The Washington herald., 1918-06-09
War the Master of Miracles.

1t was in no hasty generalization that President
Wilson said that year of war had done more to
knit the United States together than hundred
years of peace would do.
1t is not mere sentimental moonshine, this talk
of bringing the peoples of the world together after
the butchery has its course; OF creating in
ternatonalsm and fraternity of mankind which
will be able to ward off such horrible debace as
that which has shaken civilization to its depths.
If you want to get away from the tragic side of
war, and deve into its benehcent side you need
look no further than around the corner. In the
window of your neighbor's house you will find the
service and the Red Cross flag. In your neighbors
heart you will find the ordinary barriers of self
seeking and selfshness swept away. Everywhere
the life of the nation within the past fourteen
months has undergone profound change.
1t is unnecessary to speak of the socializaton of
industry; that is rapidly becoming commonplace
OF the American scene. The government COM
maudeers the steel and pig iron output OF the coun
try, and it evokes hardly more than passing COM
ment; taxation reaches into realms of economic
practices that would have been denounced by all the
hardshells as wildly radical and revolutionary two
years ago; the government fixes prices, Furnishes the
boarding of food, regulates the supply of labor
President Wilson might have said more than he
did in referring to the knitting together which the
war had accomplished He might have said that
the nation has made more economic progress in the
past twelve months than it would under ordinary
circumstances have made in the coming two decades
OF course the Tories think going to
surrender most of present governmentasm
alter the war is done with. But we: Are the
American people, whose bulwarks OF conservatism
are strong but who instnctively quick at grasp
ing and keeping things which mean real economic
progress, going relapse into their old condition
OF economic and industrial Iaissez faire. OF happy
co-lucky indivduasm OF letting the pilng up OF
wealth in the grinding business wheel proceed with
out regulations
Possibly, but we are inclined to think that the
| uted States is going take mighty few steps in
the nature OF reaction 1t is going TO keep step
with the liberal progress OF the world. In these
DAYS OF war we finding out what the govern
ment can do. The lesson has been fully learned
vet; but day by day. under stress OF the stern de-
mands being made upon the country, the screws are
being pushed tighter and tighter the regulation OF
such an outstanding petty prohtecring
becomes more stringent. For war the govern
ucnt l. assuming almost autocratic powers. AND
VIC discovering that autocratlc power IN indus
trv vested in a government elected by and respon-
Sible to the people, is not such an ogre as we had
though it; at least our bourgeois political men
tors had thought it.
Bernard Shaw says somewhere that no matter
how good d idea is, it never makes progress IN
tEc world until men are ready to kill another
in its behalf Here we are in the shadow OF war,
permitting us to do absolutely logical and
proper things about which millions OF propaganda
st words had been spilled in the past in effort to
interest the people in their own economic we'll
being; but to no avail. Think OF how utterly in
credible and impossible government control OF the
OF production and distribution would have
been two years ago. And look at the situation now
Perhaps the greatest single virtue that war has
If it is possible say that such tragic thing as
has any vrtue-is that it forces all OF us to Tor
set words and look facts to grapple with evils
and abuses with a firm hand. to discover that much
OF what has been dubbed radical is merely applied
common sense from the democratic point OF view.