Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-02-19

I
thing is absurd in a business reaching into
every corner Of the land-comprising
$500 wholesalers and $4,000 retailers.
| We fail to realize that no two classes
Of food are produced, prepared or dis
! trbuted alike, nor can they be. Reform
| crs would build up one single machine
and outline one common program TO
| govern them all We kick about cy-
| orbitant profits Of the merchant with
| out the slightest realization Of how much
his profits actually are and even less
| Of his costs Of doing business.
"Thc ending of the war will precipitate
new conditions IN every line Of human
relation. Friendships among nations will
| readjust commercial exchange; the money
wastage of the war will saddle upon us all
burdens Of taxation which will demand
unheard of economies readiustmcnts
of borders will call for readjtstments Of
trade The entrance Of women into in
dustry will be an economic factor Of no
small consequence and the losses Of world
tonnage and the restoration of traffic
are problems which viii challepg all
our preconccived ideas.
at last we have learned the esson Of
not only making goods TO supply the
needs Of all the earth but TO deliver them
In ships flying our own flag. The mighty
heet--it may reach as much as 20 ,OO0, 900
tons by the end of the war-rneans a new
field of influence; new responsibilities
throughout the world for Uncle Sam.
II demands broader public spirit and
an end Of little-thinking. Competition
is going TO be strenuous to degree never
before known, responsive not only 10 the
relative efficiencies Of nations, but sub
jected TO the influence of new friendships,
Ill
surviving international hatreds that Will
greatly complicate the recovery Of trade
and the holding Of world markets.
EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD BE PROUD.
"Tt is a time 10 make every American,
whatever his station, proud of his citizen
ship, his heritage Of patriotism and our
national spirit Of loyalty and determine
ton.
misunderstanding and ignorance have
been our greatest menaoe-rnisunder-
standing Of class toward other clases;
misunderstanding Of fundamental econom-
&c law misunderstanding OF the mutuality
Of our responsibility Misunderstanding Of
tho fact that we are all human and
actuated by human attributes, whether
rich or poor. Tho employers too often
views his helpers as he dos his machinery
and the worker too commonly regards his
employer as ~ the same coldness and
hardness as the stones of his factory wall
FELLOWSHIP GROWING.
And wish might toll YOU Of the
immense gain IN fellowship developed
within the past few years. There has
never been time when such things AZ
wage dividends, bonuses. welfare work.
industrial pensions, socis advsnce-
ment, improved working condi-
tions employees clubs, industrial lnsur-
ancc, mutual benefit funds. etc, were
encouraged and supported and fostered
among large employers Of help AZ now
Employers have come to realize that
contented help are the best help; that
the hardest field for the professional
agltator is the one where employer and
employe have discovered and fostered i
spirit of fellowship and cooperation.
Far be it from me TO decry industrial
organization | believe the great ma
Iorlty Of employers welcome it, encourage
and support IT. They recognize in the
honest labor leader an ally Of great value.
but they also realize that the professional
agItator, who SEXES upon every mustard
seed Of discomfort and plays it up into q
jungle Of magnified grievance, Is not
leader-he Is rather a misleaGer In
telligent employers of help have long
since found that grievances are bad alike
for industry and for the worker. while
friendly cooperation yas done more 70
smooth out friction than professional {
agitation ever has. And the causes OF I
unrest are by no means all on one side |
1t might not be arnIss. right here TO
draw the analogy that the professional
agitator has had his own peculiar part IN
. he
employer, employe and the nation are
stralnlng every energy 70 make the
patriotism OF industry effective or ought
TO with all our moral and physical vitality,
the agltator has been abroad in the land,
undermining our national defence, check
ing industry and blackening the name
and fame Of organized labor. In MANY
Instances he has been unmasned IN hEi
nefarious work as an agent OF the kaiser,
whether pad or only an innocent tool,
and traitor TO the American working
man. Ii Is time for the patriotic American |
laboring man, to purge the country OF /
such scoundrels, and it Is the hope of !,
every friend Of american industry that /
the search Will not cease tIIl aglCatoFs who /
place their own professional ambitions |
and money above the welfare of American
industry are driven from the land.
There is no force so certain and sure
to perpetuate that Intelligence essential
to democracy as i free press Publicity
has cured more Ills than the law ever
did. What We need above au else is the
truth and the facts.
What the effects of all this will be
after the war cannot be foretold, but il !
there has been any lesson learned out Of |
the crisis it IS that there is infinitely
more power in land where individual in
tiative has full play than in an sutOcratic
government. The thought of the hour
S to avoid hampering industry and
it; rather to foster its de-
selopment by friendly cooperation and
IN open field.
Someone has said that that country Is
governed best which is governed least.
Nothing proves It SO much aS this war 4
nation where liberty and opportunity are
N open field will develop the highest
II human etiiclencies and produce in