The Cordova daily times., 1919-02-25
UNITED STATES-A GOING CON-
 CERN.

There is passing uneasiness in the public mind in the United States which is manifesting itself in various ways. The war has shaken individu- als out of their former easy habits of thinking-or not thinking-and the acquisition of knowledge is proving acutely painful to many kinds of brains. Some of them are unequal to the strain of absorbing truth. They are turning sour, pessimistic or bol- shevist, according to the temperament of the individual. One type; of mind that seems to be increasing in num- bers is that which would throw away; all the good that cannot stand ten minutes of quiet analysis. This kind of hair-trigger American is reveling now in the chaotic state of affairs, hoping to see a complete. overturn in which he will stand chance of grab bing some advantage which he cannot hope to acquire in honest one competition, with his fellows. ..g...... .,,r, The e,, fault however, does not. lie with the sha11ow-pated or the merely unripe intellects. Some of the strong ? est business men in the country are behaving as though their brains had < deserted them. Instead of concentra- < tion upon the new problems that are presented and quietly conferring upon ways and means to cooperate on a Z sensible course of action, they sare < throwing fuel upon the bolsheyik bon fires by ilkconsidered speech and unwise acts. Others have drawn into their shells, refusing to loosen their minds of their pocketbooks for the sake of keeping the wheels turning They excuse this turtle-like maneuver by asserting that mo one knows what is coming" and Eve must wait to see what the peace conference will do," CT similar nonsense. <s
 Of course, no one knows what is coming But it is not presumable that the richest, strongest, most solvent, most active and most independently placed nation in the world will con- tinue on the map? Surely that is not violent assumption, although, strict ly speaking, it is no more capable of demonstration than any other future proposition. It is sufficient, however, for the ordinary American if he will but stop to think that he and his fate are bound up in the fate of the coun- try. If the United States is to go down, the average American would just as soon go down with it; if the United States is to go forward, the average citizen is satisfied to go along, rather than seek his future in other countries.
 \ The banks are bulging with money. The people of this country are rich. Their government borrowed billions, but it borrowed from the people who have recovered most of the money in business and at the same time hold the bonds, which are drawing interest. The bankers of the country are eau tious-a good trait in bankers, if 1t does not degenerate into mere sheep ish timidity. Would it not be we'll for the bankers to examine them selves and the country and ask whether they are not bit too eau tious for the best interest of all con cerned? Does the United States de- pend upon the peace conference after all? Is it not rather fact that the United States has been held back too long in it's normal domestic develop ment until it is too cramped? The 100,0O0,OOO indi1iduals of this country want more railroads, more buildings, more homes, more schools, more churches, more suburbs, more farms, more gardens, more of everything that brings comfort. Why shouldn't the people have what they want when they have the money to buy it7 M
 With all due respect, to the strength of the late German empire, 1t seems to us that many Americans are con- ceding too much to the prowess of the enemy when they are afraid to go