The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1918-05-17
American People Must Lend Part.
or Pay All to Finance
Great Conflict.
BUYING OF LIBERTY BONDS
Liberal Loans to Govern aent ls Ad
vancing Financial Assistance to
Our Children, Obviating Total
Cost by Taxation.
(6y EUGENE p. LYLE, JR., Of The
VloiIantes.)

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. II 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 a SYM
BIOL Of the real price we pay, but be-
cause this real price would be wan
sonly squandered or paid in more
CHASTITY measure than need be, If the
cold, calm, practical business of dol
lar-and-cents 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-
Der of dollars added to an exact num-
Der 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.
Ungrudgingly, 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 1t can
not be borrowed elsewhere. But howl
The bill Is too big to pay cash on
the nail as we go. And, furthermore,
to pay all as we go would be just
neither to ourselves nor to our pos
terity.
1t would not be just to ourselves
because we alone will not be the bene-
flciaries. The generations to come will
benefit-incalculably benefit in the lib
critics preserved to them-and 1t is
proper that they should be left to as
sumo fair proportion Of the debt
They are buying freedom today as
much as We But we shall have to
lend them the money now to pay their
share In lending to our government
in buying Liberty bonds we lend to our
children and gratefully our children
will pay 1t 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 be crippled in pre-
pairing our children for the ordinary
duties Of citizenship. Better far tina
we retain enough to so equip them fol
success in life that they may withou
undue hardship take over their quot
Of this wars burden! Better for us
and better for them
Sound common sense, then, as wei
AS equity, points the way. The war
burden should be divided. Let us pa.
In cash as heavily as we wisely may
that is taxation. But the rest let u
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 tim
to contemplate what will happen-in
evltably happen-if we do not lend t
posterity to help pay freedoms hug
price. Nothing is clearer than the al
: tentative.
If we do not lend our government
what 1t asks of US In loans, then W
must consent that the total cost
taken from us outright by taxation
even by prorated confscation.
Before such an alternative even tn
Herman. or pro-German, having prov
cry interests In this country, Shout
choose to subscribe for Liberty bond
In our own self-interest, apart frol
the issues vital to the integrity of OF
manhood, we can do no less--nO les
than lend to the last cent we may pc
sibly save; and this not once merel
but each and every time that Unc
Sam steps from his counting house
tell us that he m1st have more none
Uncle Sam Is telling us this no,
He awaits our response. But he
not the only one who waits. Wherev,
men are free or suffer to be free, thel
they await our response AZ the answ'
to their hopes. And there Is yet a
other who waits--the enemy.
whatever degree our answer fails OF
reverberatIng affirmative. In exact
that degree will he take heart to pr
hong the hideous slaughter.