DISCUSSION. 47 



There is one place where our common school system is weak, they don't 

 teach it in our schools how to make a home. The foundation and sta- 

 bility of our country and government is in the home, and there is where 

 the ornamental decorations of our homes should be taught. Children 

 should be taught to beautify the home; then, when the future generation 

 comes on, we would have beautiful homes indeed, homes filled with 

 music, books, and homes where the wife would be a helpmeet as well 

 as a companion, and homes where love and honor would stand forever 

 at the threshold. [Applause.] 



The President: That closes our program for this afternoon, but T 

 see Mr. Gates in the audience and we would like to hear from him. 



Rev. Mr. Gates: Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen — I did not 

 come here expecting to speak. If you were to ask me how to build a 

 church, perhaps I could give some information upon the subject, but 

 as to how to make a home beautiful, my experience has not been exten- 

 sive because it has been along the line of improving somebody else's 

 property; it has been the property of the church that I have had any 

 hand in. 



I believe we can tell a great deal of the people who live in a town 

 or community by the taste that is manifested on the outside as well as 

 on the inside of the home. "We can go by the different homes in a town 

 and note the way the lawn is kept, the way the trees are put out and 

 trimmed, and the flowers that are planted — we can tell a great deal, 

 at least of the individual taste, of those people. To me those things 

 are significant of character or the lack of character. I am just a little 

 bit partial toward that individual who is careful of the keeping of the 

 outside conditions of the home. I think he will be careful, also, in 

 matters of honor, and matters of his own individual staBding in the 

 community and he is apt there to exercise care. 



I think these things are catching. Let the property be fixed up on 

 the corner and it won't be long until each property along that street 

 has been transformed by improvement and fixing like the property ad- 

 joining it. If you will excuse a little bit of personal reference, I will 

 mention that about two years ago — I bought the worst looking piece 

 of property for the church in the town where I was then located. It had 

 an old, dilapidated looking house, said to be the oldest in the town. It 

 was in an old town in the northern part of Indiana. I- purchased the 

 three lots and house. It had in it large black walnut sills and beams. 

 The frame was made just like they used to make the timber for barns 

 of that day, 12x12, and these were of solid black walnut. I tore down 

 the house, and put up a modern church, and built a parsonage alongside 

 of it; and graded the lawn, put in cement walks; put up a retain wall, 

 put in nice beds of flowers with foliage of cannas and made the lawn 

 heautiful, T tried to work two hours a day to keep that lawn beautiful. 



