The Washington times., 1921-09-22

One More Explosion.
Lasker Looks Old.
Our Unemployed Are DociIe.
MeddIing With Retailers.
! ARTHUR BRISBANE

rAhInUh ebhiSbANEl
(copyright. 1879.
Explosions in German chem
ical works killed at least
thousand, destroyed parts of
Mannheim and Ludwigshafen
Yesterday. Railroad trains were
buried under wreckage. The
force Of the explosion was felt
iifty miles away.
That seems and is horrible.
A little while ago in war, not
far from that same Rhine, there
were explosions every few
minutes, killing hundreds and
thousands; scarcely any attention
was paid to them. Everybody
had got used to it..
The energy of the Germans
viii clear away and rebuild
swiftly, as you see the ants re-
pairing disaster to their houses
of sand.
Germany can stand many ex-
piosions, for in Germany the
people are really WORKING,
eleven and twelve hours a day,
and employers say there are no
complaints. The workers know
that the choice is hard work
Tor years to come, or national
death.
German factories that blew up
yesterday were often and unsuc-
cessfully bombed by airmen
during the war. Some one
mans carelessness did what all
the courage of flying men could
not do. ..... 49,.
Working for the Government is
not a gay life when you really
work. Lasker, of the Shipping
Board, was visible yesterday, look
ing twenty years older than usual.
Cleaning out the stable by Her
cules was child's play compared to
cleaning up the Shipping Board
accumulation of dishonesty and in
competence.
Unless Lasker has lost the
energy that he once possessed,
some of those gentlemen will go
to Jail. The public is more in
terested in knowing that Lasker
has a definite plan. He realizes,
as does the President, that the
possibility of war makes a COM
mercial navy absolutely necessary,
and is determined that the country
shall have it.
Yesterday afternoon in London
the unemployed, with red flags
flying, flies footing and drums
beating, marched to the House of
Parliament to demand assistance.
We handle them better than that
in America. In New York city
when the unemployed gathered to
hear a few comforting words, and
eat a truckload OF buns some
philanthropist had provided police
men dispersed them.
"Be hungry if you must, but
don't bother me about it," is the
motto of authority over here.
Business men complain that
bankers, advising people not to
buy, started buyers strike" and
injured business unnecessarily.
Bankers would not like it if .mer-
chants started a campaign advising
citizens to withdraw their money
from banks and put it elsewhere,
on the ground that this would
compel the banks 70 offer extra
inducements to depositors.
Merchants naturally object to
bankers or others that disorganize
business by meddling in retail
trade, which they do not under
stand. For all such disruptions
the public must pay in the long
run. E 80.
A man who has money should
spend it reasonably, using his
best judgment at the time of buy
ing. Extreme saving foolishness
would be just as bad for the gen.
eral public as was the the ;ex-
treme reckless spending; foolish
ness of two or three years ago.
Henry, Ford raised wages and
reduced charges on his railroad.
Now he does the third thing
cuts down the size of the cleri-
cal department. The clerks say
they cant possibly do the work,
but they will find that Ford
knows more about that than they
do.
To pay a good price for days
work and then insist on getting
days work is the right way.
The worst waste in the world is
the waste of mems time and in
telligence. That waste has been
getting worse every year in the
United States with idiotic lead