The Washington herald., 1914-06-29

the National City Bank OF New York.
called attention TO the dangers confront
i ing the country; commercial and busi-
ness enterprises and amplified his previ-
Gus suggestion that the danger may be
ayerted by business men devoting more
attention to politics His address is de-
serving Of wide publication and The Her
aid. therefore reproduees 1t below prac-
tically in full:
| / believe that business men are face TO
face with a peremptory necessity for TAX
ing a deeper interest in political Affairs.
1t is no longer a time for platitudes about
discharging ones duties by going to the
polls. There Is much larger duty of
citizenship. The polls are merely the
place OF registering the conclusions OF
political thought.
II is the duty OF business men to think
deeply enough upon these problems 50
that their conclusions will stand the test
Of open discussion. 1t Is the obligation
OF business men to make effective political
contributions, which will help to form a
sound public opinion.
Traced to Neglect of Duties.
Viewed in this larger sense. believe
that nearly everything that business men
have to complain of in the political tell
dencies Of the day can be pretty directly
traced to their own neglect OF their To-
litical duties. / believe that such neglect
has brought us to a point OF gravest dan
ger, danger that involves the very foun-
dations Of the present order. That there
should have been such neglect is not an
unnatural thing. The conduct Of business
requires a high Specialization, a more
complete specialization today. with all its
complexities and its keenness Of competl-
ton. than 1t ever before required. spe-
cialists, whether they be business spe-
cialists or specialists OF other kind. are
apt to be so wrapped in their own en-
vironment that they are unable to gen.
eralize. They are obtuse regarding mat
ters outside OF their speciality and are
unable to detect the course Of the larger
currents Of affairs. That is one reason
why business men are not more widely
awake to the true significance OF the
drift Of political currents.
firmly believe that II this nation IS 10
avoid disaster. a general awakening Is
necessary. We must recognize the prob
able effect OF present day political ten
dencies upon business, upon property and
upon property rights, and upon the course
of Industrial and commercial develop.
ment. / believe that currents are devel-
oping today that may quickly become IL
resistible forces, and that. too, forces Of
adversely and III fortune, II their dangers
are not comprehended, their direction
corrected. and their sources controlled.
The stake which business men have In
the outcome is enormous. Great as II is.
however, II is Of no more concern to
them, of no more import to the future
happiness of their children. than II is
to the condition and outlook OF the hum
blest OF workers.
A disaster to capital a crippling and
discourAgement OF directive ability, the
disheartening Of men Of enterprise, will
not have its effects confined to the class
which you as delegates from the cham
bers Of commerce represent Its results
will encompass the whole social body.
There is no man so humble that his In
terest is not as great as yours in the out
come.
wish there could be a clearer compre-
hension OF what a disheartened business
community really means: Vnat IL means
to the whole people, II the directive
forces Of business life are to lose heart.
IL their courage for new enterprise is to
ebb, II their willingness to take risk, TO
test the chances of the future. to venture
present possession upon prospective de-
velopment is to fail, then the psychology
Of the business mind becomes a matter
of the gravest import.
One may well stop to ask II anything
resembling such a state OF mind really
exists and, IL II does exist, is there any
substantial foundation for it? large
part OF the business world is pessimistic;
vet there is much in the situation that
would seem to make pessimism unwar-
ranted Nature is smiling as rarely be-
fore. and holding out hands overlooking
with plenty. The banking situation is
peculiarly free from the results OF er-
rors Of judgment. and nearly every COM
munity in the country has the advan-
tage of an easy money market and a
sound credit situation. We nave had no
blows from any extraordinary disaster.
At many points, the statistical data of
business shows that II is still in large vol
ume: in some important particulars fig
ures could be adduced that have rarely
been exceeded.
What Grounds for Apprehension!
In the face Of such conditions. it may
we'll be asked are there just grounds for |
Are the dangers that some |
of us think we see merely phantoms; |
have We minds so infieNibily bound to !
tradition. to the old order. that We can |
not grasp the Significance, or the benefi- |
cence, OF change? Do we, therefore, |
perforce iEd in prospective changes pros |
pective disasters, while, in fact. our ap- |
have no substantial exist |
enCeE Are industries running on naH
time merely examples OF unrealized fears; !
are the many, illustrations of industrial |
distress that might be cited, of urgent |
need for financing that it is difficult to |
do, of new enterprise abandoned, of old !
enterprise left with plans for expansion |
grown cold. only the result OF a blind |
and stiff-necked adhesion TO the old or !
der. of an inability to conform to new
conditions, to new social and political
ideals?
We seem to be without leaders wise
enough to answer such questions so that |
their conclusions will convert those hold
ing opposite views. Thus we have many |
conflicting opinions. For myself, 1 can
only say that the political current upon
which we are now beginning to travel |
with tremendous speed, seems to me
liable to land us in a thorough-going dis
organization OF business and industrial
life. Those currents may be engendered /
and guided by forces partially sincere
and honest, but only partially, and even
when those forces are sincere and hon
est. they are frequently III informed as to
facts and lacking in sound understanding
Of great economic principles.
In legislation there is disposition to
throw experience to the winds We seem
to have a new conception OF the ,func-
tons Of government; of what legislation
may be expected to accomplish. Indeed,
ception Of the fathers OF our government
In our views regarding the relative bal
ance Of its three coordinate branches
II has been well said. not by a busi-
ness man. but by a distinguished histor-
hot Ia lral