Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1919-10-23
TEE NATIONAL CAPITAL
By j. E. Jones
HIGH IDEALS AND Low MORALE

Washington, D. c.. October 49,
While the main body of the Senate
has been trying to adjust the coun-
try, and itself, to new human ideals
along the lines of constitutional gov
eminent for the woodland having
mighty hard time Of it; a lesser
group Of Senators has been hobnobing
with the bourgeoisies about Pittsburg
in an attempt to determine the true
causes of the steel strike, in order to
make report thereon to the august
Senate.
There are 531 members of the two
houses of Congress, and every mo-
theirs son of them has some kind of
an idea as to how the new human
ideals should be dovetailed into the
cog wheels of life.
There are likewise the leaders of
capital and labor, and the represen-
tatives of the public, scrambled in an
Industrial Conference at Washington
and even though they are pretty
well removed from the atmosphere of
Pittsburg, they have at least fifty
seven varieties of versions about the
industrial unrest,-and the industrial
and capatalistic chiefs are like the
politicians, since they are Architects
All, with blueprints and drawings
that show conclusively just how the
edifice for new humanity is to be con-
structed. Unfortunately, however,
the ensembled proposals Of these
most illustrious thinkers resemble
conglomerate intellectual chaos that
would be the envy of that miraculous
mixer known as General Jazz.
Why dosen't someone analyze the
Seven Ages of Man again? Can we
afford to forget the obedient infant
that is mewling and obeying the
nurse; the whining school boy recog
nizing the authority of the teacher;
the lover supplicating at the feet of
Annabel or Hortense; the soldier,
marking attention and doing kitchen
police at the command of his officers;
the justice, obeying the authorities
and following their DEGREES; the aged
man, in the autunln-time of life en-
joying the slippered pantaloons that
he wears while years blend his ex-
istence into second childishness and
mere oblivion, during which period
sons, daughters and grandchildren
boss the old man about? Always, it
seems, man received and obeyed or
ders. But now, in the whole big af-
fair managed by General Jazz, we
have worlds of wisdom concerning the
new human ideals, and the rights of
mantle laboring man in particular
whose ancestors have been bossed
since the days of Adam; who expects
to be bossed himself, everywhere, ex-
cept when he comes to work in the
establishment controlled by capital.
Capital shall not hold his destiny in
charge, he declares-and the new
isms of new ideals teach that capital
is nothing more than an incubus; and
therefore it should be removed from
the vision of these new ideals.
In fact the bright minds of Cong
ress, the Industrial Conference, and
the scattered domes of wise men and
women throughout America are try
ing to put patches on the leaky tubes
AMI the punctured tires of the whole
population; and since labor and cap
ital are the biggest factors in the
compilation, all the specialists have
turned their attention in that partic-
ular direction.
As simple matter of fact whole
new tires are needed for the industrial
omnibuses-just as in wartime. For
America can attain it's ideals and pro-
tect the rights of humanity all right,
if only labor and capital can be brot
back to the normal trend of their
ways, fully determined that the bat
ties of peace can be won as SPLEEN
didly as were those of war.
Those who live in Washington
know that it is a wonderful place,
but it is doubtful if the remedy for
industrial conditions will be found
there, since the kickers and the ca
lamity howlers exist in every COM
munity. And what they need is less
management from the seat of gov
eminent, and more of the kindly
doses of Doctor Morale, whose fav-
orite prescription reads: Get busy
and produce something besides a
growl."