Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1912-03-02

cieIt story of the last centuries O
the Roman Empire which was one o
the darkest and most deplorable ep
isodes in the history Of the world.
And yet, it is beginning to be re
enacted. The SNOWY wealth and the
clamorous triumphs of modern civil
lization do not conceal on the con
trary, they reveal, to him who stud
les In philosophic spirit the fall OF
the Roman Empire, this re-beginnine
of history" In truth there are be
! tween the two civilizations and the
| two epCchs, enormous differences
| But among these differences, there
are some similarities; and among
these similarities, the most import
ant is the malady that unmade the
great body of the empire. and that
slowly, subtly, insidiously, begins to
nfest the world of to-day-the ex'
cess of urbanism.
The malady of which the Roman
Empire died was exactly this excess
Of urbanism.
Nevertheless, beginning from the
third century in the Roman Empire,
the excuses Of urbanism, the cause
Of the splendor and apparent wealth
of the preceding century, began to
force that appropriated into chaos
the brilliant world which that very
rorce had once produced. Little by
little, the growing luxuries overbal-
anced the producing power of the
country. From that moment, the lat
Ger began to be depopulated and ster-
lized by the former.
In the cities labor failed, food was
dearer and the bread line grew
ominously long.
In families as in peoples and civil
izations, showiness and vainglory,
the craze for doing on big csale are
signs rather OF decay than progress. ;"
In no epoch was there ever such
Aaste to lie rich as in ours; and
none ever disposed of means SO mai I
and SO powerful to produce wealth,
Men are today possessed by the
mania of laboring to the point where
they have no more time even to live.
Statistics inform us in exact fig
dres just how much the production
Of the world increases every year.
Its abundance ought to make the
earth happy-an abundance such as
the world has never before seen.
Why then, on the contrary, do men
everywhere complain-and the most
in the richest countries-of this in
tolerable expensiveness: To what
end, and how do moderns work, ii
dearness instead of plenty rewards
heir daily fatigues?"
The second article is from the
brain of that keen analyst of econ
mic conditions, Charles Edward
Russell under the title: "The Mys-
ferrous Octopus-Story of the Stran-
e and Powerful Organization that
Controls the American Lumber
trade.
What would you think If every
zine you went forth to purchase
household supplies, detective dog
ged your footsteps, followed you by
stealth. hung over your shoulders,
noted your smallest transactions,
and reported your remarks?
What would you think If you knew
the same power that hired the de-
JcCllNe W pe dt til6 SAINT tiue Cuooo
ing your senator's, selecting your
legislators, and dominating your pub
lie affairs?
If, upon reading the chronicle of
the American lumber industry, you
are reminded of the Italian organi.
lation and templar to call this the
American Cammorra, it will Ue
fault OF the chronicler. For now,
ut the beginning. | warn you of a
profound difference that you may be
prone to overlook The ltalion Cam.
NORA is carried on by bad men for
evil purposes. The combination that
controls, manipulates,
and spies upon the American lumber |
.rade Is not composed OF bad men,
out men of the highest possible stanC.
ng in their communities eminent |
and respected leaders of business,
men of character and worth, and the
ends for the sake of which they re-
sort to such extraordinary means
ire ends that they hold to be right.
One of them, Frederick Weyerhau-
ser, might be called the twentieth