The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1921-05-12
OUR COUNTRY's WELFARE

Civilization is not best measured
by gold and boughten luxury. There
was much gold and luxury in Baby
Ion the night of the feast of Belshaz-
Ear when the hand of God wrote upon
the wall you have been weighed in
the balance and found wanting" and
that very night the Persians took the
city.
1t is not best measured by the pro-
portion of owned homes even. A rail
road man owned his home. He work
ed long years to pay for it, but after
he learned that men and women and
little children were suffering with
hunger in Armenia, he sold his home
with the consent of his wife and gave
the money TO feed the starving. 1
suppose they now live in rented
dwelling and that the love light shines
more beautiful in that rented home
than in many a gilded palace.
But though the proportion of front
rank Christian Soldiers and soldiers
ready to die for their country may be
the best measure of civilization the
proportion of owned homes may be
the next best. 1 heard sixty-fve
homes were sold by the sheriff in one
county in one day. If half that many
were destroyed by an invading army
America would be set on fire.
The war was largely won by money
loaned by working men. A poor man
cannot support his family on the in
terest of thousand dollar bond. If
he is out of work a few months the
bond may be used up. A man with
million in bonds may support his fam
lily in luxury on the interest and save
thousands TO buy bonds of poor men
out of work at ninety cents on the
dollar.
The reimbursement so placidly
spoken of seems largely a passing of
savings of the poor into the hands of
the rich and of prosperous business
concerns, buying other concerns
cheap, whose credit is exhausted.
There are three ways to greatly
increase demand for labor. First, for
the rich and we'll to do to greatly IN
crease their purchases of luxuries;
second. for the rich and we'll to do to
greatly increase their gifts for public
works; Third, for Congress to revise
the inheritance tax law upward so
there would be enough money in the
United States Treasury to give every
idle man job.
The well-to-do might build over a
billion dollars worth more of fine
residences a year when their present
homes are as good or better than the
aveage of their neighbors, but how
much better for them to give money
for community houses and good roads
leading to country churches so more
Deople in bad weather could go and
hear the golden rule preached and
sung. and thus promote community
spirit and national and international
well being. Whether a billion dol
lars were spent for new houses people
did not need or for good roads, 1t
would furnish a vast amount of en-
plovment. The millionaire class might
build over a billion dollars worth more
of palaces a year and thus greatly IN
crease demand for labor, but how
much better for them to give the same
amount for good roads and commun-
itv houses where tired people could
walk right in off the street and SIT
down in rocking chairs and listens to
songs of sacrifice. purity and heaven
and love that lasted until the golden
wedding day, where they could look
at beautiful pictures, not like the pic
tures of some actresses, but pictures
of Girls with spiritual faces with as
,,,ucb clothes on as a man would want
his mother to wear if she had her pic
tire taken. There might be several
stories to such buildings with ROOF
and upper story for children to. play
Npcb over two billions more mlgh'
be raised for public work if Congress
conId be fired with patriotism and the
HI Shirt and be all of one accord
FL the Disciples were on the day OF
por+acost. so they would revise the
inberibance tax law upward tna' i
would Weld a graduated tax Oh IRON