Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-05-08
BUSINESS AS USUAL

The expression business as usual became 50 hack
neyed in England during the early months of the war
that it fell into disrepute. 1t soon became evident to the
most casual observer that under the conditions which
were forced upon the country. business was not, and
could not be "as usual
England was plunged headlong into the mids Of the
war. unexpectant and unprepared. Out Of the raw ma
terial at hand 1t was necessary to recruit. supply and dis
pose of an army Of Ave million men. That of itself was
a task for the completion Of which 1t was necessary to
draw on every line Of activity to the full. to revoluuonize
the entire industry Of the country. And in addition to
this her allies looked to Great Britain for munitions. for
fuel, for many lines Of domestic Manufacture, and for
money in enormous quantities. Business was not as u.s.
ual. 1t was stimulated, enlarged, revolutionized, and
every resident Of the country was brought face to face
with the fact, at every hour OF the day, that he was an
integral part of the vast machinery Of war.
And yet, il the phrase had not been SO over-worked
there. and were not certain to be misapplied here, "busi-
ness as usual" would not be a bad motto for the people
1t is true that literally business cannot be a usual
here any more than 1t has been elsewhere. We are at
war. and that fact affects every individual. 1t is giving
a new direction to our industries and to our thoughts
And the evidences of war will assuredly be more num-
erous and moro noticeable as time passes.
But, within the limitations imposed by conditions
which we cannot escape, one of the most useful things
that the people of this country can do for the country is
to keep business as nearly as possible "as usual" We
may wave flags: we may hold meetings.; we may make
speeches and listen to others make them; we may be-
siege the government with demands for something to do.
And, If we devote ourselves to all this with sufficient in
difference to everything else. we will resemble nothing
more than a herd of cattle milling around in a circle,
without logical purpose or sense Of direction. helpless
and ineffective, ready at any moment to burst into a Wild
which must be disastrous to themselves and
everything with which they come in contact.
We are about to raise an army which. according to
our standards. will be a large one. The government
will tell us presently who IRE to constitute that army,
how it in to be supplied and trained. and what DISPOSE
ton is to be made of it. The CONSUMPTION law, which
makes service obligatory, does not relieve q single ctt-
zen of the duty Of cooperating to the utmost extent Of
his ability in the work Of raising that force. In many
ways both those who are eligible for military service and
those who are not can do much to facilitate the work Of
assembling and preparing that force.
But that army cannot be an effective instrument If i,
is the instrument Of an excited and disorganized people.
We need earnestness and enthusiasm. but we need, also,
calnness and common sense.
Our hundred million people must be fed and clothed
and sheltered. Our children must be sent to school. Our
fields must be titled, our factories operated, our goods
transported. Our needs remain substantially unchanged.
And, if all Of us take hold, in the right spirit, of the
duties which lie right before us, it is possible for the
work Of this nation to be SO organized that all the ma
terial things that will be needed for the greatest army
that we will ever be called on to raise can be provided
out Of the surplus created by the simple expedient of
each one of US attending to his or her job in the best
possible way.