Norwich bulletin., 1918-01-04
Views of the vigilantes
CUTTING DOWN ON .... THE NON ESSENTIALS
By Edward Huneerferd of The Wig
 ilantes.


 A man coming into one of the large New York hotels today, for the first time in some months, would not gain a very vivid impression that the country was at war; involved in one of the very great crisis of it's exist ei1ce. True it is that the dining rooms are draped in flags, that MT. fIoeSer's injunetions are solen1rlly 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 national anthem. These evidences of patr1- otisn are not difficult An effort, more or less successful has been made to close restaurant and cabaret festivities at one o'clock in the morf1- ing. But that is about all. Jazz- bands still bang out their discordant melodies in the cheap places. with softer-toned orchestras for the mors the air. And prosperity to sign the check. Were keeping them cheered up." said the sleek proprietor of the res taurarlt, with a wink, ''You know. Business as usual"
 Be he means, pleasure as usual" Go over upon Fifth Avenue. The press of linlousines is as great as in any other December; perhaps even greater. Cars run in second speed all 1 the way from Thirty third street to | Sixty third and there is a tremendous wastage of gasolefle. What matters l it that the president of one of the very largest of our Oil companies l warns us that we are using gasolene 1 far faster than we are producing it, that there is less than five years re- l serve remaining and that soon we viii have to begin putting aside a large amount of the best product for that great new aviation fleet which is to be Americas chief contribution to the war? Does that worry the men in any one of those cars? AS for that matter does it worry you in yours? Is it any of your business that there are 25 900 rnen-nearly ten | ftsil-sized regirnents-today engaged 1 in driving private pleasure automo- piles in the city of New York; per haps 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 cannot manufacture phonographs rapidly enough to fill the demand al
 
 furs;t that florists never had a, better I year? Should we not rejoice that the non essentials are doing so well ir these bitter times
 | Why not business as usual?
 England can answer that question ! She went through the same per ferniance? She tried to stretch hei industrial productivity despite g lgreat shortage of man power-inte making an increased output of botf essentials and non essentials; and failed. We shall fail if we persist if
 trying to do the same thing. Only in our case such d failure would ts Ieven more tragic. For the besi
 things in addition to food stuffs that we can supply to aid the Aliel and the great cause to which we art all pledged are the products of oui
 industrial productivity-gtins, powder | clothing, shoes, aeroplarfes, motor trucks, locomotives, railroad cars
 and then the ships in which to carrl
 All these things overseas. Of n1onss | we have plenty: already we art giving generously of it to our Allies . Men We can supply and stall-bat
 am afraid, never in more than com paratively limited number. But Sau flitiof1s We can and should supply in almost unlimited quantities
 l Tet these we cannot give plentf1ll1