The Tupelo journal. (Tupelo, Miss.) 1876-1924, 1914-10-23
SECT Busy"

measures for the relief of their
own necessities in the present
war.imposed crisis. a publication
by the Rome (Georgia) Chamber
of Commerce, signed by Wright
Willingham, president of that
body, appears to the Item to be
the most striking and sensible
statement of hard fact that any
commercial organization has is
sued. .ASSN,
1t is shown that for more than
leo years the United States has
made the proud boast that this
country could live regardless of
any exigencies that might exist
in other parts of the world; that,
bounded as it is. on one side by
the Atlantic ocean and on the
other by the Pacific, separated
on the one hand from the yellow
peril" and on the other from the
Heterogeneous elements of Cont
mental Europe, the rest Of the
world could vanish if it chose to
do so, and we would still he
basking under the sunny skies of
America-the land bubbling over
with milk and honey and hog
and hominy."
The president of the Rome
Chamber of Commerce sees in
the present conditions an oppor-
tunity to illustrate the declara-
ton made by orators for 100
years, from the mountains of
New Hampshire to the plains of
Florida. He finds the question
not who started the European
war although this is not Mr..
Willingham's way of putting it
but are the American people,
| the southern people. lot Of pale
faced moIly-coddles, with skim
milk flowing through their veins,
or have they inherited the red
blood of their American sires
who left their bloody footprints
on the frozen valleys of Virginia,
when George Washington led
them to a victorious deliverance
from the yoke of English royal
ty." These men won because
they had sand in their craws,
and Mr.. Willingham wants the
men with the sand to come for
ward today. There are certain
changes in the life of the people
from the Incidence and ease of
today which will be required to
make good the boast of the ora
tors. They are indicated in the
Willingham manifesto as follows:
True, we may have to abandon some
of our twentieth century luxuries. 1t
may be necessary for US to adjust our
selves TO a. new basis of living g-but
should we surrender? True tits. some
of our folks may have to divert to some
extent the, stream of gold that has for
the last ten years flowed from our
vaults and into the Golfers of esteemed
fellow cCuntrymen to the north of US,
but we cam still raise mule colts and
jersey bulls and get there somehow.
even though it be at lower rate of
speed. 99lH
True it may be. that our women
folks may have to suspend their suf-
fragette convocations for a brief spell
and resume the monotonous business of
looking after the babies and knitting
socks for the men-but this is the way
they used to do, and they managed to
live through it
True 1t may be, that our rich dads
won't have quite as much money to
spend on their boys in the waysof ci-
garettes, patent leather shoes and ice
cream clothes, and it may even be pos
sible that the boy will have to, LEARN
something about self-denial andsphys-
ical jabor-but this is the way they
used to do, and several of Them man
aged to live through it. Take for in
stance Abraham Lincoln and a, few
other cheap skates.
True it may be, that some of our
farmers will be driven, against their
will, to the production of hog and hom-