The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1918-03-28
American People Must Lend Part,
or Pay All to Finance
Great Conflict.
BUYING OF LIBERTY BONDS
Liberal Loans to Government Is Ad.
Vaneinu Financial Assistance to
Our Children, obViating Total
Cost by Taxation.
(ey EUGENE P. LYLE, JR., Of The
Viuilantes,l


cious thing. Being the most precious
thing, it comes highest. No people is
worthy of freedom that Is not willing
and eager TO pay dearly for 1t. In
fact, you will find no people possess
ing freedom that has not paid dearly
for 1t, and you will find no people con-
tinuing to possess freedom that does
not stand every ready to pay dearly,
over and over, to retain 1t.
II this were not true, Belgium,
France, Italy and England with her
oversee dOminiOns, would now be as
Russia is today. If this were not
true, America would still be neutral,
cOntemptibly awaiting her turn to pass
under the yoke.
Blood and treasure, anguish and sac
rifice-these are the coin we bring
to market; the coin we must pay. Yet
the coin may be, and, is expressed in
dollars and cents, not alone as SYM
Dol Of the real price we pay, but be-
cause this real price would be wan
tonly sQuandered, or paid in more
CHASTITY measure than need be, If the
cold, calm. practical business of dol
lAr-andcents financing were not at the
heart of the heroic transaction.
Vainly would the soldier shed his
blood if he were not trained and
equipped to make his blows count to
the utmost, and the cost of this train
Ing and equipment is an item that may
be, and is, expressed in an exact num-
ber of dollars added to an exact num-
ber Of cents. His country must spend
precisely this amount to enable him to
defend her.
Consequently we of America are
now confronted with the biggest war
bill in history. One year Of this war
Is costing us as much as all the wars
we have had before added to all the
other expenses of our federal govern
ment since we first won our freedom.
Lending to Our Children.
UngruGgingly, yes! OF that we are
proudly conscious that there is no
question. The one and only question
Is the practical question of finance.
How shall the money be found? We
ourselves must supply it, since it cam
not be borrowed elsewhere. But how?
The bill is too big to pay cash on
the nail as we go. And, furthermore
to pay Ill us we go would be just
neither 60 ourselves nor to our pos
terity.
1t would not be just to ourselves
because we atone will not be the bene-
nciaries. Tho generations to come will
benefit-lncalrulably benefit in the lib
critics preserved to them-and 1t is
proper tAat they should be left to as
sumo "air proportion of the debt.
They arG buying freedom today as
much as we. But we shall have to
lend them the money now to pay their
share. Il lending to our government
in buying Liberty bonds we lend to our
children; and gratefully our children
will pay it off.
Any other arrangement would not
be just TO them for the reason that,
should we strip ourselves bare to pay
all now, we would ne crippled in pre-
pairing OGr children for the ordinary
duties of citizenship. Better far that
we retain enough to so equip them for
success in life that they may without
undue hardship take over their quota
of this vars burden! Better fer us,
and better for them!
Sound common sense, then, as we'll
as equity, points the way. The wars
burden should be divided. Let us pay
in cash as heavily rs we wisely may
that is taxation. But the rest let us
leave to the future beneficiaries, lend
ing them the money now-that is buy
ing Liberty bonds.
freedoms Great Price.
The present moment is a good time
to contemplate what will happen-in-
evitably happen-lf we do not lend to
posterity to help pay freedoms huge
price. Nothing is clearer than the al
tentative.
If we do not lend our government |
what it asks Of US in loans. then we
must consent that the total cost be
taken from us outright by taxation
even by a prorated confiscation.
Before such an alternative even the
German, or prO-German, having prop
erty interests In this country, should |
choose to subscribe for Liberty bonds.
In our own Self-interest, apart from
the issues vital to the integrity of our
we can do no leSs-nO less
than lend to the last cent we may pos
sibly save; and this not once merely,
but each and every time that Uncle
Sam steps from his counting house to
tell us that he must have more money.
Uncle Sam is telling us this now.
He awaits our response. But he is
not the only one who waits. Wherever
men are free or suffer to be free, there
they await our response as the answer
to their hopes. And there is yet an
other who waits-the enemy. In
whatever degree our answer fails of o
affirmative, in exactly
that degree will he take heart to pro
long the hideous slaughter.