St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1917-07-18
M hussness ..slackcrs', Tolerated.

~ a. - =
No business ..Slackcrs', Tolerated.
Theacountry.as d, whole will heartily
endorse President Wilson's appeal to
the business men of the country to be
as patriotic as the soldiers and refrain
from * exacting unEea soma bic - war
profits from the government and the
public. This appeal is made in. the
Presidents masterful style which can
not be improved. We quote: .@s
patriotism leaves profits out of the
question. In these days of our su-
preme trial. when we are sending
hundreds of thousands of our young
men across the seas to serve a great
cause, no true man Who stays behind
to work for them and sustain them
by his labor VIII ask himself what ne
is personally going to make out of
that labor. No true patriot will per-
nit himself to take toll of their hero
ism in money or seek to grow rich by
the shedding of their blood. He will
give as freely and with as uristinted
self-sacrifice as they. When they are
giving their lives VIII he not give at
least hts money? I hear it insisted
that more than Just price, more than
a price that win sustain our INDUS
tries must be paid; that it fs necessary
to pay very liberal and unusual profits
in order to stimulate production; that
nothing but pecuniary rewards will
de-rewards paid in money, not IN the
mere liberation of the world. take
it for granted that those Who argue
thus do not stop to think what that
means. Do they mean that you must
be paid, must be bTibed, to make your
contribution-a contribution that costs
you neither a drop of blood nor a
tear. when the whole world is in ira
vail and men everywhere depend upon
and call to you to bring them out of
bondage and make the world "a fit
place to live in again amidst peace and
justice? Do they mean that you will
exact a price, drive a Bargain. with the
men who are enduring the agony Of
this war on the batt1efeTd, IN the
trenches amidst the lurking dangers
of the sea, Eor with the bereaved wo-
men and pitiful children, before you
will come forward to do your duty and
give some part of your life, IN easy
peaceful fashion, for the things we
are fighting for, the things we have
pledged our fortunes, our lives, our
scored honor to vindicate and defend
liberty and justice and fair dealings
and the peace of nations?"
A more vivid portrayal of the base
ness Of extortion cannot be made, and
it seems impossible that, any citizen
will sacrifice his honor and loyalty to
the nation for dollars. We hope that
after the close of the war there viii
not be persons pointed out as making
tremendous fortunes off the govern
methods as was the case at the close
of the, Civil War. ,.s "a %. =4at4ss
The government and the, public, ex-
pect to pay reasonable prices and
know that in times of war the cost of
everything is increased by the unusual
demand for materials and the. scarcity
of help. Bat neither wants to pay ex-
cessives profits for the performance of
civic and peaceful3duties. A man who
refuses to do business on this basis Is
as much an enemy of his country as
the spy that is sending information to
Germany. ~
If the business interests of the coun-
try heed the appeal and warming OF
the President and conduct business on
a reasonable basis there VIII be no
question about the result of the war
This country can produce all the food
and war material necessary to defeat
the Germans and unless it does so viii
go down in ignomy and defeat. As
the President says the business mans
patriotism is of the self zdenying stuff
as the patriotism of the men dead iol
manned on the fields of France. OF
else it is no patriotism at ALL W.
want patriotism in business the ssa mi
as patriotism in fighting. So .