The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-11-29

ever it developed" Now he has in
duced his directors to sanction i'm
provements and extensions covering
this year and the next, totaling $685.
100000.
That is what he thinks of what lies
ahead.
! To illustrate his reasons for going
at full steam with his developments
of the American Telephone and Telc-
graph Company, the great financier
tells a homely tale which will bear
repeating.
"For four years this country has
been told to economic, to cut down
on expenses, to retrench and stint it.
self. TO the credit of the people here
be it said that they did. Uncle Silas's
barn needed painting, but Uncle Silas
didn't paint it. Why? Because Aunt
Maria told him the Government need
ed the ingredients of the paint pot to
help win the war; The wire fencing
around the cabbage patch was coming
down and needed repairing, but again
Aunt Maria laid down the law and
said it couldn't be done, as Uncle Sam
needed the wire to protect Nephew
Willy from the advance of the Hun.
The fences remained hanging and
broken, and Willy was kept safe from
the Germans. The same was true of
the attitude in the industrial plants.
"Uncle Silas' barn still needs paint
ing; but now he says he won't paint
it because the rates of the village
painter are too high In the last
three years the painter has been
working for the Government and get
ting high prices for his service.
Uncle Silas thinks he is very canny |
and willy in waiting until the painter
sees that he will have to come down |
from his high horse and paint his
barn at the old pre-war price. Mean
while, the wind and the rain are eat
ing away the timber of the struc-
ture, and before very long not only
will Uncle Silas have to paint barn |
but put up a new one as well. Not /
only will he pay the price asked by
the painter, but he viii pay the price
demanded for the timber. And that !
too, is not the same that he was wont
to pay before we began making |
planlls that led the way to Germany
1.-The point l am driving at is this
Just now the country is in great neeo |
of repairs. 1t has got to spruce up |
Otherwise, things will go to pieces
Uncle Silas, if he is wise, will paint
his barn now and save the money |
of putting up new one later. l |
the same manner the factory owner |
will paint his shops and overhaul his |
machines now, to save the rooney or |
new material later
Poor Richard himself corld rot
have presented the picture lore sim
ply or more admirably.
The vision and the common sense
and the practically of Theodore N
Vail are contagious. Prosperity it
self is contagious
Men Of vision see beyond this in
dustrial unrest. "The call to Ameri.
ca in the summer of 1917 was to bt
patriotic and retrench to carry or
the war. The call today is to be pa
trotic and spruce up and carry on
the peace that has come with vic
tory"
While the illustration used is
Uncle Silas' barn, the story is true Of
every industrial and utility plant in
this country.
There isn't room in this country
for chronic croakers, declares Mr..
Vail America was not built up by
timidity, but by courage and energy
and vision. We are infinitely strong
or today than in the days of our fore
fathers. We are stronger even than
VIC were when the World War be-
gan. Europe looks to us for leader
ship and encouragement in restoring
industry and equilibrium. "Let US set
Europe an example of faith and in
dustly and enterprise by immediate
ly starting full steam ahead. We
can thus combine patriotism with
profit, for it will prove sound bust
ness craftsmanship to act aggressive
ly now"