The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1919-06-20
II is our duty IN any

lectual conception Of the task to see
to 1t that the gains to the moral rs
well as the material well-being of the
nation shall square with the sacrifice.
A little reflection will convince one
that this aspect Of reconstruction IL
the fundamental aspect and that upon
1t must be predicated all successful
plans in this direction.
"a year ago we were a great, lazy
democracy. Lincoln said, "A fat hound
won't hunt That sentence illumined
our national disease. The transfer
nation from that condition Is already
under way. Soon the spirit of the ma
ton will be a burning flame. There
will be sloughed off the scales fostered
by love of luxury and the loose and
boastful thinking that have been our
curse In the last generation. out of
the turmoil and the sacrifice will come
discipline and orderly living and think
ing; and, therefore, with sequential
and Irresistible logic will come de-
mands for new conditions of living
commensurate to the new ideals. Again
| repeat. here is the fundamental re-
construction to which the American
government should address itself. and
only herein can be found the policy
which shall be the groundwork of any
enlightened organization for recon-
structlon.
History records but few fruitful
governmental agencies that did MOI;
have n firm and penetrating quality
Mt the base. Raising the framework
for the task Is meraly a. matter of. me
chanlcs in organization. In
The meantime the council and advisory
commission should accumulate all OF
the literature hearing upon this Ques-
ton and form it into working H.
brary.
ut may be that as the war nears its
ends and Ms the issue between au-
tocracy and democracy becomes ever
sharper and more terrible, the civilized
world will demand that Immediately
Mt the wars close all reconstruction
Of the worlds affairs be based upon
the dictum Of Lincoln that no man Is
good enough to govern any other man
without that other mans consent. to
the end of approaching the proper
readiustment of national. interna-
tlonal, and racial relationships. ] offer
this though, not for the purpose Of
injecting idealism In discussion
where undue accent Of 1t does not be-
long, but to emphasize anew that none
OF us can see the end of the road
and that therefore all plans for re-
construction should be builded so as
to permit of fexibilty Of action and
even of minor policy at any given
time. The main thing now is to come
to concrete thinking and study Of the
entire problem"
Director Clarkson Immediately be-
gan the organization of a staff of ex-
perts. including o. NJ. w. Sprague
professor Of finance and banking al
Harvard. and Herbert n. Shenton OF
Columbia. Out Of this staff work grew
the reconstruction research division
which was organized on February 3
1919, with Mr.. Shenton as It's chief
Burden One for Business.
THE reconstruction research divi,
Slon,' said Charles II. Chase, mem
Der, 'has come to feel more and more
as the reconstruction has progressed
that its Information service should be
made available to the leaders Of pri'
vate enterprise, just rs 1t Is made re
sponslve to the needs of governmental
agencies The problems and respon
slbllitles of reconstruction tend, rs
time goes on, to fall more and more
heavily upon the shoulders of bust
ness and relatively less upon govern
mental machinery. OF the two grand
divisions of reconstruction, demobillza-
ton and reorganization. the former be-
longs chiefly TO the government and
the latter devolves mainly upon pri-
vate enterprise. The former tends
steadily toward It's conclusion; the
latter broadens into the foundation
Of an indefinitely expanding future
And though the government has, nn,
win continue to have important re
sponsbilitles In connection with lh'
economic reorganization Of the nation
III must be acknowledged that thos'
-----. .-----.---.-.. -- --.- -..- ...