Know What You Are Boosting

KNOW WHAT YOU ARE BOOSTING By Thomas L. Martin, Professor of Agronomy, Brigham Young University Boost Boost, and the world boosts with you, Knock, and you are on the shelf, For the world gets sick of the man who kicks, And wishes he'd kick himself. Boost when the sun is shining, Boost when it starts to rain, If you happen to fall, don't lie there and bawl, But get up and boost again. Boost if your cause is lively. Boost if it's dead as sin, No battle is won by the man who'll run So stick to your job and win. Boost, though your heart may be heavy, Boost for the things sublime, For the chap that's found on the topmost round Is the booster every time. Breckinridge News, Cloverport, Ky. This poem has a thrill in it. Anyone with the desire to make his town a happier place in which to live is stimulated by the reading of this poem. However, and herein lies the trouble: People so often get the boosting spirit to such a high degree that they fail to see any weakness at all in the thing they are boosting, and persecute the man that dares to offer a criticism. Such an attitude is suicidal to progress. Many of our communities have been subjected to this exaggerated boost, and like an inflated baloon it has suffered the puncture, and now presents a sorry spectacle. Boosting is good if, at the time of boosting, there is an awareness of weaknesses, and a willingness to throw as much energy into the curing of these weaknesses as there is used in the boosting. Happy is the town or farming community that has a large percentage of such men. In order to judge grain, grasses, potatoes or animals, score cards are provided. Certain factors which characterize an ideal potato, for example, are indicated and a value in points allowed each factor. The points for each factor constitute the perfect score. Score Card for Potatoes Perfect Score Shape 2 5 Size 2 0 Color 1 0 Eyes 1 0 Flesh 10 Blemishes 2 5 Total 1 0 0

KNOW WHAT YOU ARE BOOSTING 76$ Why can we not have a score card for our communities? Professor Flint, of Kansas, has presented what he terms "The Ten Tests of a Town." It is a town score card. The tests are as follows: (1) Attractiveness, (2) Healthfulness, (3) People, (4) Recreation, (5) Progressiveness, (6) Accessibility, (7) Employment, (8) Living, (9) Business, (10) Education. [He might have added one condition without which no community can thrive: "Hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord." Read Deut. 28:1-14. — Editor. \ Ten points are allowed for each test. It would be a wonderful thing if energetic leaders in our various communities would utilize a test like this. * Suppose we mention some of the details that would come under each test: (1) Attractiveness. Under this heading there is considered the problem of shade trees, well kept lawns, desirable shrubbery, well kept front and back yards, cement side walks, clean streets, attractive school buildings. (2) Healthfulness. An unhealthy person is not only a non-producer, but is a burden on a producer as well. Does the town concern itself in the preserving of the health of its citizens? Are manure piles allowed to accumu- late and furnish breeding places for flies? What is the general condition of the outhouses? Are quarantine laws enforced? (3) People. Is the stock good? Is it capable of producing a high type of citizenship? Are the people long-lived, healthful, helpful, friendly, neigh- borly? Do strangers feel at home in the town because of the congeniality of the people of the town? (4) Recreation. What is the attitude of the people towards recreation? Do they eat together, play together at intervals? Is there a realization that when members of communities play there is always better work done? Are there fairs, picnics, festivals, holiday celebrations, in right proportions during the year. Is there a playground in the town, and is it properly supervised? (5) Progressiveness. Some of the material mentioned under recreation might apply under this head. What is the town doing to better its con- ditions? Do the other towns in the county rather look towards this particular town as the leadership town. Do the people take active part in the Farm Bureau organization? Is it a live Bureau? Do the people take active part in school elections, in political affairs, or do they let a few do it all then grumble over the results. (6) Accessibility. Is the town easily accessible to the outside world? Is it located on the railroad? Are the roads leading into the town cemented, well graveled and graded, or are the roads practically inpassable? (7) Employment. Are there many men loafing on the streets a larger part of the year? Are there many out of employment? Is there anything being done to furnish employment for its people? (8) Living. What are the living conditions in the houses in the town? Do the men of the town concern themselves with the idea of improving home conditions for wife. Are there automobiles in plenty? Bath tubs, furances, pure drinking water, electric lights, telephones in the homes? Are the people well dressed? (9) Business. Are the business houses up-to-date, neat, serviceable, efficient? Is there an attempt on the part of the merchants to keep on hand what the citizens of the town want? Are the business houses loafing places for men and boys? (10) Education. What is the general attitude of the people towards education? Do they support the high school authorities in their attempts to hold farmers' round-ups, also make a success of the Lyceum numbers that are brought to town? What percentage of the high school graduates go on

766 IMPROVEMENT ERA to college? Is it known that the productivity of the people is proportionate to their education; that Denmark, Scotland, and Switzerland are far ahead of Spain, Russia, Turkey and Mexico in their productivity and their education; that the average number of years that the citizens of Massachusetts attend school is seven years, and the daily productivity per capita is 85c; that in Tennessee the people attend school but an average of 3 years, and their daily production per capita is 38c? From a survey of the effect of education on the annual labor income of New York farmers it was found that the farmers who had attended only the district school the average labor income was $318; of those who attended high school, the income was $622; and those who had attended college the average annual income was $827. Professor George Stewart, of the U. A. C, has made a similar survey in several of our Utah counties, and his findings show that farmers who had attended college were making $450 per year more than those who had attended district school, and $386 more than those who had attended high school. The effect of education on the standard of living is worthy of note. Eight hundred twenty-five Wisconsin farms were surveyed, and it was found that 12% of the farmers who had attended district school had lighting systems in their homes; 15% had bathrooms; 24% had furnaces; 20% had automobiles. On the other hand of those who had attended college 44% had lighting systems in their homes, 48% bathrooms, 47% furnace heat, and 30% had automobiles. Education does indeed affect the standard of living as well as the productive power of the individual. Then there are the things one must keep in mind when he is judging the town from the education viewpoint. The people of the town should remember these things also. These ten tests of a town are valuable and should be considered seriously by all the members of the town. What a wonderful thing it would be if each community would take upon itself to judge itself. Find out wherein it is weak and where- in it is strong; then throw the combined community energy into strengthening of the weaknesses. Then men could boost to their hearts content, and the community would grow in a substantial manner, and all other towns in the state would admire its progress. This line of work should be studied by farmers, school teachers, and merchants. Such a line of work will be taken up by Professor Lowry Nelson, of the Brigham Young University this summer, during the summer session of the University and I understand the U. A. C. will give similar instruction. It would be a wonderful thing if all men would make an effort along these lines. I know that the com- ment will be that such is impossible while livelihood must be taken care of. But there is no limit to what the human mind and body can do if it will but make the effort. I am strongly advocating the idea that one of the greatest sources of happiness for man at the present time is to intellectualize his drudgery. This article has as one of its aims a hint in this direction.