The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1918-12-26
PRE-WAR BASIS
CAN not RETURN
CHANGES MADE FOR VAR
MUST BE KEPT FOss,t.
PEACE NEEDS.

PEACE NEEDS.
Men talk Of an immediate re-
turn to the pre-war "basis in in
dustry and finance" There is no
such basis. The present system
was evolved out Of the elements
Of systems already disintegrat-
ed. It might be temporarily pos
.sible for the government, by re-
cognizing the claims of various
business interests to reinstate-
ment in their pre-war rights, to
make a sort of reconstruction
Of industry and finance on the
basis Of restricted or unrestrict-
ed capitalism and profiteering.
The interests placed in control,
however, would then hold a po-
sition incomparably stronger
than that they held before the
war, because they would be able
to capitalize it. Such a policy
would provide for their profits,
but not for feeding of the people
and therefore for the industrial
security Of the nation. Such can
only be assured by continuing
the policy that brought order out
of pre-war chaos.
The situations of the parties
in national and international in
dustrial disputes have, in fact,
been exactly reversed. Before
the war those who advocated
any modification Of unrestricted
capitalism were constantly de-
rided as impractical Missionaries,
utopians, obsessed by devotion
to unreaIizable ideals Or en-
bittered by failure in a struggle
where only the hardest heads
and the thickest skins could hope
to come out unscathed. Now it is
the former hard headed, practi-
cal men who are put to it to
prove their case. It is up to them
to show how the clock can be
turned back without disarrang-
ing all our schedules.
World Overcapitalized
IL these men are as hard n-head-
ed as they have always been Civ
en- credit for being they will see
that any attempt to return to
unrestricted private ownership
of transportation and market
ing facilities win seriously en-
danger capital itself. Can the ma
ton or the world pay its debts
under the old arrangements ? In
other words, will the productive
ability of the world sustain the
capitalization of those debts and
private over-capitalization, as
wen as the profits capital must
draw from the production of the
future, if the old system is to be
supported? The simplest kind OF
arithmetic will show that this is
impossible. The war has brought
into existence an economic world
problem utterly beyond the abll-
ity Of the old capitalist system
TO solve; but the necessities OF
the war haze clso Given us the
method Of solution on-that is, ma
tionai and international cooper
alton in the operation Of trans
portation and marketing faciil-
ties. to the end that the most
necessary staples may move free
" from the place Of production
to the people in need,of them IN
m. . -
if government operation OF
TRANSPORTATION and control Of
prices and markets in this and !
other countries be continued; Il
the EXISTING international pools
of staples be odidated and
developed, under the control OF
an international board Of trade
a. similar body; and if 9 poll
tical league Of nations with sui
ficient power to enforce indust, :,
rial and economic justice shal!
be established, then the world
viii be assured against the re,
currence Of war. Industrial and
economic cooperation will Sc
cure peace. .
B Workers Must Organize
But for the scheme to work
effectively III the common inter,
est the people must control
their governments, and through
them the international organiza-
tions. Sons This means that each IN
duafy;;al interest in this and 9TH