New Ulm review., 1922-03-01
What goes up-must come down.
Aug. Ruedy, Cleveland.

that q generation Or two ago used to be
implanted into the minds Of the young
as universal maxim with a moral at
evidently based on the law OF
gravitation. " *s
We are forcibly reminded of it's truth
in pondering the fact of our reversal OF
prosperity which set in a year ago. AS
everybody is aware our economic rise to
heights never before witnessed IN the his
tory of our country was caused by the
"ill-wind'' of the gruesome and destruc-
tive world-war.
What goes up must come down.
Well, we took an economic balloon ascen-
sion during those war years that nearly
''hitched our wagon to a star, to quote
our most transcendental American philoso-
pher and prophet, Emerson. z
We reached dizzy heights. Many OF
us thought the much sought millennial
dawn had arisen. We were suddenly
transplanted to Happyland, into verltable
FOOLS paradise. Our prosperity simply
overfowed Everybody was working,
scheming, speculating, war-profteering
getting rich on the double-quick. The
nation was swimming in golden stream
of abundance and superfluity. One could
almost pick up money in the streets.
And at that we were Christian ma
ton and people. But it was war-the
most devilish and destructive the world
ever passed through-that poured out
this horn OF plenty to us. -
The misery, want and desolatlon OF
Europe, the killing and rapine, the star
walton and torture to death Of millions
of our European fellow-beings served as
the basis and motive of our prosperity
and economic rise. - -s~.
However, our Christianity, our spirit
of humanity, our love of God and Christ,
never made us vince or shrink from
eagerly and greedily grabbing this blood
money. Our moral compunction, our con-
sciences were readily lulled to sleep. All
we could see was gold, gold and more
gold @."
We were set on getting gold and we got
so much so that we hardly know what
to do with it now. Those that need it
now, haven't got it; and those who have
and control it do not need it. Strange,
isn't it? -,
The war was an ill-wind for Europe,
yet it brought us good; at least we thought
so at the time. (Of course now some are
beginning to change their minds; but that
will do US no good now.)
Was it Pope, the illustrious English
poet, who gave forth the following gold
en- rule? If / remember right, it runs
something like this:
"Never elated, while one man is
oppressed; ..
Never detected while another's blessed."
You'll hardly find that in the school
readers; nor in your Sunday school les
sons: Yet it contains the kernel of
a complete philosophy of life.
Weren't we elated while our Europ-
can brothers were in distress and hard
pressed? Didn't we take advantage OF
their trouble and, instead OF helping to
put out the conhagration before it spread
too tar add fuel to it? Not guilty, you
say! But isn't this fact, that is so palp-
able, so tangible, so incontrovertible, so
undeniable-t has such strangle-
hold on us, from which there is no es-
cape or release until it let's loose of it's
own sheer exhaustion: the fact that "what
goes up must come down." proof of our
guilt?- 5
Had we been really civilized nation,
imbued with the spirit of humanity, we
certainly could not have mixed in the
quarrel and enriched ourselves by it,
but rather have used our position as the
strongest neutral to put out the hellish
fires as quickly as possible, by refusing to
add to them. @4
d But it gave us a chance to go up
perhaps to stay up: who can tell? The
allurements of power and pelf make one
forget the incest moral maxinls that is
one of the tragical facts of life.
Of course if you build a house, a sky
scraper, an Eiffel tower or Egyptian py-
ramid with solid and secure foundation
and framework and walls erected properly,