Arizona republican., 1918-11-22
Smile of the Cob That Won Come Off

ter upon peace unprepared for the
problems of peace! In the words OF
our distinguished visitor, Stephan
Lausanne, the editor of LIE Matin of
Paris, I'VE are organizing war today;
are we incapable of organizing peace
tomorrow"
Local Cooperation, Civic Influence
These problems of reconstruction in
volve the effective cooperation of our
national state and municipal govern
ment, and of the. citizens through their
voluntary organizations which have
played so large a part during war
times There must be governmental
action and supervision. There must be
citizens cooperation. Whether the
government should act through an ad-
minisrative department or through a
congressional committee is a question
to be determined. The Overman reso-
| luton involves the former; the Weeks
resolution the latter So far as. it has
| expressed itself, the opinion of those
| studying the problem from outside the
4 government ranks appears to favor the
idea that the problem is an admins
trative one That the federal govern
ment should be the originating fac
tor is admitted by all. To illustrate by
reference to a single phase of recon
struction, | quote from a letter just re-
ceived from one who is in close touch
with the situation there:
1T is clear from conversations I had
4 in Washington that the government is
not looking favorably on the local COM
/ munities going into the question of re-
/ Mobilization of disabled soldiers. It is
/ obp'ous, of course, that this is not a
/ problem that belongs to localities; it is
national problem, and l think com
/ mittee such as yours (the national
municipal leagues committee on re-
/ construction) should endeavor to dis
1 suade communities from tinkering with
| the problem unless under the imme-
/ date command and control of the de-
4 partment of the surgeon general There
4 will undoubtedly be local training cen
/ tiers selected by the government, but
/ the point that l am trying to make is
/ that the plans and management must
rest with the government and not pass
into the hands of local bodies"
The same correspondent emphasizes
I that the next important thing in con-
nection with rehabilitation is the great
( employment service that has been de-
veloped. He writes:
IF this new service is to succeed, il
4 VIII be because strong local organiZa :
tons get behind it and see that the
spirit which has produced such an or
ganization is kept alive, and if pos
sible augmented in volume No one
can look back on the periods of indus
trial depression and see the futile at
tempts of the few state and city en-
ployment offices then existing without
approaching to some extent how sat
isfactorily this work can be carried or
by chain of national exchanges. Ar
employment agency, to be successful
must give satisfactory service to en-
ployers to secure the adequate produc-
ton chat means sending the right
man to fill the right job) and there
must be attached to the service mer
who are possessed of sufficient socia
vision to put some imagination into
their work and to understand the socia
problems involved"
Voluntary work on reorganization
has begun in this country. Sundr,
bodies like the engineering societies
the National Research council and tn
National Municipal league, have com
mittees at work on the subject. TIL
National Council of Defense is collect