Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1922-01-05
Would Put Corporation Exactness and
Progressiyeness Into Work of
Politics.
A Commonwealth Entitled to Same
Businesslike Leadership AS Pri-
vate Firms.
By Governor Davis of Ohio.


ness~of government in its final analv-
sis. Is your government-and that
means your business, for you are a
partner in the American government
IN fact as well as theory, to be con
Quoted on lines other than good busi-
ness lines? If it be so-why? Good
business means the successful con-
ducting of commercial pursuit in a
general sense but it-also means the
successful pursuit of any activity of a
creative sort, a productive sort or cen
structIve sort. Surely government.
municipal, state, or federal must be
creative, constructive, productive and
commercially sound ie that govern
ment is to succeed.
In the face of this obvious reason
ing there are thousands of citizens in
the United States today who declare
the fallacy, business and politics
do not mix" the foundation Of their
own lack Of interest, lack Of active
citizenship exercising the right of
suffrage lack of belief in the
very institutions that make of them
citizens.
The attempt to put business and
politics, in their relationship toward
one another, in somewhat the same
as oil and water. is both
unfortunate and unwarranted.
# the theory behind it was that
the business man cannot and should
not actively interest himself in polit-
lcal affairs, it was wrong in premise
and principle, for as the citizens par
5icipation increases in political life,
there results better politics and bet
government.
For, in the last analysis, politics of
course is but the science of govern
ment.
.f'ihelt again, il The supposed una11x-
able status Of business and politics re-
lated to practical application to the
affairs of government, of the methods
that are fundamental to modern busi-
ness practice, the declaration was
even more inapt and untrue.
Politics and business do nix-and
Of all times, the need for a generous
adr1ixture Of business into our affairs
Of government has probably never
been more striking and urgent than
struggling as we are under the
drastic reaction Of the war and the
financial burden with
which it has left US.
Business Makes Ready
Business many months ago sensed
The beginning of the reaction from the
artificial war time boom, and quietly,
1nostentatiously prepared itself to
meet the depression it saw coming,
and to begin adjustment to the chang
ing conditions Retrenchment became
the watchword. Economy measures
were put in operation. A higher de-
gree of efficiency was injected into
business operation. The immediate
result has been that business has cur
tailed its expenses practically to the
pre-war basis, and is gearing up its
productive efficiency per dollar of op-
Grating cost to a point far beyond the
record Of the last few years.
Business thus made itself ready to
cope with the ne worder of things
following in the wake of the world
conflict
But the problem of today is far
more complex than can be met by pri-
vate initiative alone. It is too close
ly connected with government op-
Grafton not to require govern mental
action to help in its solution. In
great measure it is a financial prob
lem.
Cost of government during recent
years increased apace with the cost
of all else. And today, with changed
conditions, it is primarily essential
for the general welfare that the cost
of government be brought back down
to a basis in keeping with retrench-
ments found necessary in private un-
dertakings. Governmental service
must continue undinainished. but it
must be performed at cost far be-
low fT,a4 IF la+o wears
The problem was of two-fold aspect,
first from the standpoint of future op-
Grating cost Of government, and sec
ond, with respect to discharge Of the
financial war obligations.
On the manner with which this dual
problem is handled largely depends
our entire economic future
Government Cost Up.
The ordinary operation of the gy
ernment Of the United States cost
about nine times IS much last year,
as it did IN 1915 And beyond that
was the cost which could not be met
bv taxation and had to be taken care
of by borrowing-the special war cost
bv which the national debt was boos.-
ed to about twenty times The size it