Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1918-01-10
E DIT 0 RIA
HOOVER DOING THINGS.

1t is fortunate, perhaps, for the food
administration that the chief critics of
Mr.. Hoover's general policy-those
critics whose verbal assaults appear
to partake Of the nature of vindictive-
ness-belong to two classes: those who
seem to wish particularly to discredit
the Wilson administration and those
who have been unable to exact from
the American public those ~profiteering
profits which would reflect credit up
on the vocation OF the h~ighwayman.
Let us take sugar as an example,!
There is scarcely room for a reason
able doubt with respect to what the
sugar barons would have held up the
people for had the sugar market been
left, without let or hindrance, to the
%manipulations of the interests which
have supplied the American people
with sugar for many years past.
Events of the not very remote past
tend to confirm the belief that even
our distinguished friend, Mr.. Claus
S%preckles, is not the p~hilanthropic
mony before the senate Investigating
committee seems to indicate that he
is trying to think himself to be.
vi SOulSC WI. IlOOSSl 10 SOIuS 10
make mistakes--if he has not already
made some OF them. He has not yet
attained to that state of perfection
which marks him as divine. Honest
criticism of his policies, or any of
them, is proper within the bounds OF
reason and with a view to betterment.
But the sort of assaults that Senator
Reed, the chairman of the committee,
and the kind Of criticism in which
MI. Spreckles INDUCES, have a ten
dency to strengthen Mr.. Hoover's po-
sition in the minds OF the people. In
this connection we commend to our
readers an article, appearing else
where in this edition, from the Bos-
ton Monitor, under the caption of
The Assaults on Hoover
Mr.. Hoover is doing things! That's
the commendable feature Of his gen.
eral policy. He is sending to our
European allies every available ounce
of foodstuffs hat can be spared from
our supply, r%eserying only a necessary
amount for home consumption. He is
not keeping at home such a surplus
as has been our wont to waste in re.
cent years, but he is holding back
enough for all.
The American people, we are in.
clined to think, are more apt to for.
give, and even to forget, his occa-
sional error than they are to overlook
the mistake involved in mere carping
criticism-such as much of the ebulli-
tions coming from Senator Reed and
MI. Spreckles somewhat appear to re.
semble.
America is confronted today by a
mos serious situation. We must not
only maintain ourselves and our ar
mics but we must sustain our allies,
whose foodstuffs are running short.
II the spectators go unrestrained.
both ourselves and our allies will be
compelled to pay tribute to human ra-
pacity and human rascality in the
form of combinations and ~monopolies
which hitherto very largely have con
trolled the avenues of distribution.
Cotton, of course, in which some of
Senator Reeds friends are especially
Interested, as growers or market
manipulators, or both, is still without
that restraint which has been attached
to grains and iron and sugar and nu-
merou other commodities--but that
lis not Mr., Hooper's fault. When con-
gress authorized the formation of the
food administration and empowered
1t It'd assume control over certain lines
of production and commerce, 1t mad
vertentIy 90 failed to Include cotton.
We suggest to Senator Reed that
he suspend his attaeks upon Mr.,
Hoover long enough to draft d bill To
place cotton within federal control.