The Ocala banner., 1922-05-12
OPTIMISM
Continued From Page Two)

for surplus war materials sold, three h;,.
lions; and they owe the manufacturers and
merchants of this country, for materisls
sold, three billions: and that the ,,aa,l,s
of this country have invested in the honds
Of foreign countries and of municipalit;es
two billions; and that at the beginning of
the war, in 1914, there was four biIliors
of American securities held abroad ana
we have repurchased all of those. So tbis
really leaves net OF two billions-,wo
billions of indebtedness against three hun-
dred billions OF wealth. less than one ner
cent. And indeed. what does il matter
whether TINS nation owes two billions or
forty billions, so long as il owes II IN
itself? When you pay interest it stays
here: and when you pay principal il stavs
here. IL Is here for the man of ambition
and ability TO get his proportion of We
just do not think. We are wont 10 com-
pare conditions with 1919 and 1918 The
last normal year we had was 1914 You
cannot compare conditions today with any
year subsequent 70 that time. You Just
cannot do II. During 1915 1916. 1917
and 1918. millions of men were engaged
in destroying each other and the propertv
Of the world. and this country was en-
gagged in endeavoring TO supply that which
was being destroyed. Naturally. il was
necessary. after the discontinuance of the
war. for work TO go on, so that the
shelves might be filled. And there came
a time when they were filed Yet we are
always endeavoring to compare present
conditions with those artificial conditions
that existed ct that time. and waiting for
the corner to be turned. waiting for pros
perity.
II reminds me somewhat OF a restau-
rantkeeper who might have been engaged
in business in Birmingham at the begin
ming of the war. A soldiers camp is es-
tablished outside the town with some fifty
or sixty thousand soldiers. He sees
wonderful opportunity of establishing
restaurant out there. So he goes out
there. Instead of building shack which
could be demolished at the end of the war.
he builds a magnificent three or four
story brick edifice OF course. during the
war, he does a magnificent business. His
restaurant is filled with people. and his
rooms are filled with people. He makes
marvellous profits. and he pays great in
come taxes to the government The war
ceases and the camp is disbanded But
ne stays there with his wonderful struc-
Jure, waiting for the corner to be turned
and prosperity to come back Now, that
corner will never be turned for him. And
that corner will never be turned for any
man who has not been in business right.
There are one hundred and ten million
people in the United States that have to
be clothed. fed. and housed. The manu-
facturers of this country today are doing
that: There is a proportion of the bus
mess of the world that the manufacturers
of this country are going TO get And
they are getting now double the proper
ti0n they did in 1914. So. where is any
more prosperity coming from. as a whole
in this country. than we are now having?
am going to say something now that 1
do not like to say Unless restrictive
legislation, lots of il, that exists in this
country today is repealed in my judgment
we are having more foreign business now
than we are going to have in ten years
from now, when those other countries be-
come rehabilitated. l do not like to say
that, but you want me to say what /
think, / suppose. That is what 1 am
doing.
We have not only made progress finan-
clally as no other nation has. but we have
made more improvement in the arts the
sciences. and inventions than the rest OF
the world combined We can now sail
over the seas in such palaces as our fore
fathers never dreant of as being on the
land even. when they first founded this
country And we cen sail under the seas
and fly in the air, and talk around the
earth. And by reason of the telephone
the telegraph and wireless and our trans.
portation systems on sea and on land
man can actually transact more business
in one day than Methuseleh could in the
thousand years that he e&lived. We are
spending more money for education and for
religious purposes than all the rest of the
world combined We are spending more
money for charitable and eleemosynary
institutions. for the deaf, the dumb. the
blind the insane. the poor and the old
than the rest of the world combined. And
we have effectually demonstrated TO the
rest OF the world. contrary to what they
have heretofore thought that are not
nation of money grabbers. We are wont
TO sing the praises of the patriots of 70,
who fought, bled. and died to make this
country free but we foget that a few
years ago, in seventeen months, we APP
propriated the staggering sum OF fifty
eight billions of dollars. and during that
time spent the stupendous sum of thirty
eight billions of dollars, twelve billions OF
dollars more than the cost of operating
this government from its birth until 1914,
and shed our blood and gave our lives Tor
the purpose of extending to the people of
the earth those liberties. those rights,
those privileges that our forefathers, in
10 fought. bled. and died for. thus evil
dencing spirit of patriotism and clvlllza-
tion that our wonderful forefathers even
never dreamt of. We really do not ap-
preciate ourselves. The rest of the world
does not understand us. We do not un-
derstand ourselves And for all OF these
reasons that I have named. and many
others I am optimistic ! am going 10
continue to be optimistic. Whatever is
right is going to be. Whatever is wrong
is going TO be rectified. have full CON
fidence in the sober, common sense OF the
American people, Water will run DOWN
hill: the longest pole will get the persini-
mon; the big fish eat the little fish; the
fool cannot compete with the smart man
it is a question of the survival OF tne
fittest 1t was thus in Biblical days. Is
now. and ever win be. Those are 1ou
made laws and man-made laws cannot
overcome them.
Witness the size of the combinations of