Now, just picking subjects at random, what do you suppose we could do
if we wanted to say something about CLIMATE? Why, that item alone would
draw people here. But what do we do? We just set here and say nothing.
We go out of the State and we are so darn generous that all we do is
brag on the place where we are. We never think of handing our own State
a little free advertising.
But you take, as I say, a fellow from Delaware, and he is preaching
Delaware and all its advantages from the time you meet him till you
leave him, and by golly, it pays to do that. Look at Delaware today! So
never mind this old good fellow spirit of giving the other fellow the
best of it. I believe in throwing in a little boost for the old Native
Heath.
Now I know you other members don’t agree with me and think that we
should think of our proud traditions and not stoop so low as to have to
advertise but I tell you that this day and time is a commercial Age,
and we have got to throw our Pride away and let the World know just
what we have here.
There is no reason why other People from neighboring States shouldn’t
know of our Climate. Why keep it hid? It’s here. We got it. They can’t
take it away with them.
Of course, I will admit that we have done a little good in a small
way with Picture Post Cards. Five years ago Iowa was a prosperous and
satisfied State. They had no idea of leaving. They had shoveled snow
for 5 months every year and figured they would always shovel snow 5
months every year. But finally one day a Twenty Dollar Bill come into
the State and a Farmer wanted to get change for it, so he started out
trying to get it changed and wound up in Long Beach, California.
A fellow selling Roses in January changed it for him, and when the
Farmer pulled off his Mittens to count the change he found that it
was warm and he didn’t have to put the mittens back on again. That
made quite a hit with him and he decided to stay awhile. So he sent a
Picture Post Card back with the Picture of a Man Picking Oranges off
the trees in January, and told them how fine it was and everybody that
read the Post Card, including the Postmaster come on out.
So when they came they sent back Picture Post Cards to all their
Friends who liked Oranges, and in time they came too, and so on, each
newcomer bringing out just as many more as he could afford Post Cards.
Now in the short space of 5 years look what has happened. The whole of
the State of Iowa is here. The only ones left back there are the ones
who can’t read the Post Cards, or People who don’t care for Oranges,
and now I see where they have put in Schools to teach those others to
read so that means we will eventually have them all, with the exception
of the ones who don’t like Oranges.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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