The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-11-13
NEITHER WAS CORRECT

position during the national campaign
just closed. One was that, this coun-
try was dishonored abroad by our
diplomatic negotiations and weak
.nesses, and that after the war the
country is to be plunged into financial
ruin because this country is immed-
lately to be swamped by the cheap
labor products of Europe
In the light of election returns,
neither one of these statements, SO
strongly urged by campaign speakers
and papers, has appeared to make any
real impression on the mind of the
American people.
We may we'll concede that the Uni
ted States is persona non grata with
the allies and with the Teutons, to a
certain degree and at this time. There
is very little doubt that, just at pres
,ent, this country is cordially hated in
Germany and Austria, just as it is
true, probably that the people in Great
Britain cordially dislike us. But it
can be said truthfully that vile that is
a fact, it is not due to our attitude to-
ward one or the other side, but be-
cause of our attitude toward war.
We have no indication that the neu-
trail nations have during the course
of the war, lost any of their respect
for this country Germany hates us
because we have not prevented the
shipment of war material to Great
Britain, although she makes no cam
plant of the shipments that we have
made to herself Great Britain dis
likes us because she has assumed that
she is fighting our war in fighting the
imperialism of German, which is en-
tirely and assumption, and we have
refused to take part in it. Our very
neutrality has caused us to be disliked
by belligerents, not because we are
neutral, but because we have not TAX
en- sides with one side or the other
of the belligerents.
are naturally interested in their sue
cess, while the fact is, as every intel
ligent Americans knows, our interest
and our duty is o follow the injunc-
tons of Washington and refrain from
entangling alliances with any Euro
pean country
We are hated because we have the
resources, the credit and the capital
which will make us formidable COM
mercial competitors after the war IS
over and because we have not devo-
ted that capital, that credit and those
resources toward ending the war by
the only way that war can be ended
and that is by lining up with one side
or the other
| The idea that this country is to be
swamped by cheap labor products af-
ter the war is as absurd as the other
proposition
We may grant that the statements
are true which say that Germany is
even now piling up great stores Of
products to be shipped to this country
after the war, that England is multi
plying factories to make goods to sell
us, and all that, although the state
ment, in view of the necessity for each
country to devote all it's attention to
keeping up the war; does not seem at
all probable.
If wealthy man, doing large bus
mess, with large capital and unlim-
,ited credit, suddenly finds that his
business has doubled on him, that his
cash receipts were bringing him more
money than he knew what to dc With
LII he had paid all his debts and was
large loaner of money, and then if
that great business man was fully
warned that by reason of a change
of demand in products he would be
compelled to rearrange his factories
and to find new markets, if he had
such a warning and plenty of time to
make the changes, would he not be
regarded as an idiot if he did not pre-
pare himself and would it not be pre-
posterous to think that by such
changes he would be financially
wrecked in spite of all the arrange
ments he made to meet chnaged con
ditions?
That is what the lawyers would
probably call a hypothetical question
but it illustrates the situation of this
country, now and after the war; We
are not at al helpless. We have inf
mite resources, we are the credit ma
ton of the world, we have capital un
limited, we have energy. enterprise
ingenuity and efficiency, and we know
how to use the things that we hav,
created for widening our markets an,
meeting competition. Besides, a dem