The Monroe journal. [volume] (Monroe, N.C.) 189?-1965, 1916-12-05
THE NATION AND INDIVIDUAL
II Would BE Rank Foolishness For a
Merchant 20 shut His Door i'm the
Face Of Trade. Yet That Is What
Some Wish Is 20 Do.

II those who are demanding a
embargo on outgoing trafic. and thu
other element who are demanding a
embargo-in the way of a preyentiy
tax tariff - on incoming traff
should both get what they want. hor
would this country do business an
what would become OF us anyway {?
The former OF these say, IL "
don't stop sending food stun out O
this country We are all going {
lstarve: and the latter say IL We don
prevent Europe from dumping he
lcheap products on us we are all 90
ing bankrupt.
Suppose We should take. to illus
trate a situation like this. any tow
or city in this country and we will
say this given town or city decid,
that il will neither sell any NOR,
goods or buy any more goods. How
long would il do business. and whai
kind of business would il DO?
Most business men. all q them in
fact, consider themselves in lucL
when sales are good. and ! have vet
to know of one who keeps his doors
locked one-half or two-thitds cf the
time in order to keep customers out
OF the house. But if il is bad policy
for nations to trade with e,cl other.
why is ii not also bad pel4cy fer in
diyiduals 10 trade with each ether?
IL the way to get rich is 70 go cut
of business, why have we been so
long finding it out? And luther. if
this is the richest nation on earth.
Why are We so much afsaid of the
bankrupted warning countries? We
are being told that the debt of these
nations, incurred in the present con-
fict, saying nothing OF what they
owed previously. would equal the
sum of six hundred dollars for each
of the one hundred million people of
this country, or that the simple in
terest on this debt would amount TO
thirty dollars year for each of a
million people. This means
that each family of five would be
taxed $3.50 year just to pay inter-
Est on the war debt, and that the
principle would be yet untouched.
For US to complain OF competition
no msuch n cripple is equal to the
spectacle OF seven foot giant crying
)ut against an old one legged con-
ederate soldier being allowed to
compete with him in a fourth of
July foot race for prize consisting
II single story blackberry pie.
But all of this quibbling on the |
'art OF our statesmen(?) is only |
'olitics anyhow. They know there is
zone OF the dangers they point out
hat are really to be taken seriously
y anyone. They think this is a
God way TO detract attention from
cal vital facts, and this is what they
lost desire to do They know very
'ell that an embargo on food stuff /
'ould not produce one single pound L
lore OF the life sustainance that we
eed to keep from starving. They
lso know that the cause of high Il
rlces is a scarcity of these necessi-
there has not been
nough made or whether the cold
forage people have il packed away.
lakes no difference. The effect is
re same in either case. and a more
bundant supply accessible to the
would knock the cap off the
rice in on time.
Why then do they not see that the
roper way TO cure starvation prices |
TO give the working people access
the resources of nature, and let
lem increase the supply? Why do (
ley not see that only about thirty |
er cent of the tillable lands of the |,
'untry are being used and that IL S
much as twenty per cent more, or {
fty per cent of the whole, were lc
'oducing food and clothing there {
ould be no scarcity. hence no star {
ltion prices. Then we would not {
lily want an embargo, we would 4
ant a market, Wouldn't that be /
ore like business? In fact, isn't c
at the way to do it? {
Suppose Bill Jones owns one hun c
ed acres of land, and has rye ?
mily to provided for. He Uses
,out one-third of these Glands and
lows half OF his boys to grow up
idleness. The other half complain ii
hard times and hard work to keep a
e family food supply up to the nee C
sary standard and old Bill himself S,
fuses to allow those idle boys TO h
e any of his idle acres. or in any, &
ny to help relieve the situation. and e,
stead of doing this sensible thing e
lids a wall around his farm to W
event any OF his neighbors selling A
N any of their surplus produce. al
ouldnt anyone see at once that old oI
II was the biggest kind of a great e,
1901? And If he went out to ask W
help wouldn't all who knew of el
senseless home rule justly refuse CO
contribute TO the relief of any fe
en- invited misery? Certainly. and
lat we see to be such gross in
ielency in old ibis case is an exact
eness of what we are doing nation al
y, and until we get willing to ad- b,
I the fact, we are not going to get BIZ
relief we so much need. ca
We verify believe that this coun- u,
could feed the world, and then di
suffer scarcity II our natural re- Sc
trees were allowed to be used. but TT
we are going to permit greedy oy
eculators to withhold from use two ri
rds, and more, of these resources. IN
can we expect anything short OF dl
e misery? an
The Bible teaches us that when hi
wicked rule the people mourn" IN
1 IL a program that withholds lo
muse the things which nature has