Imperial Valley press., 1919-02-11
THE UNITED STATES A GOING CONCERN.
(WGshingtOn POst)

CWGshingtOD POsD
There is a passing uneasiness in the public
mind in the United States which is manifesting
itself in various ways The war has shaken in
dividuals out Of their former easy habits OF
thinkng-or not thinking-and the acquisition
of knowledge is proving acutely painful to many
kinds of brains. Some of them are unequal tC
the strain of absorbing truth. They are turn
ing sour pessimistic or bolshevist, according tC
the temperament of the individual. One type OF
mind that seems to be increasing in numbers is
that which would throw away all the good thai
has been acquired through century of effort
to embrace notions that cannot stand ten min
utes of quiet analysis This kind of hair-trggel
American is reveling now in the chaotic state
of affairs, hoping to see a complete Overturn IL
which he will stand chance of grabbing some
advantage which he cannot hope to acquire il
honest competition with his fellows.
The fault however, does not lie with the
shallow -pated or the merely unripe intellects
Some of the strongest business men of the coun
Try are behaving as though their brains had de
serted them. Instead of concentrating upon the
new problems that are presented and quietly
cOnferrlng upon ways and means to cooperate
on sensible course of action, they are pill
ing fuel upon the BOlshevik bonfires by ill-cOn
sidered speech and unwise cast Others have
drawn into their shells, refusing to loosen theil
DocketboOks for the sake of keeping the wheels
turning. They excuse this turtle-ike maneuvel
by asserting that mo one knows what is com
'ng, and I'VE must wait to see what the peace
conference will do" or similar nonsense.
Of course, no one knows what is coming. But
is it not presumable that the richest, strongest
most solvent, most active and most independent
ly-placed nation in the world will continue or
the map? Surely that is not violent assump
ton, although, strictly speaking, it is no more
capable OF demonstration than any other future
proposition. 1t is sufficient, however, for the
ordinary American if he will but stop to- think
that ne and his fate are bound up in the fate OF
the country. If the United States is to go down
the average American would Just as soon &C
down with it; and if the United States is to &C
forward, the average citizen is satisfied to &c
along, rather than seek his fortune in other
countries.
r The banks are bulging with money. The
people OF this country are rich. Their govern.
ment borrowed billions, but it borrowed from
the people who have recovered most of theil
money in business and at the same time holt
the bonds, which are drawing interest. Tht
bankers of the country are cautious-a gOot
trait in bankers, if it does not degenerate int
mere sheepish timidty. Would it not be wei
for the bankers to examine themselves and tn,
country and ask whether they are not bit to-
cautious for the best interest Of all concerned
Does the United States depend upon the peac
conference after all? Is it not rather fac
that the United States has been held back to-
long in it's normal domestic development unit
it is too cralnped? The 10O,00OO00 individual
in this country want more railroads, more build
ings, more homes, more schools more churches
more suburbs. more FARMS more gardens, NOR
Iof everything that brings comfort. VIII,
shouldn't the people have what they want whel
they have the money to buy it?
With all due respect to the strength of thu
late German empire, it seems to us that man.
Americans are conceding too much to the prov
ess of the enemy when they are afraid to &C
forward in business because of unsettled condi
tions." Are they afraid that Germany will come
back and start another war? Not chance! Nol
will anybody else start war that need bother
the United States. This mighty, eager natiol
is suffering now from nothing more than falst
state of mind on the part of it's own people. The.
have been shaken and are uneasy. Let then
think twice and they will perceive that the ole
United States is intact, bigger and richer thai
ever, with greater prestige abroad than ever be
fore The victory of liberty did not hurt thu
United Statcs, however terribly is wounded Ger
many. The free nations will give us a bette
market than Germany ever dreamed of giving
All that Americans need to do now, if they wisl
prosperity, is to cut out foreign notions of gov
ernment, throw away their worry over the peac
conference and the settlement of foreign ques
tons, roll up their sleeves and get busy.
A