Vernon Parish Democrat. (Leesville, La.) 1917-193?, 1919-08-23

the period OF the war ana becomes IN
operative upon the formal proclamation
OF peace. But / should judge that It was
clearly within the constitutional power OF
the congress to make similar permanent
provisions and regulations with regard to
all goods destined for interstate COM
merce and to exclude them from Inter-
state shipment II the requirements of the
law are not complied with.
Some such regulation is imperauVely
necessary.
It would materially add to the serv-
iceability Of the law, for the purpose we
now have in view IL II were also pre-
scribed that all goods released from stor-
age for interstate shipment should have
plainly marked upon each package the
selling or market price at which they
went into storage. BY this means the
purchaser would always be able to learn
what profits stood between him and the
producer or the wholesale dealer.
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 five 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
Not until there are the usual crops
and the usual production of manufactured
goods on the other side of the Atlantic
tons; and it 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, it
is manifest we must quicken, not slacken.
| our own production
v. Must Hold World Steady.
| We ant st alone, now hold the
world steady. Upon our steadfastness and
| self-possession depend the affairs of ma
| tions everywhere. 1t is in this supreme
crisis-this crisis for all mankind-that
American must prove her mettle.
In the presence of a world confused, dis
| tracted she must show herself self-pos-
| sessed, self-contained, capable of sober
and effective action. She saved Europe
| by her action in arms; she must now save
| 1t by her action in peace.
In saving Europe she will save herself,
/ as she did upon the battlefields 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. if only in our own interest we
must help the people overseas Europe Is
| our biggest customer. We must keep her
| going or thousands of our shops and
|
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 no place in the
counsels of free people. We need light
not heat, in these solemn times of self
examination and saving action.
Everyone who is 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.
I am serenely confident that they will
readily find themselves, no matter what
the circumstances, and that they will adj
dress themselves to the tasks of peace
with the same devotion and the same
stalwart 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. !
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
intolerable burden on the mass of our
people.
To have brought it all into the oper
win accomplish the greater part Of the
result we seek
appeal with entire confidence tC
our producers. our middlemen and oul
merchants to deal fairly with the peo'
pie. 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.
Labor Must Consider.
1 believe, too that the more ex
IRENE leaders of organized labor viii
presently yield to a sober secont
thought, and like the great mass o.
, their associates think and act like
true Americans. They will see tina
strikes undertaken at this critical tim'
are certain to make matters worse
I not better-worse for them and TO
} everybody else.
, The worst thing, the most fata
> thing-that can be done now is to stol
i or interrupt production or to interfer
; with the distribution of goods by tn
l railways and the shipping OF tn
country.
There are many things that ough
! to be corrected in the relations be
:, tween capital and labor in respec
= Of wages and conditions of labor an
Z other things even more far-reaching
j and I, for one. am ready to go int
5 conference about these matter wit
. | any group of my Fellow countrymel
3 who know what they are talking abou
: and are willing to remedy existing
y conditions by frank counsel rathe
: than by violent contest
9 General Interest First.
NO remedy is possible while men ar
d in a temper. and there can be no set
Element which does not have as 1t
motive and standard the general in
terest.
Must All Work Together.
: Threats and undue insistence upo
. the interest OF q single class. make set