The Washington herald., 1914-09-30
The War Has Unified Americans.

trys history; and this statement is none the les:
true because it is crisis that entirely unfore
seen and is even entirely appreciated by the
mass of people The appalling war that is being
fought in Europe affects the United States in a
degree only second to that with which it affects the
the interests of the European nations Whoever
wins or loses as result of the war, incalculable
destruction of the worlds accumulated wealth will
take place. and of this loss the United States must
expect to bear very considerable share. This is an
unpleasant fact, but it is fact There is use OF
anybody's trying to avoid it. To look at the matter
in its nearest and most obtrusive aspect, Europe
holds perhaps S5.ooooooooo worth of the demand
notes of this country in the shape of stocks bonds
and other evidences of Indebtedness and whenever
the stock exchange opens in New York great por-
ton of these notes will be presented to for pay
ment These will be presented not because the hold
ers of the think that American business affairs
are bad but because they desire to raise money for
their own needs, or, in other words to replace the
wealth that has been destroyed the batehelds OF
France and Belgium. They will ask for this money
and they will ask us to ship it to them in gold.
1t may be that when the stock exchange opens
and nobody knows whether not it will open before
the war is ended-these demands will not be as great
as is now threatened. We cannot tell about that
actly. but must be prepared for the demands,
whatever they are Therefore it is something from
which every one should derive hope and courage,
rather than dismay, that the people bracng them
selves to stand the shock in the best possible
ner Political differences are being forgotten; radi
cal propositions which common few months
ago looking forward to a destruction of wealth on
our own account, no longer agitated extrava-
CANT schemes of national expenditure being
abandoned; raids upon the rich are no longer ad-
vocated as a means of bringing the millennium, and
business men and stockholders in home industries.
who have been buffeted and batted for many
years, are temporarily left in peace
One of the most gratifying signs of this tend
ency has been the general raying of hands in sup
port OF our present national administration. Every
intelligent and self-respecting man feels that now
is the time to stand by the government. whether he
thinks the government is worthy OF Just criticism in
many respects or not. He feels and feels rightly,
that minor differences Of opinion should be abandon
ed and that he should give his ungrudgng support
to those who stand his country's battle line
and are charged with the responsibility of taking
OF the great interests. to all Nevertheless,
while think that the underlying motive which has
inspired the general praise of President Wilson's at
titude and conduct in recent months has proceeded
from the source described We are bound to say
that in our judgment. of this praise has been
deserved for intrinsic reasons. The President has
been calm, patient and far-Seeng when other peo-
pie nervous, excited. and perturbed. He curbed
the thoughtess purposes Of those who would make
the governments necessity for more revenue ex-
for an additional and unustied increase of the
income tax. He promptly recognized the unwis-
dom and unfairness of imposing tax on railway
freight revenues He was quick to recognize that
there should not be moments delay in having re-
~, 4 .L, a
emergency currency act. and he unhestatngly asked
the advice of men prominent in the business and
financial world as 10 the wisest course to pursue.
But we trust we shall not be considered as at all
hedging our position OF unfinching support of the
President when we refer to the very obvious fact
that from point of view the war has been
lucky development for his administration The tariff
policy of the Democratic party, to which Mr.. Will
son committed himself, has turned out disastrously
and the war has served to obscure the fact. This
tariff policy has resulted in a stupendous increase
of mportations of foreign Observation-Disclosures
which previously purchased from domestic pro-
ducers-and all without any compensating advan-
tage to In the fiscal year from June 3o 1913, to
June go IoI4-that is to say, long before the Euro
pean was thought of importations of
foreign merchandise increased nearly SII4oooooo;
and the fact is. summing up the of figures on
this subject that in the foreign trade operations of
the country since January alone, the balance in
favor has been $3ISoooooo less than in the year
preceding. Despite the largely increased value of
imports of merchandise the decrease in the rate
of duties collected under the tariff was suSh
that the gross of duties collected by the gov
ernment fell off over $26oooooo; and as the ex-
penses of the government increased in the same pc
riod nearly SISoooooo, there was a shortage of
nearly S+4oooooo in government revenues before
July I, nearly month before the European war
broke out.
No one will deny that the upsetting of our for
eign trade, caused by the war, would have necessi-
tated the raising of additional money for govern
ment purposes even had the Aldrich tariff law been
in existence instead of the Underwood law which
followed it; but, in all reason and justice we de-
sire to point out that even if there had been no
war, the Underwood tariff law would have produced
and was producing large government deficit
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