The morning journal-courier., 1908-01-02
THE NEW YEAR.


 pie are in anything but an apprehen- sive state oL mind as to the twelve l months ahead / It is reckoned that over a half million was spent in the restaurants and theatres of New York /alone in wine. women and song yb>A is a pretty penny to toss away <<h a single night and would seem to indicate that many Of the dollars which until then were being eagerly sought by the money market are now where they ought to be. Here in the city of New Haven considerable sum was appropriated and expended after the light fashion O. the hour,
 To-day begins the serious consider alton of the year ahead Tradition has made the first of the year a new starting point when as matter of fact it is merely a turn in the road of life, but since it has become for mally fixed in the minds of men that the first of January means something more tangible than a single day it has to be confronted in that spirit In some respects it is a more hopeful first of the year than was the case q year ago. Business was better then. the mills were more persistently at work and wages were more secure, but the country was at the same time staggering under the heavy lc4'l of ,the revelations which had just been made of commercial dishonor and lcorporate greed The more thought ful among us were far from satisfied with the condition and looked for the reaping of the whirlwind, but the happy throng, happy because they were themselves innocent of wrong .e.slofrfg, gladly and merrily went their way. The evil-doers, encouraged be- cause they had escaped the more se- rious consequences of their conduct and entirely misnterpreting the mer- riment of the crowd, sought to again repeat their experiments in specu- lation. Confusion became worse con- founded in consequence and we were face to face with situation which would have been disastrous beyond k the ken of men had not the govern ~ Dat come to the rescue and cooper ated with strong men who knew too well what it would mean for them to let things right themselves. To-day we have at least to console and com fort us the thought, if it is not yet a conviction, that the lesson has been rubbed in by bitter experience and that until booming times again turn the heads of daring man we are rea- sonably safe from the breakers. We have paid dearly for the dance but we have learned to pick our steps more mincingly for time
 It is to be counted good thing that hereafter the laws are to be en- forced. The period of arbitrary sus- pension is at an end and there will soon be added the power to punish the evil79 OCT as we'll as the evil deed. Perhaps the fact will be discovered that we have suffered not so much from the discovery of a new way to sin, as an improvement upon the orig inal sin, as we have from the nat ural kind of sin which follows neg lect of the law. If, too, through the enforcement of the law it becomes realized that after all we do not need additional legislation we shall have reason to be thankful that a new year has overtaken us. Between the failure to use the laws already upon the statute books and the enactment of additional laws, the only apparent necessity for which was to remedy the evils which sprang from the neg lect of the earlier laws we have stun. = bled on until distress could alone open the eyes of the children of men In the presence of that enlighten. ment the fear of a presidential cleo. tion ought to make the country smile not shudder. No man has been men. toned in connection with the presi dency whose power for harm is wortl considering. Some men profess to fea, MT. Bryan in that office, even thougl if he were elected he would be DOW erless to force experimental view upon hostile congress If it is no MT. Bryan it will probably be Cover nor Johnson of Minnesota, a Demo crat of sound sense and admira bl judgment No one of the Republican mentioned need be viewed with alarn 50 far as the conduct of the govern ment is concerned, so why worr about the effect of the election upo
 business? No man to be elected Pres ident Of the United States will eithe take or be permitted to take radica steps in the way of legislative expert menting. The country is farther fror the taste for experiment than it hs