The sun., 1919-01-19

things we won 'tspend money for public schools
and lbrares,''
My friend was smartng under the arbitrary
ductiOn of his budget by the City Council, and
facing the necessity, in consequence Of closing
of his branch libraries and losing several of his
most competent assistants because he couldn't
afford to pay them salaries large enough to live on,
and / hadn t the heart to disagree with him. But
where he erred in his sweeping Indictment of .
whole nation in assuming public unwilling
ness to spend money.
Where the Trouble Lies
Money is exactly what the American people are
willing to spend-for schools or for libraries or hos
pitfalls, jals post Offices or as We have just demon
strated for such intangible things as honor, justice
civilization. What we w0nt spend is the time and
effort to make the men elect to Office understand
that We not only don t care how much of our money
they spend-so long as it ism t stolen--but that
would rather they would spend it than not, espe-
cially if they will spend it for something we can
brag about. We rather enjoy the sensation of tell
ing the visitor from Kansas City that pay our
keeper of the bigger salary than the President
of Panama receives that the new Court House will
be the biggest and most expensive temple Of the law
in the whole world l have often wondered what
would happen to candidate for Mayor who had
the psychological insight and the courage to run on
q platform of hang the EXPENSE instead of the
usual captrap about economy, which scldoa. de-
ceives any intelligent person and interests
hutt ho
predict for the first man who acts on this sugges-
ton a substantially unanimous popular vote and,
unless the courts prevent him from carrying out his
platform promise triumphant reelection after re-
election.
AS to Saving and Spending.
OF course We all gr,imble about the tax rate we
are not only the most extravagant people in the
world but we know it and are always promising
ourselves to turn new leaf. Protests against
public expenditures merely manifestation Of
the national subconScous feeling that we really
ought to be more economical; it is precisely the
same subconscious urge that impels us to buy the
books that tell one according to the full page ad-
vertisements how to save $4,000 year out of a
$4,000 salary and be happy. The trouble is not in
saving $4,000 year. but in being happy over it!
We grumblc much more violently over dirty streets
and unguardcd crossings than we ever do over the
money paid to whitewings and traffic cops
The most hopeful sign on the horizon so far as
libraries and library appropriations 60 is the re-
turn to civil life of some 100000 young men who
have been thrown into intimate contact with books
and Libraries while wearing the KHAKI. The Average
Citizen of to-day makes active demand on the
library: he doesn't realize what there is in it for
him, and so is not concerned especially whether it
gets its share OF public appropriations or not
What the Boys Bring Back.
But these young men will be the Average Citi-
zens of tomorrow, and they know from experience
what good circulating library has in it for them:
so many of them have won promotions or fitted
themselves for better jobs in civil life through the
books they drew from the A. L. A. war library
service that they are alive to what a library can
and ought to be- They are quite likely to make