The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-04-08
OUR RECENT NIGHTMARE.

Under the caption, Back to Earth"
a bulletin issued by the Corn Ex-
change bank of Philadelphia in a Sc
verely critical but measurably truth
full manner reviews our economic his
tory of the past five years, with es-
peeial reference to the governments
activities in everyday business. The
article follows:
we have been up in the air in our
social, commercial and governmental
life. We are back to earth now in all
three. War fever, and pleasure fever
and "everybody-a- boss and nobody-n-
worker" fever have run their course,
and We are back to sanity.
Law could do everything that labor
once did-that is the doctrine the new
school OF AMERICANS preached and
practiced. When you worked eight
hours. the new-idea law said You had
worked ten, and decreed full pay for
ten hours work. When you promised
to give service for a fixed sum, at a
fixed price, law said you could give
one-euarter the service and, repudiat-
ing your contract, charge double wage
for one-quarter service When you
contracted to buy goods the law of
public sentiment, and the action of
governmental authorities. decided you
might repudiate an improbable con-
tract and enforce a profitable con-
tract; in a land of self-control, estab-
lished to escape the grinding and
deadening state control of old world
monarchies, the law, backed tempo
rarily by a loud-mouthed public senti-
ment, said that all actions, of all in
dividuals, in all relations of life.
should be subject to drastic control
that every individual, every corpora
ton, every business enterprise, must
be regarded criminal until it had
proved itself honest.
A nation which had prospered, as
no other nation in history, under a
system of indirect taxation, per-
sonal initiative and personal liberty,
changed over night to a nation in
which direct taxation, state control,
individual coercion, was the drastic
rule. From nation of workers we
or ''wishers.' And the slogan of au
thority was every man is as good as
his neighbor, if not better" From a
nation which had grown strong thru
minding it's own business we changed
to nation of blow-hard busybodies
anxious to boss" the whole creation,
and show everybody how to do what
we had failed, in part. to do ourselves
make the world safe for democracy.
About rs per cent of the people
stopped productive work to accept
posts under government that they
to live without work by drawing pay
out of bond issues, and a new currency
system which was to be all paying out
and no taking in.
Thank God, it's all over. and we can
see things as they are. Come back to
the old American point of view-that
labor is honor. that it pays to play the
game honestly, that there is no big
hole in the sky out of which to draw
money to buy everything, for every
body. everywhere.
During the war, and shortly after,
census taken on trains showed 10 per
cent of the passengers were travelling
on government business at the expense
of the taxpayers. Washington became
synonymous of the happy hunting
ground for all who had deep-rooted
aversion for work, and an empty
pocket. In one case, 81 committees,
each with staffs of highly paid en-
ployes and alleged experts. were fol-
lowing one line of investigation-and
so on all down the line
Commissions roamed here, commits
sions roamed there; investigations dug
here, there, everywhere. until new
commissions had to be appointed to
keep track of the original investi-
| gators and a new system of account
| ing supervision designed te insure
prompt payment of salaries and
claims. the satisfaction of ambitions
and longings of multitude that had
come at last into the promised land of
| governmental pap" and perquiSites.
From government of 90 per cent
| overhead paid in cash and 10 per cent
operating expense paid in longtime
notes we are back to the old govern
ment of the people. by the people. for
the people, and in a short time
brighter days will come to all the
people of this srand old republic. =