The Mena weekly star. (Mena, Ark.) 1904-1977, 1921-01-06
Down to Brass Tao ks

From the Kansas City Star.
The national joy ride is over. It
ended with a bump in 1920. Now is the
time to take stock and get in shape
for the steady progress chat can be
made in 1921.
Let's get down to brass tacks. Gov
eminent can't help us except in limited
ways. People who turn to congress
to solve their problems are going to
be disappointed. They will have APP
piled at the wrong shop. The govern
ment ran the railroads and the ship
ping program. Look what it did. No.
government isn't going 20 save any,
body's business except indirectly.
There are two things government
can do. 1t can cut expenses to the
bone. 1t can readjust taxation.
The outgoing administration is ask
ing for billion dollars to run the gov
eminent next year, Ridiculous. Con
gress has got to trim. Every bit of
superfiuous expense must be got rid
of.
In the second place it can redistri-
butte the tax burden. In period of re-
adjustment like the present. the ex-
isting taxation system is Q monkey
wrench thrown into the machinery.
The impossibly high surfaces and the
excess profits tax are absorbing the
country's investment capital or driv-
ing it into exempt securities.
Where is the money to come from to
build houses if the funds that used to
go into mortgages are invested in gov
eminent and municipal and county
bonds
If the business of the country is to
continue these burdensome taxes must
be changed.
For the rest, progress and prosper
ity are up to he-individuals who make
up the nation. Providence has done
its share. 1t has given the United
States incomparably the richest hertz
age in the world. The question is
whether the people have the energy.
industry and intelligence TO make the
most of their natural resources.
We might as well be frank about il.
For the last few years pretty much
every mothers son has been getting
all the traffic would bear. Call it
good business. Cali it profteerine.
Call 1t anything you like
Up to the smash last year the manu- !
facturer and merchant were making |
profits that before the war would have |
been called excessive. The salaried /
man and the wage worker we're doing |
the same thing. They were getting /
high wages and were not returning a /
full days work. Oh, there were ex-
ceptions in all classes, of course. But /
just as the business man was returning /
scant service for the compensation re-
ceived so was the employee soldering /
on the jog. Certainly it took on the 1
average three men TO do the work that :
had been done by two.
That day is over. Every man, en- 4
ployer and employee alike, has got to
get out and hustle If he doesn't he /
will go to the wall In the time of
easy money it didn't take much energy
or industry 70 make { good living. To- +
day energy and industry are essential. /
The business man. manufacturer.
must show a high order of
and initiative if he is to
make his business go. lie must be
Old Man Efficiency in person. He
must watch corners. He must be on
the lookout for new business. He must
give satisfaction in every detail Only
real service will get the money now.
In the same way the employee has
got to get on the job with both feet.
It is doubtful whether under the most
favorable circumstances the present
wage scales can be maintained thru
out industry. The only possible
chance to keep wages up is to in
crease production
Substantial prosperity is to be had.
But it is to be had only at the cost Of
he hardest sort of work and discipline
IN the part of employer and employee
alike. If they combine to make pro-
iuction more efficient, to increase the
output without increasing the expense,
hen things will go forward again. If
hey are Indifferent, the slump will Il
continue
The whole thing is in the hands of
he individual business man and the in
lividual employee. They can make
921 a great year--if they will.