The Elk Mountain pilot., 1919-08-14

|
The world must pay for the appalling
destruction wrought by the great war,
and we are part OF the world. We must
| pay our share. For hve years now the In
dustry of all Europe has been slack and
| disordered. The normal crops have not
been produced: the normal quantity of
manufactured goods has not been turned
| out
| and the usual production of manufactured
| goods on the other side of the Atlantic
can Europe return to the former condl-
tons: and 1t was upon the former condi-
tons. not the present. that our economic
| relations with Europe were built up.
We must face the fact that unless we
help Europe to get back to her normal
| life and production a chaos will ensue
there which will Inevitably be communi-
| Gated to this country. For the present 1t
IL manifest. we must quicken. not slacken
| our own production.
v. 9. Must Hold World Steady.
| We. and we almost alone. now hold the
world steady. Upon our steadfastness and
| seif-possession depend the affairs of ma
tons everywhere. It il in this supreme
crisis-this crisis for all mankind-that
American must prove her mettle.
In the presence of q world confused. dis
| tracted. she must show herself self DOS
sessed. seif-contained. capable Of sober
and effective action. She saved Europe
| by her action In arms: she must now save
II by her action In peace.
In saving Europe she will save herself.
| as she did upon the battlefelds of the
war. The calmness and capacity with
which she deals with and masters the
problems of peace will be the final test
and proof OF her place among the peoples
of the world.
And. II only in our own interest, we
must help the people overseas. Europe 10
our biggest customer. We must keep her
going or thousands of our shops and
80
no such thing as letting her go to ruin
without ourselves sharing In the disaster.
In such circumstances. face to face
with such tests passion must be discard
ed. Passion and a disregard for the
rights of others have place In the
counsels of free people. We need light.
not heat. in these solemn times of self
examination and saving action.
Must Be No Thrsats.
There must be no threats. Let there be
only intelligent counsel. and let the best
reasons win. not the strongest brute
force. The world has just destroyed the
arbitrary force of a military junta- 1t
will live under no other. All that IL ar
bitrary and coercive In in the discard.
Those who seek to employ II only prepare
their own destruction.
We cannot hastily and overnight revo-
lutionixe all the processes of our eco
nomic life. We shall not attempt to do
30. These are days of deep excitement
and of extravagant speech. but with us
these are things Of the surface.
Everyone who In in real touch with the
silent masses of our great people knows
that the old strong fiber and steady self
control are still there. firm against vio-
lence or any distempered action that
would throw their AFFAIRS into confusion.
am serenely confident that they win
readily find themselves. no matter what
the circumstances. and that they will ad-
dress themselves to the tasks OF peace
with the same devotion and the same
staiwart preference for what is right that
they displayed to the admiration Of the
whole world In the midst OF war
Sinister Influences at Work.
And enter another confident hope. I
have spoken today chiefly of measures
of imperative regulation and legal COM
pulsion. of prosecutions and the sharp
correction Of selfish processes: and these
no doubt are necessary.
But there are other forces that we may
count on besides those resident In the
department of justice. We have Just
fully awakened to what has been going
on and to the influences. many Of them
very selfish and sinister. that have been
producing high prices and imposing an
intolerabls burden on the mass of our
people.
To have brought It all into the open
will accomplish the greater part Of the
result we seek.
appeal with entire confidence to
our producers. our middlemen and our
merchants to deal fairly with the poo
Pile 1t Is their opportunity to show
that they comprehend. that they in
tend to act Justly. and that they have
the public interest sincerely at heart
And 1 have no doubt that house.
keepers all over the country, and ev-
eryone who buys the things he daily
stands in need of will presently exer-
else greater vigilance. more
thoughtful economy. more discrimi-
mating care as to the market in which
he buys or the merchant with whom
he traded than he has hitherto exer-
cised.
Labor Must Consider.
believe. too. that the more ex-
IRENE leaders of organized labor will
presently yield to a sober second
thought. and like the great mass of
their associates. think and act like
true Americans. They will see that
strikes undertaken at this critical time
are certain to make matters worse,
not better-worse for them and Tor
everybody else.
The worst thing. the most fatal
thing-that can be done now is to stop
or interrupt production. or to interfere
with the distribution of goods by the
railways and the shipping of the
country.
We are all involved in the dis
tressing results of the high cost of
living and we must unite. not divide.
to correct it.
There are many things that ought
to be corrected in the relations be-
tween capital and labor. in respect
of wages and conditions of labor and
other things even more far-reaching.
| and I. for one. am ready to 60 into
conference about these matter with
any group of my fellow countrymen
| who know what they are talking about
and willing to remedy existing
| conditions by frank counsel rather
| than by violent contest.
General Interest First.
No remedy is possible while men are