The daily commonwealth. (Greenwood, Leflore Co., Miss.) 1916-1919, 1917-05-07
RATTLE OF BILLIONS.
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ness in our contemplation of TIE costs of the war.
Our first burst of speed has cost the country sew
IN billion dollars, and the race is not yet run.
There may BE- other seven billions before the tape
ire is reached.
Nest OF these billions viii be spent in the Uni
ted States, Where the allies are obtaining most OF
their ~supplies. The money will be taken from the
peorle in taxes and paid to others for equipment.
The a amount of money will be in the country
after the expenditure of these billions as before
.onlv it will be in different hands, or will be so in
time.
The country, then, will be just as wealthy"
as before. These billions will not be sent abroad
they will merely be loaned abroad and spent here.
The money that we expend for our own army and
navy, of course, will remain in this country in the
first place.
paying for war; is mel ely the gentle art of
extracting money from Oh place-where the own
ers like it to stay-and putting it in another place.
The rub is that the money eventually goes into
the hands OF a comparatiy ~ly few persons.
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LOYALTY LEDGED
VI rln
All over the country loyalty pledges are being
signed. Why this is done doesn't seem to be very
clear. All American citizens are supposed to be
loval without shouting it from the housetops.
George Martin, a former Hoosierliteraryperson
now begailing the nation from New York, hits the
nail on the head in the following:
"a man came to us the other day and wanted
us to sign q loyalty pledge. One of those men who
are always trying to engrave the public mind on
on a community scratch pad with a neighborhood
lead pencil. It cant be done,
ut doesn't seem to occur to him that a man
might sign a dozen loyalty pledges a day and go
out and plant a bomb at night if he chooses.
IF a relative dies and we're sorry it takes
neither crepe nor tears to let the neighbors know
it. And all the mourning in the world won't keep
the neighbors from knowing it if we're not.
Loyalty pledges don't mean a thing. Not a
thing. Let's take ourselves a little more calmly
and rely Oh our intelligence to discern the true
state of affairs after this.
Some folks can't do anything without a
brass band"
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THE PUBLIC LIBRARY.
A library filed with good books will do you no
good unless some of the knowledge in the books
is transferred to your Uranium.
The public library Of this city is filled to over;
flowing with good things, and it is a crying shame
if the citizens do not take proper advantage OF
them.
And by proper advantage" we mean about
twice as much use as is being made of the public
library at present.
A city's public library cannot be used too Ell
fectively. 1t is an institution for intensive use. II
costs money to maintain it, in the first place, anc
that money is ill-spent if the returns on it are
not maximum.
A public library is a necessary part of the cul
tural advantages of every live city. The city
without such an institution is justly called a back
number.
Such a building, however, is not one primarily
to point out to strangers. It's present to be used
to uplift the mental horizon, to help equip citizens
for a broader and more intellectual appreciation
of the good things of life.
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A GERMAN LOAN.
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