The Dermott news., 1917-07-19

who are enduring the agony of this war on the battletelds, in the trenches. amidst the lurking dangers of the sea, or with the bereaved women and pitt full children, before you will come for ward to do your duty and give some part of your life, in easy, peaceful fashion, for the things we are fight ing for, the things we have pledged our fortunes, our lives, our sacred hon. or to vindicate and defend-liberty and justice and fair dealing and the peace of nations?
 'Of course you will not. It Is in- conceivable. Your patriotism is of the same self-denying stuff as the pa triotism of the men dead or maimed on the fields of France, or else it is not patriotism at all.
 Full Dollars Worth.
 Let us never speak, then, of profits and of patriotism in the same sen tence, but face facts and meet them. Let us do sound business, but not In the midst of a mist.
 Many a grieyous burden of taxa tion will be laid on this nation, in this generation and In the next, to pay for this war. let us see to it that for every dollar that Is taken from the peoples pockets it shall he possible to obtain q dollars worth of the sound stuff they need.
 Let me turn for moment to the ship owners of the United States and the other ocean carriers whose eX- ample they have followed, and ask them If they realize what obstacles. what almost insuperable obstacles, they have been putting In the way of the successful prosecution of this war by the ocean freight rates they have been exacting.
 Making War a Failure.
 "They are doing everything that high freight charges can do to make the war failure to make 1t impos- sible.
 "I do not say that they realize this or intend It. The thing has happened naturally enough because the conner cial processes which We are content to
 
 without sufficient thought been con tinued into period where they have no proper place.
 'I am not questioning motives. l am merely stating a fact. and stating 1t in order that attention may he fixed upon 1t.
 "rhe fact Is that those who have h.a most effective means In their power to defeat the armies engaged against Ger many When they realize this We may, I take It for granted. count upon them i to reconsider the whole matter It Is high time. Their extra hazards are covered by war risk insurance.
 Warning Is Sounded.
 "I know, and you know, what re sponse to this great challenge of duty and of opportunity the nation will ex- pect of you: and I know what re- sponsa you will make.
 "Those who do not respond. who do not respond In the spirit of those who have gone to give their lives for us on bloody fields far away. may safely be left to be dealt with by opinion and the law-for the law must, of course. command those things.
 "I nm dealing with the matter thus publicly and frankly, not because have my doubt or fear as to the result but only In order that in all our thinking and in all our dealings with one an I,, aia F air of mutual understanding.
 Must Have Same Prices.
 And there is something more that l we must add to our thinking. The I public k now as much part of the i government as are the army and navy l themselves the whole people In all their activities are now mohlized and In service for the accomplishment of l the nations task in this war it k in such circumstances impossible just ly to distinguish between industrial i purchases made by the government and industrial purchases made hy the managers of industries. and fl Is Just ns much our duty to sustain the Indus trials of the country with all the in- dustries that contribute to its life us ii Is to sustain our forces in the field | and on the sea.
 Think Not of Self.
 We must make prices te the pub lie the same us the prices to the gov ernment. Prices mean the same thing everywhere now. They mean the elf. eieney or the lnetiiciency of the na- ton, whether it is the government that pays them or not. They mean victory or defeat. They mean that America will win her place once for all among the foremost free nations of the world or that she will sink to defeat and be come second-rate power alike ir thought and In action. This is day of her reckoning and every man among us must personally face that reckoning along with her.
 "The case needs no arguing. I as sume that I am only expressing youl own thoughts-what must be in th' ,pinJ oF avarv trun man uhan ha faca.