Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1918-08-29
IER|cANPEOPlE
GREAT SPENDERS
,)lE WAYS MONEY GOES
..~.e.,d and Cheap Souvenirs Take
n. Sum Every vear-eiiiions
sseot for Needless Telephone
catjs and Teie0rams.
=. EDWARD MOTT wooLLev.

Nv EDWARD MOTT WooLLEY.
y seems incongruous that In this
..h and wonderful land Of ours it
.hould be necessary to conduct mighty
,.llIus and advertising campaigns In
oder 10 raise money to crush our
,,.s-rruel and dangerous enemies
cha are bent on throttling the very lib
.,,v On which our country has been,
Anilt. II we really felt the impulse, |
=. could raise six or eight billion dol.
ian spontaneously and without the
hI,re OF craftsmanship and publicity: |
and We would do 1t SO easily that Ger
m.ny and her allies would stanl
.,ho,t at our overwhelming resources
and purpose.
The trouble is that even yet we do
mt realize the tragedy that Is over
M. The war has not sunk into the
American consciousness. With "A mil-
lion or more Of our boys In France, and
the casualty lists coming home every
day. we still lack the pulsating fervor
AZ intrepid courage--the courage TINT
rplls within one and stirs the soul.
Fighting Impulse Needed.
The one unquestionable evidence of
courage Is the willingness to sacrifice.
A man who sees his child In deadly
ppril is instantly ready TO sacrifice
everything. even his life. 1t takes no
argument to "sell" to him the need of
courage. He gets 1t from within. The
Seh,inc impulse dominates his every
instinct. What We most need in
America today Is fighting Impulse.
Once We get 1t the doom Of Germany,
as q menace to ourselves and to the
world, will be sealed. II we had this
v%alorols, undaunted determination we
could raise, this coming year, not mere
" SIX or eight billion, but as many bill
lion as our country might need. Let
US search our hearts, therefore. and
discover why it is that Grassland
methods are needed to sell us Liberty
tonds. 1t seems all the more incredi-
BE that such should he the case when
The money VIZ are asked to contribute
Is merely money saved for ourselves.
Indeed, we could put through this
fourth Liberty loan without even feel.
ing II directly. l am not talking here
shout great sacrifices. With merely triv-
il and passing inhibition we can make
this fourth loan a glorious manifesto
ton Of Americanism.
Never was there such n nation OF
spenders-we literally throw money to
the winds. Cash runs out Of our peck
cts into Il hundred channels of extrav-
agance. Tempted at every turn by
something that appeals to our pleasure
saturated instincts, We hand out the
dimes, quarters md dollars. We work
hard, most Of us. and we play hard.
Many Of Is play with an amazing
abandon that scarcely reckons the cost.
And we crafty ourselves not only at
plays, hut we sntisfy our lux%ury-loving
tendencies and our vanity In many OF
the things that enter into our daily
lives.
Let us consider here merely the mil
Hons that 20 for trivial things that do
not count as permanent investments
either for utility or luxury.
Millions Spent for Cards.
For instance. take u post card
mania. This habit, which perhaps We
would not criticize In times Of peace
Is almost universal. A dealer estt'
mates that 100000 600 people spend ar
average Of n dollar a year on thu
cheaper kinds OF cards, md an add
tional sum Of a hundred million dol
lars on postage. But on the fancy card!
and more expensive sets, sold largel!
totourists, the estimate Is 500. UO 200
IN addition to the postage. Including tn
cards that nre kept by the purchasers
II Ia probable that the total Is half
billion dollars. Many men have mad
fortunes in this business. know o
one former valentine manufacture
who retired with n lot of money.
II Is certainly Inconsistent that thi
great sum should 60 for such
trivial purpose when the nation Is In
volved In this mighty war that call
FOR cash everlastinsly. Here Is on
expenditure that could be eliminate
almost wholly. until the war Is owe
Besides this amount put into Libert
bonds might mean something wort
while to The people themselves.
Then there Is another class Of Sol
venirs that masquerade MS mcrchaI
disc and absorb nm astonishing amour
OF money. Travellers md tourists 9
pec'ally waste their cash upon thcs
hlnss. and immense quantities al
sold to the people everywhere. tt
ouik Of this stuff Il useless Junk:
east In war time. when conscrvatic
me high need. Why spend our mon.
Mese days for fancy baskets, ca,
rays. wooden clnptrap articles, knic
.aacks, trinkets. popguns. sun AZ
MN whams! The souvenir stores
nuantc City. Asbury Park. Corey
! Se1tnu' Revere Beach ncar Boston. We
y nrnr Los Angeles. and similar Z
.Ao.ishments take more than a hnndr,
.a'.l'on dollars out Of our poke
: .,ery summer. One small town "a
Urn IN ATLANTIC City soils n hundr
..ouso'd dollnrs worth, IN which 4
eutV nYAAt 4. $500 49, --.