Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-05-25

'
hind them must be exceedingly dis.
appointing to those persons who worked
and fought for an ideal during wal
time.
The President. said that I'VE never
were and never will be able to main.
tain isolation" and then proceeded K
say that insomuch as we were forcet
into the welter OF world affairs, thai
we should assume leadership thai
shall be nothing more than strictly
one. Moral values are for.
gotten. The New York World rightly
calls this a .pawnbroker's leadership
Said Mr.. Harding in part:
ut has been too often assumed
that our recent involvement In the
troubles of Europe marked new
development in our affairs, in fact,
il was an old story. We never were
and never will be able to maintain
isolation But our part and our
Ulttt III 'h'
strikingly changed. Our rise In
power and influence has imposed
new responsibilities. Today our
strength in the industrial, financial
and commercial world, our capacity
to produce. our ability to extend
credits which others cannot give
and which brave but unfortunate
peoples sorely need--all these make
it necessary that we shall adopt new
commercial methods, whereby to
insure the fullest possible service
to civilization. / bespeak the help
of every organ of intelligent, under
standing business. to enable the
nation to meet these demands.
1T has been said many times.
but II cannot be too often repeated
and emphasized. that in doing this
we will be alike discharging duty
to others and seizing an opportunity
for our own advancement. There
have seldom been more convincing
proofs than we see all around us
now of the essential interdepend-
ence of all parts Of the world. He
who displays the broadest spirit of
brotherhood. helpfulness and true
charity win most surely be cast
ing his bread upon the waters"
Thus are we committed to nothins
more than a frankly commercial leader
ship. There is such thing as a leader
combining those two most essential
qualities of life: high morality and
business enterprise. Mr.. Harding
frankly turns his back upon the for
ner. That is too idealistic, according 10
1is way OF thinking. We are leading
he world for only one reason--because
is good business" because there's
Millions IN it,
During the present administration we
shall not attempt to lead in any field
ave the business one. Great ques-
lions of international law and of moral
values to all countries viii be decided
rom the counting room, and not from
he study of the statesman. IL it's good
business" then we are for 1t. II il
doesn't aid business. then we shall have
none of II.
During the war America arose to the
heights of idealism and unselfishness
After the arnistice signing the country
slipped into the slough OF selfshness
ind rapaciy. To a certain degree Mr..
Harding voices the views of the day,
which is dog eat dog Even his "am-
extraordinary" TO the Court
# St. James turns his back on the
dealistic point of view, and says frankly
hat we entered the war only to save
,ur own hides. Not to protect civili-
alton, not to war against war, not to
lid the oppressed of all countries. We
uttered the war in a frankly CONNER
.ial spirit, and now we shall fatten off
Is spoils. while awaiting the next
,re.
President Harding and Ambassador
Harvey may so voice their material
site sentiments. We realize that they
peak for portion of the citizenry.
BUT there is a great mass OF citizens
which is not so brutally commercial,
he members of which believe that there
hould be some other element in life
,esides the purely financial one. No ma
ion can long endure when its higher
deal calls for nothing more than belly
apotheosizing OF the
,olden flesh pots of the modern Egypt.