Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-12-14


members of the American industrial
commission to France. the writer ac-
centuates the necessity OF production
as the only cure for the state OF
letharsy America has fallen in SINCE
the armistice was signed. He saws:
From an economic and industrial
point OF view. the war in spite of the
tremendous sacrifices of men and ma
terial and money. is not yet won
America and the other nations which
stopped the German hordeS aud die
tated the terms of peace have en-
tered the era of reconstruction with
a great advantage over those hatiohs
whose representatives signed on the
dotted line. hut unless we ana our
former allies duplicate our victories
on the field of battle with Just as de-
cisiye victories in the fields OF com :
merce and trade. there is danger ina
some day we shall look back on lhe
wears that followed the war with a
| reaiization that we won nothing but
glory.
Awakened to Opportunities
Theoretically nearly ever! hatIo"
and individual is awake 10 Inc OPP
portunities of the hour. There ar
few people who do not realize ina the
countries which are the nrst 70 20
advantage of the new order OF thihs
and get down to work IN ear VA
| reap the largest harvests IN We, ~
trade and domestic prosperity. hu.
America. which ought to be me iliun,
alert of the allies, seems TO De iassn
behind the rest Great britain an u
France and Belgium each appears W
he making better progress tha II
.,ar;ca not in spite of their mana
! ans hui because of them. They reai +,
WI hard work will be requires
| to bring their countries paSh ths
prosperity they enjoyed peione I'D cd
| war. but their realization VI
4
| ENGLAND. where nearly ever
| lily was represented on the ca
| ,,aItv lists. the average wage eaf re,
tnows that he must help MAKE up ~,
his countrys great losses ssee
nover In France. where the Ioss1
=, NON were even greater. the people
Gro awake TO the same neeo loi ~
eion and in addition they see or
| svarv side concrete evidences oi nv
| 5astructiveness of war along ma
| ferial lines. They know tnat 49,
| .ilI not cultivate shel-torh neIus
| VIII Nd intentions rebuild pillaged
| ."rhe French have started WORK no
nast and have surprised the worlo
with the progress they nave peen
able to make. A, ,he
| "Eusene Schneider. chairman o tne
| E.ancb mission to the internally al
trade conference. recently helo at
| Iantic CITY, and head OF the iaWo
! C,reusot works in France. when sup
|! oiled the French. British ana amer
| can armies with seventy au
| other guns during the war. tod .he
l conference at one of its sessions INA.
| the reconstruction of our deVas'a.e :,
| regions is today in fun swing. a.
| the time of the armistice, ne con
| tinued. we had 400 miles oil ran
| roads to rebuild. and oS SspteIe 35d
!! of this year we hao
! OF the total.
we had 1.160 bridges. tunnels and
yiaducts of one sort and anoeher ~
ebuild. and by September we MAO
already completed 58S. Or 6'o mlies
paired we had already finished 4ot
miles at that same date. Out OF
40 600 buildings destroyed or dam
aged by the war. we had repaired oo,
600 by the beginning OF Septemoef
put up over 10000 huts and oegun
| the construction OF over ov,u'' shaIs
| homes We have cleared up sneiiS
EVER an area of 800 square miles
| and have filled in nearly S0,0Oeoos
cubic yards of trenches we nave
sent back $4,000 refugees. openet
, 5000 schools and reorganized 5.o'.
civic communities.
Wars Effect on America.
| "In this country. because the los,
Of life was comparatively small ano
1
disturbed by shellfire. the majority
of the people see no danger IN re-
laxine from the strain of war, thlnk
| ing that their country lost almost
nothing and can afford to rest awhile
[ But Americas losses in material
! wealth during the war were yer!
great, though less tangible than some
| of the losses of European nations
The energies of millions of men and
women normally devoted to the pro-
duction of plows and typewrlters ana
buildings and other commodities that
continue to be Of use for years after
their manufacture-some of them -1oi
/ use in the creation of other useful
soods-were turned during the war
| to the production of shells and en-
sines OF warfare whose only MISSION
was to destroy and be DESTROYED. Inc
diversion of our energies from tne
production of useful. lasting commod j.
/ ;ties to the manufacture of material
| for a tremendous bonfire has brought
about a strange situation IN Wnicf
we find ourselves rich in gold, out
moor in the goods for which solo
is merely an exchange medium
The principal cure is proouc.io
the creation by hard work and non
est effort of the goods that we were
TOO busy to produce while the war
was on. 1t is only through production
and the accumulation of stock oil
marketable commodities mat we Cd II
successfully re-enter the Ieli OF COM
merce and hold our own anna the IN
tensified rivalries of post -war trade
Other Nations 'Wide Awake.
The progress of the nations thai
were at war toward the goal OF nor
NAL production seems to he in M
verse proportion to their facilities Tor
iresuming production. France and
England, which lost more heavily
than America, are wider awake pc
cause their losses were tangible ana
of a sort that even the duliest NINA
can comprehend. And Germany. the
heaviest loser of all. is even more ac-
five in her efforts to get back TO nor
NAL The reason is simple The av-
erase German, the workman ana the
peasant upon whom production pri-
marily depends. realizes that his coun-
try needs his services. the tremen-
dous burdens imposed on Germany by
the peace treaty set task upon the
Germans which at once impressed
their minds and their ina sinations.
They have set themselves TO work.
impatient to pay on their DEBTS as
soon as possible. and their tasks nave
taken their minds off trivial Difficult
ties and discords such as are Keeping
America idle.
"A noted German engineer said a few
weeks ago that the obligation imposed
upon Germany to rebuild the devastated
areas of France and Belgium has pro-
vided an artificial stimulus for German
industry that was sorely needed in times
of general lethargy. Knowing that only
by hard work and serious application
their nation can be economically re-
yiyed, the German workman has ex-
pressed himself as willing to work ten
hours a day and has agreed to give an
extra hour of his time to help wipe out
his country's debts He is giving to his
fatherland what is more valuable than
gold. the productive labor that consti-
tutes the basis of all wealth.