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Show page 25 escort sent along with his body, the young corporal who supervised the folding of the flag from his coffin and handed it to John Greene's mother, was very emphatic on this point, that John Greene.had what it takes. John Greene had what it takes to be a route boy for this r.ex*7spaper and to earn five dollars a xjeek for the two years prior to his entering military service. He came to us older than most route boys. We didn't have much open at the time, only the route below the depot out toward the fertilizer plant, x^ith only 37 subscribers and poor collections. John Greene's successor took over 80 subscribers and a better attitude of payment. To our knowledge this newspaper is the only business concern of this tox«m to expose John Greene Chisum to the "blessings" of free enterprise. It's possible that some instances of John Greene's youth are truthfully recalled, but many citizens of our town are experts at claiming credit for Christian charity when in reality their hearts are as commercial as the policies of the Federal Land Bank. To be appropriate and honest to our town and to John Greene -- it goes without saying that John Greene Chisum gave far more to us and the surrounding countryside -- our trading area -- than ever he received from either. An incident of John Greene's youth might explain our point: It was the summer of the drought, the summer the heat blistered our streets, the summer we all felt lonely and disinherited because business x^as so bad -- the summer church attendance increased, nearly doubled. Willie Chisum, John |
