The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1914-12-18
THRIFT TALK,
UNDUE WASTE
IN AMERICA
READ WHAT A BELGIAN DELE
GATE WHO CALLED ON PRESl-
DENT WILSON. HAD TO SAY OF
WASTE HERE

We are unduly eXtravagant
people and the lesson OF the hour
is economy, to add as little as pos
sible to the heavy burden of cred
i II which the country is now called
upon to bear. Let us save every
dollar we can against the day OF
investment opportunity just ahead
OF us. This is best for the indi-
viduak and for the contry as
whole. as We will have no finan-
cial help from Europe for years
to come-and great development
work will need every dollar that
can be saved. Ray Stannard
| Baker.
Now is a particularly good time for
us Americans to consider earnestly
the necessity that is laid upon us to
conserve our resources of all kinds
one of the Belgian delegates who
called on President Wilson recently,
was greatly astonished at the reckless
use of our opportunities, He said:
ION our ride to Chicago we saw hun
dreds of miles of fertile lands lying
| fallow. We saw orchards and fields
with ungathered products rotting on
the ground We saw miles of young
trees being destroyed by fire started
by engine sparks and left to burn un-
noticed Everywhere the farms and
residences were divided by wooden
| fences that contained enough lumber
to build the homes of an empire.
THE waste of America is not con
fined to materials. Never can Euro
pean believe the magnitude of wasted
labor in America unless he visits the
cities. Hundreds of thousands of men
whose energy might be applied to pro-
duction, remain in enforced idleness
"ln the country, wasted lands; in
the cities, wasted men; on the trees
and plants ungathered food; in the
centers of population, hungry people
American life. Why do not the states
men here address themselves to bring
ing about an adjustment that will
cure these evils?
"If any country in Europe had such
| bounteous natural wealth, such limit
less land area fit for cultivation and
such unused labor energy, it would
quickly be transformed into prosperi-
| ty beyond dreams. Why in Belgium
even our dogs work. Every city lot
is cultivated and most of our garden
truck is raised on less ground than
Americans waste in unused back
yards"
Undoubtedly there are answers to-
| some of these criticisms from this
foreign observer, but we must plead
guilty to being wasteful
1t is probable that the great Euro
pean War will result in more thrift in
the United States, nationally and in
dividually. There are several reasons
for this belief Every citizen in Amer
lea will feel the strain of this crisis,
and most of us will be disposed to re-
trench and to intrench ourselves by
putting more money into the bank as
a reserve fund and for investment pur-
poses.
For many years after this war all
the savings of the people of Europe
probably will go into the securities of
their governments which will need to |
do some tremendous borrowing to pay
the costs of the vast struggle. So that !
little capital from Europe can be ex-
pected for a long time to help Ameri- |
can development, as it has in the
past. We must finance ourselves
Undoubtedly also there will be a |
great after-therwar immigration to |
America from the European countries |
This influx will contain many who, |
both from training and necessity, are /
thrifty and in the main they will be
desirable element in our population. |
Quite possibly we can learn some valu-