repairs and have arranged a detour northerly from the Center, by way of Columbia Lake. Victor Brousseau, ed that Thursday, the first day for the payment of ‘taxes, the total amount due being $19, from 431 individuals or firms. There will be a demonstration of the t'in both state and na- ‘most noticeable lmdm Columbia, rogressive cities, today, is that t : mnln: abolition of the old style of | for the C. 8. Mersick Co., distributors, of first orpanized loeal gov- ad ernments, they took copy from the state | (DAL evening—ady. svided an executive under the namé of —mayor ysually econsisting of two branches, one sometimes called analogous to the national house of rep- resentatives. and one “board of alder- analogous to the national sen- A great many citles are finding|daughter Barbara of Stonington, also Mrs. out that this system is not only cumber- some, bBut that it is alse extravagant, inefficient, and putrescent In its place they have sub- A “city manager' scheme in which, just one man, assisted by a small eabinet of assistants, each one an expert in, some one line of city work, does all the ¢ity’s business and takes all the responsibility. Apparen this is werking well in most cases: better tha: scheme, anyway. the system to which many other cities are tending. . As urban control- of states and nation censolidates its grip, are we soing ;to see a similar change in state and, national governments? tranger things have happened. Apparently, Lalley eléctric light at Yeomans' hail, Saturday evening, April Sth, by Wood and Ladd of Willimantic. agent New Haven, the demonstration to take place during the whist party te be held and & -legislature. Miss Rilla Chapman left Sunday for Westerly, where she will stay with Mrs. Harriet Wolcott during the spring. Mr. ard Mre. J. Morton Cook and “eommon council.’ Frank Brown and daughter Betty of Ashaway, wers dinmer guests at the home of Mrs. Elizabeth Thompeon Sun- day. Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Cook attend- ed the church services. Cary E. Maine is confined.to his bed and is losing strength. ¢ Alexander Tanner of Voluntown was a guest of Clark Coon Saturday evening and Sunday. Mr, and Mrs. Howard Bentley of White Rock attended church Sunday morning and afterward were entertained by Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Thompeon, who also én- tertained Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hillard and Miss Lucile Wheeler of North Ston- ington in the evening. W. E. Almy and C. H. Cottrell have purchased new horses. Henry Johnson, fire warden in this part of the town, with a foroce of men. was called out Tuesday evening for a fire near Ashwillett. School began the term Monday. There was no vacation. Miss Katherine Thompson is a new pupil. with corrup- already pretty the old 1t is THE FARMER. CLARK’S CORNERS Sunday afternoon a large tract of for- est land was damaged by fire. It was necessary to call the fire warden and men, who fought the flames from about .30 to § in the afternoon. Mrs. Heesie Wade was in New Londen tax collector, stat- he received 1,615.68, 8.84, Mr. and Mrs. Bunday. . TODAY AND TOMORROW ONLY; 63 Dresses The materials are Tricotine, Migflqnefie, Crepe-de-Chine, Taffetas and Satins. - 102 = WERE TO $45.00 WOMEN’S SIZES This price does not even cover the cost of materials—Need we say more—Except —Come Early. We take this means to effect a quici{ clear- ance. The dresses represent an accumu- lation of odd garments but perfect in every detail. We repeat—Come Early!! No Alterations No Exchanges For Today and Tomorrow Only ‘TWO-DAY SALE OF : 200 SHIRTWAISTS Heavy quality Georgette and hand-made Batiste lnd Voile Waists; trimmed with real Filet Laces. ACTUAL ~ VALUES TO $12.50 $9.95 The styles include Dressés and Tailored Models, in a large variety of the season’s best styles, including Overblouses . and Tie-back Models, long and short sleeves — Colors white, flesh, bisque, gray, honey dew and navy—sizes 36 to46. Wonderful values. . W. H. Manning of Norwich was z through this place recently. to attend the Murray-Watsen wedding Mrs. Evans ls in New York. Mrs. John Navite is reported as ing 4t St. Joseph's hospital Williman: Fred Btebbine and famfly | of Jewett City were at Allen Jewstt's L : 1 1 SR EBPITEN S Pe b o