The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1918-01-02
Cut DOlU11
Non-Essentials Must Go
and Sacrifices Be Made.
By EDWARD HUNGERFORp
Of The viuiIantex.

months, would not gain very vivid
impression that the country was ~
war. involved in one Of the very great
crises OF Its existence. True it is that
the dining rooms are draped In flags,
that Mr.. Hoover's injunctions are sol :
EMMY spread upon the menu cards.
that officers In khaki are seated here
and there and everywhere and that
all rise upon the playing Of the ma
tional anthem. These evidences of
patriotism are not difficult. An effort,
more or less successful. has been made
to close restaurant and cabaret fcsti-
| Vities at one o'clock in the morning.
But that Is about all. Jazz bands still
bang out their discordant melodies in
the cheap places, with softer toned or
| chestras for the more expensive ones.
There is gaiety in the air. And pros
perity to sign the check
Were keeping them chcered up"
said the sleek proprietor of the res
business as usual"
But he means. pleasure as usual"
Go over upon Fifth avenue. The
press Of limousines is as great as In
any other December; perhaps even
greater. Cars run in second speed all
the way from Thirty third street to
siXty-third. and there is a tremendous
wastage OF gasoline. What matters 1t
that the president Of one of the very
largest of our oil companies warns us
that we are using gasoline far faster
l, a n min tIAA e.,
less than five years reserve remaining
and that soon we will have to begin
putting aside a large amount of the
best product for that great new avia-
ton fleet which Is to be Americas
chief contribution to the war? Does
that worry the men in anv Of those
cars? As for that matter does II wor-
ry you in yours? Is it any of your
business that there are $4,000 men
nearly ten full sized ENTHUSIASTICALLY
engaged in driving private pleasure
automobiles in the city of New York;
perhaps twice that number elsewhere
in the country. Is that your business
or mine?
I rather think that is.
Is 1t any Of our business that we
can not manufacture monographs
rapidly enough to fill the demand Mt
this time: that II Is big season in
furs: that florists never had a better
year? Should we not rejoice that the
non essentials are doing SO well in
these bitter times?
Why not business as usual?
England can answer that question.
She went through the same per-
formance. She tried to stretch her
industrial productivity-despite a great
shortage Of n-power--into making
an increased output of both essentials
and non essentials: and failed. We
shall fail If we persist in trying to do
the same thing. Only in our case such
a failure would be more tragic. For
the best things, in addition to food
stuffs, that we can supply to aid the
allies and the great canse to which we
are all pledged are the products Of our
industrial productivity-guns, powder.
clothing. shoes, aeroplanes, motor
trucks. locomotives, railroad cars; and
then the ships In which to carry oil
these things overseas. OF money we
have n plenty: already we are giving
generously of 1t to our allies. Men we
can supply and shall-but l am afraid.
never in more than q comparatively
limited number. But munitions we can
and should supply--in almost unlimited
quantities.
Yet these we cannot give plentifully
unless we have plentiful man-powcr.
And our man power. like that OF Eng
lands. has been depleted by the drafts
for our army. And even IL we have
learned from her mistakes and showed
more Judgment in picking men for the
trenches and leaving tho right types
for our essential industries, the fact
remains that our fighting service al
ready has made more drains upon our
industrial army. These drains we can
not now prevent. But we can prevent
the drain of non essential industries
upon our workmen. to say nothing of
our materials and our very limited
supply of fuel. And this is the very
thing that we must stop. In Great
Britain more than 10000 plants, large
and small In other days turning out
tremendously diversified list OF prod
ucts are today under government d.
re elton making the supplies essential
,or England's part in winning the war.
Here is lesson by which the United
States may profit--if only she will
heed it in time. 1t has not as yet sunk
far. When it does sink and we begin
to take heed. there will be a little less
gaiety In the hotels: --they and the
theaters will begin to take on more of
the complexion of London playhouses
and hotels.--where there is light and
laughter-and supreme confidence
but restraint as well. There will be
less pressure of passenger automobiles
upon Fifth avenue, New York, or
Michigan avenue. Chicago, or any
other of the great pleasure streets In
the land, The thing noticed most on
a recent trip to Montreal, after an alb
sence of two years. was the tremen-
dous reduction in the number of motor
cars upon the streets; the fact that
most of those in sight were driven by
men and women, obviously their own
ers. Canada has had to learn her les
son. And SO must we. Only 1t Is with
in our power to make that lesson
reasonably easy-or fearfully hard.
And II we do not practice self-denial
now we undoubtedly shall be COM
PEELED to practice II at a later time;