Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-02-25
SHIPS BEFORE sELF.INTEREsT.

SHIPS BEFORE SELF-INTEREST.
Money is a need, but not the great
est need of the government at Wash
ington The American people have
given, and will continue to give lib
orally Of their money, in response to
every call from the treasury II is
well that Liberty Bonds have been
fioated easily; it is better still that
war loans have been oyersubscribed
but vaults overlooking with gold, sill
yer. and paper money will not alone
win the war. There are possible con
ditions under which billions of dol
lars might be as useless 10 the United
States. I'm the prosecution of the great
work it has undertaken, as pocket
full Of currency would be To a casta
way on an uninhabited island Money
has value only as n medium of eX-
change. Money has value for the
United States, in this war, only for
what money will buy If It cannot buy
ships or the things that go into the
building of ships. including labor, ii
cannot transport soldiers across the
ocean, or transport the supplies neces-
sary to the maintenance of those al
ready across. With vaults full of
money, and with credit unbounded, the
United States would still be an impO-
tent factor in this tremendous stTug
gle If Il could not. with all the means
at hand, purchase the things of which
it stands most in need.
It Is apparently easier for the peo-
pie of the United States to lend money
TO their government than 1t is to prac-
tice self-denial and to abandon self
interest. This is a matter that can
not be presented too plainly or too
seriously. 1t is necessary to the de-
Tense of the world against n pitiless
autocracy for the American people to
understand that they have not, in
est that can rightly or safely be sep
arated from the cause for which the
nation and its allies are fighting;
that the time has come when there is
but one interest. the preservation or
democracy. and that, if the war is to
be won, all other interests must be
merged into this one.
The government is not receiving the
support it should have in order that
IL may do its full part toward bring
ing the war to n successful and
speedy close No more serious prob
lem confronts the civilized world to-
day than that involved in the prompt
and adequate utilization for war pur-
poses of the immense resources of the
United States. Considerably more
than 100000 men are in uniform,
trained, and ready for transfer from
the home environments to the front.
Every one of them should be avail
able to General Pershing Immediately.
But instead of adding 100000 sol
diers to the American Expeditionary
Force in France early the coming
spring. the best that can be promised
is half that number. How long it will
take to place the entire additional l..
600 600 in the field must depend alto
gether on how long it will take to find
ships to carry them.
Let there be no misunderstanding,
misconception, or doubt about it. The
manufacturer or employer who is
taking advantage of the war to make
money for himself, the man who be-
comes n grasping competitor of the
government for possession of the
things which it needs. in these trying
hours and crucial times. the man who
thinks he can so on las usual" hav-
ing paid his taxes and bought some
bonds. and is thoughtlessly or DELHI .
erately diverting material and labor
from the shipyards and the essential \
industries, must be classed as a friend
of the enemy.
1t is not necessary to stop every
thing but war work. 1t is necessary
TO put war work ahead of all other
effort. And it is necessary to do sol
Science Monitor.