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Official Organ Of The Slavonic Benervikii.tiA Order Of The State Of Texas, Founded 1397 HUMANITY
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Postmaster: Please Send Form 3579 to: SUPREME LODGE, SPJST, P.O. Box 100, Temple, Texas 76501 MARCH 23, 19'7'7 VOLUME 65, NUMBER 12
FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK When you receive this issue, the chances are that Spring will officially be here, because (unless our calendar is wrong), it began Monday, March 21st. In the Central Texas area it has seemed that Spring has been here for about two weeks, with many of the trees turning green Q,nd fruit trees blossoming out, however, some are still holding back, including most of the pecan varieties. It is certainly safe to say that we all are ready for it because of the rather unusually cold winter we have experienced, especially our neighbors north of us, in our northern U.S. It is also estimated that Texas and the so-called sunbelt states will increase in population in the next few years. That Ls very probably true. In January, 17'16, 201 years ago, Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet entitled "Common Sense" and publishing it helped shape the history of our United States. It clearly analyzed the grievances and situation of the American Colonies and called for a declaration of independence. Within three months after publication the pamphlet sold 120,000 copies. Total sale of it is estimated at half a million — this in an America of only three million inhabitants at that time. Six months after the pamphlet appeared, the Declaration of Independence was signed at Philadelphia. It had
RICHES You are richer today than you were yesterday . . . if you have laughed often, given something, forgiven even more, made a new friend today, or made steppingstones of stumbling-blocks; if you have thought more in terms of "thyself" than of "myself," or if you have managed to be cheerful even if you were weary: You are richer tonight than you were this morning ... if you ha y .: taken time to trace the handiwork of God in the common-place things of life, or if you have learned to count out things that really do not count, or if you have been a little blinder to the faults of friends or foe. You are richer if a little child has smiled at you, and a stray dog has licked your hand, or if you have Looked for the best in others, and have given others the best in you! aroused the colonists to action regarding their rights to, as Jefferson wrote: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This alone indicates the power of the press, especially if it is handled responsibly. Irresponsible and/or uncourteous use of it generally backfires on the one using it for such acts and purposes. In our own recent lifetime we saw an example of responsible reporting by two reporters for the Washington Post and their editor concerning the
Watergate. affair. They were being told at that time by our public officials that their reporting was harmful and inimical to the best interest of the U.S. They replied that reporting a fact was not as inimical as the fact that the deed or action which caused the reporting of same. Brother Calvin Chervenka put it rather clearly in our convention issue when he stated that the press reporting some-thing does not harm a country or society because it would not have reported it if it had not been done in the first place; the fact that something detrimental or not in the best interest of a society was done is what hurts more than the reporting of it. * * In the past eight years your editor has, at times, felt as if you are on a tight rope — trying to be fraternal and keep harmony on one side and faithful to keep the membership informed well, on the other side. There are times for proper actions to be taken when appropriate time is at hand. Czechoslovakia's first president, T. C3. Masaryk used to make the statement that a good writer can write more and an intelligent reader can read more between the lines than what is written in black on white. Probably " there is a great amount of truth in that statement, or so it would seem. to go We have been receiving letters