The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1919-05-10
VITAL IMPORTANCE OF VICTORY LOAN

rrHE Victory Liberty Loan II 'Hc Hio9. '''
portant of all the loans which have beer
offered to the citizens of the United States
bv the government. 1t is vital that this loan
be fully subscribed and oversubscrlbed be-
cause it is most essential that the national hon
or and the national credit be preserved ana ltS
obligations met promptly
The money which is provided by TINS loan
is used to pay the price of peace" not the cost
of war. 1t will be used to pay for the demobll'
ization in the cantonments and training camps
of 1000 900 men who were transported
equipped, maintained and trained, who never
had a chance to get into actual fighting. II
will pay for possibly S2,000,000,OOO Of wal
material and war equipment which never lei
this country, but which together with the mer
who were being prepared for war, were lnllu
entail factors in the termination OF hostllltles
These men and these materials were as
sembled at top speed, were assembled with al
most ostentatious extravaganza, and the very
speed and the cost which attended mobllf
zation of men and the assembling of supplies
were in themselves influential factors in al
early termination Of the war.
II is beyond question that the very enor
mousness of these preparations, the evident as
regard of cost. the enthusiasm Of the response
to the call for men, were the moving factors
which, when reported to the German general
staff by their wonderful secret service, broke
the morale of the Germans and lmpelled an
early suing for peace because they feared q
recognition of the fact that it was useless to go
farther that continuance of the war would re-
suit in the annihilation of the German nation
and that as a consequence there was nothing
remaining but to ask for peace terms while
there vet remained any nation to do the ask
ing
The greatest military authorities in the
world did not, in their most optimistic mo-
ments, anticipate the end of the war before the
middle of the summer of 1919 whereas, II
closed actually nine months before its looked
for end. This war was costing America $4,000
OOO,O 900 monthly. That was simple calcula-
ton to show that the unanticipated early close
has saved to America countless thousands of
lives and not less than $4,000, 100000 to $16,-
600, ,OOO,OO in money.
In the foregoing lies the answer to the
many accusations of wastefulneSs and eXtraVa-
gance in war preparations. 1t is truly said that
judicious extravaganza is better than Wastetul
economy, and judicous extravaganza IN this
case has been abundantly proved to have been
the admirable course.
No matter what may be the Individual SEN
timent, critical or otherwise, toward the ma
tional administration, we must not lose sight
Of the fact that this nation and this govern
ment are properly comparable to corpora
ton, the corporation of America, in which
every citizen is a stockholder.
Just as private corporation, the stock
holders of the corporation of America dele
gate to a president and other executive Off
GERS, to a board of directors and to executive
committees a certain definite responsibility
and the requisite authority to meet its respon-
sibiitieS
SO just as in a private corporation, when
this authority has been so delegated 1t follows
that the stockholders of the corporation must
accept full financial and moral responsibility
for the acts of their agents and must llquldate
the obligations which these agents have in
Cured 1t is beyond question that the acts OF
America were done in the utmost good faith.
There may have been mistakes, there may have
been waste, there may have been extravaganza,
there may have been graft, but it must be re-
membered that the nation went into the mar
ket for war materials at time when prices
were at the top, that it was a question of get
ting supplies, rather than hagglng over cost.
There was but one ultimate objective, to bring
the peace under which we might live in safety
and prosperity, and it is to pay the price of that
peace that made the Victory Loan necessary.
There is just the same patriotism necessary
at this time to pay the price of peace for the
nations as there was during the continuance of
actual hostilties when the safety of the nation
was in the balance.
We must meet our obligations as stock
holders. We must pay the debt of our cor
poration. We must bring home our gallant
soldiers we must pay the price of peace.