Official Organ Of The Slavonic Benevolent Order Of The State Of Texas. Founded 1897. BENEVOLENCE
VOLUME 54 — NO. 28
HUMANITY
BROTHERHOOD
Postmaster: Please Send Form 3579 with Undeliverable Copies to: SUPREME LODGE, SPJST, P. O. Box 100, TEMPLE, TEXAS
FROMOF] THIS, THAT, AND THE OTHER Certainly one of the significant contributions of fraternalism to America is the vehicle that has provided the Many nationality and cultural groups for giving expression and satisfaction to their common desires for sociability and recreation. One need only to glance at a roster of fraternal societies in the United States to see the significance of this. Though different in language and background, these nationality groups have had a common purpose of mutuality, together with an intense urge for their members to become better Americans. • • The road of progress of the SPJST has not always been a rosy one, indeed, at times, the going has been rough and stormy. There were the lean years of the depression and several inflationary periods, coupled with the uncertainties of war years since those first days in 1897. Some of the strife has been internal, mostly among individuals, whose personal animosities spilled over into SPJST official business. Some of our years were torn with such strife and internecine struggles, with this or that individual jockeying for power at the expense of another and of the Order in general. Such conflicts brought much harm to the Order and seldom resolved anything.
JULY 20, 19C6
S DESK
QUOTES. . Talk is cheap because the supply always exceeds the demand. A
The wise man is informed in what is right. The inferior man is informed in what will pay. — Confucius. Are the windows of your soul and mind open for the fresh air and sunshine of truth to come in? Or are they shuttered by mental laziness or stagnated by that emotional congestion known as prejudice? They reflected poorly on the fraternal system in general. It is one thing to get up and preach and mouth fraternalism and brotherhood, but another to practice it in good faith. When you scratch below the surface of such activity, it doesn't take long to discover and unravel the motives that prompted the action in the first place: jealousy, envy, fear, insecurity, and usually an inferiority complex. These are maladies that afflict many mortals. They have caused more grief, heartache, and misery than all the wars of a century. There are those who cannot pass a compliment without first taking a swipe at you; those who insist on being center stage as much as possible; those, who under the guise of fraternalism, go about sowing dis-
unity, discord, and just plain ..-Asing "cane". There are those who turn green inside and out at some small accolade being handed another, not realizing that bigness of character lies in freely bestowing credit and recognition where it is due. As in so much of life's pitfalls, the Golden Rule should apply, if only people would stop, think about it, and apply it! e The Law of Averages There is little doubt that he who practices more will sell more, for the law of averages works hand in hand with the perfection of skill. In a sense, a ratio of closed sales can be compared to a baseball player's batting average, which is computed by dividing the number of times at bat into the number of successful hits. Certainly the batting star of a baseball team does not come to bat a thousand times and retire to the dugout a thousand times without a hit. Obviously, with such a record, he would no longer be a hitting hero — or even a member of the team. But with seasoning, experience, and continual practice he garners the number of hits he is expected to. And every time he comes to bat, he is practicing perfecting his skill and technique. In a like manner, the ambitious life insurance salesman follows the same