The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1919-03-15
CLASS HITS AT
LOAN "GLOOMS"
Treasury Head Has Supreme
Faith in American
Patriotism.

of the Treasury, places full reliance
for the success of the Victory Liberty
Loan.
Mr.. Glass does not agree with the
"gloomS" who contend that CONNER
cialism is in the hearts of the people
and that a spirit of avarice will re-
tard the loan. Sentiment and the
spirit of sacrifice are, in his opinion
just as closely allied to the present
campaign as they were to its prede-
cessors. He is confident that an ap-
peal to public patriotism will succeed
where a campaign based on strictly
commercial or profit-taking argument
would be ineffective.
In an interview he stated his rea-
sons for holding to the patriotic view,
as follows:
"Some men tell me it will be impos-
sible again to appeal to the patriot.
ism of the American people. Frankly,
l should despair of my country IL
this were exactly true. I wonder II
those who talk in this fashion speak
considerably? They tell about the
sacrifices the American people have
made, and in their voices there is a
metallic tone and in their mien uncon-
scious a~usterity.
"What is meant by the sacrifices
of war for America? Where are our
devastated fields and ruined cities?
Where our cathedrals destroyed and
homes profaned? Where our flooded
fninnc onI ni11o rod e. atoriaco IHhora
our defled women and starved chill
dren and wrecked men? Where On
this wide continent does hunger stalk
abroad or pestilential disease claim
its thousands of victims?
SIS it, then a serious sacrifice to
invest ones money in the interest
bearing obligations Of ones govern
ment in order to make everlastingly
secure the nations freedom as well
as the nations property? Is it a
grave sacrifice to devote ones labor
TO such a cause and in the process to
acquire the habit of thrift and saw
ing, so sadly lacking as a character
istic of the American people?
"Our allies fought for us nearly
three years before we began to fight
with them. For nearly that period of
time the United States profited ire
m~endously, in a commercial and indus
trial sense, by the European war.
Immense fortunes were made; pros
perity pervaded u land. Our domes-
tic trade was almost past computa-
ton our foreign trade in many lines
was epochal.
"France and Britain lost millions
of men killed and millions of others
wounded. Less than sixty thousand
American heroes sleep beneath the
sod of France. These men made the
supreme sacrifice. Should we dis
honor their memories or diminish the
glory of their service by pausing in
the cheerful performance of an i'm
perative duty?
"Do we quite fully appreciate the
sacrifices made by these boys for us
when we talk about discharging our
debt on a commercial basis, in a cold
blooded way? May we not, in this
temper, present a distasteful contrast
with the spirit of that American sol
der who, standing at the brink of
eternity, pulled out and gave over his
last farthing to help the Red Cross
aid other wounded men!
81 want to be sensible in dealing
with the Victory Loan. But, as the
question looks to me-, We should not
approach it in cold blood. We have a
right to invoke the patriotism of the
people. Upon this 1 shall confidently
ely and l predict that the response
will in no measure disappoint the ex-
pectation of those who set a high
estimate upon the fine spirit of the
American nation.
"We call this last the Victory Lib
erty Loan. 1t is that and more! It
is a Thanksgiving Loan. We are not
going to approach it strictly in a
commercial spirit. We are not going
to float it strictly on a commercial
basis. 1t is impossible to do it. A
little thought will teach the wisest
among the financiers of this country
that it is impossible now to float,
purely for investment purposes, a
loan of five or six billions of dollars.
we have got to appeal to the pa
triotism of the American people, and
it will not be done in vain. There
are yet two million American boys in
France and Germany who must be
maintained in comfort and brought
home in safety and provided with en-
ployment on their return. While
congress is writing off the books $751;
900. 100000 of authorizations, for which
public funds would have been expend-
ed had not the war suddenly termin-
ated, the government is still expend-
ing two billion dollars per month to
meet the honorable commitments of
the country.
"The honor of the government is
involved, and l know that the appeal
of the American government to the
American people will meet a response