Arizona republican., 1917-07-13


 properly feel that they were in the business of fighting Germany. Their boys were going to the trenches and they were anxious to do their bit. These men who made up these com mittees came down here for the war and they came down to help us-do you understand? And they have helped us. They have worked day and night and paid their own way, crowded half dozen in a room, and annoyed all the time because they couldn't satisfy their good strong Yankee executive in stinct by doing things instead of ad- vising how they could be done They made no contracts; they made no de- cisions The contracts and the decis- ions were made by the only people who had the legal power, the secretaries of war ard navy
 But these committees sat with the captains and coloneis and admirals and told them how they. the industrial man. agers would go about this unprece- dented task if it was up to them-how they would build cities with water works and sewers and electric lights and all complete for a million men in three months-how they would induce our great manufacturing plants to give up their trades and go into the busi- y that invented the aeroplane and yet hasn't a capacity of 800 a year-how they would get lumber without bidding the market up.
 T have heard that some of these men were not as disinterested as they might be; that they wanted to make money. That wouldn't be unnatural if it were true. However 1 have looked up all the rumors that have come to my attention and found them to be baseless mere filings by the unsuccessful Of course, all can't be satisfied and where things are done quickly there must be some mistakes l honor those men and I hope that congress or some other au thority will authorize for them an em- blem similar to that given in Canada and elsewhere showing that those men are in national service.
 We cant make war without ferver and enthusiasm any more than We can run a revival meeting without them. There is TO such thing as a cold blooded democracy. and a democracy cant make war cold -bloodedly. There is no passion that is manly that we should not use-pride, rivalry, the gang spirit, love of humanity, love of country. And the more proud, or vain men are of working for the country the better work we will get. The committees have been, are and will continue to be invaluable to the conduct of this war. In Eng land they have twenty times as many as we have"
 MT Lane did not contend that the organization, as created, was wholly satisfactory.
 No, it was not, he replied when asked the direct question. Tt is an
 
 the right line. The council is planning a re- organization which is now, 1 be- lieve. up to the president under which there will be greater consolidation and more direct control
 When asked what is to prevent them from recommending favOrs to them selves in the form of high prices, MT. Lane said:
 Three things-perhaps more. First, patriotism. There is a small percentage Of American business men who would rob a church, or an orphanage, but the percentage is negligible. Our business men come from the same stock as the rest of us and have got as high stan dards as any other class. And, they have bit more vision than most of us, because they have broader experience. The theory to work upon with the business man IS the lnlnS lO use WltH the boy that he is a patriot.
 50 long as he was making money out of foreigners thls theory was not usable. For business is war That was the theor-- we have all been raised on Only recently have we come to see that this theory mus have it's modifi cations The abused socialists have been largely responsible for teaching us where we went to if we logically carried out the theory of unlimited competition. So the business men took all the traffic would bear from the allies as they did from the public. But, when this country is threatened, when our national life is at stake, the making of money becomes secondary. 1 took a man from a thirty thousand dollar place and put him to work at g., 300 by telling him that he had a call to the colors. | Sentiment is not a dead thing. The railroad men at the time of the threat ened national strike yielded to it. so did the coal men when they volunteered to cut their prices over thirty per cent.
 Then there is the gang spirit. Men are like boys in this too, they like to work together, whether for good or otherwise. The whole theory of the law of supply and demand is set aside at such a time. Just a little co opera tion-that's the effect of the gang spirit and a littie direction, and you have nine tenths of the business men doing exactly what you wish them to do.'
 But, the other tenth?'
 Yes that wicked twelfth juror must be reckoned with And for him there are two medicines: First, the gang spirit applied by his fellows and then ] if that does not effect a cure, there must be the strong hand-for we need his output and he must be made to play the game even if he is not willing. | This problem of getting reasonable prices, which is the one England and France have had to meet and which should not be permitted to hold back our work, may be met then in three I ways:
 By the appeal to patriotism; if this fails by the fixing of prices; then if no practicable way is found to do this, by communicating the resource, industry or plant Cooperation first coercion by price-fixi second, command of plant third This is the practical pro- gram.
 For this war must be won and the last ton of ore, the last pound of steel, the last bale of cotton, the last sheaf of wheat will be needed. We must not hesitate to do the drastic thing if it is to be the effective thing. But the second and the third steps will rarely be needed if we say just what we want our people to do. I have yet to see the man who will say I am for money out of this war at the expense of the gov ernment or of the people, There must be some one to say what should be done. Congress can do it if it will take