The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1923-08-01
THE UNREST EPIDEMIC

1t S a period of unrest, of dissatisfaction. Some of the most
"unrestfuI" are able to take the most rest. Some of the "dissatis-
fled" are badly dissatisfied because they were not elected nor are
likely to be to some office they crave. If we were to take the
outpourings of the leading apostles of unrestfulness at their face
value this country is in a terrible condition.
But it isn't. This unrest" which seems to forecast the dis
ruption of government and society isn't anything new. Some
older folks have passed through several periods of unrest doing
something of the "unresting" themselves. Unrest and dissatis-
faction come in waves about so far apart. Every generation has
its tidal wave of this character. The very devil is to pay. The
hills shake and the world trembles to its dissolution. But when we
take time to look over everything came out pretty well in the
wash. For, with all the outcry that is clamoring of terrible con-
dhons this generation is living easier, having more and putting
in less hours of hard work than any that ever breathed and quit
breathing.
Unrest" is nothing new nor is it strange. We had one of
those periods of unrest twenty-five and thirty years ago. There
were good and sufficient reasons for that unrest for most of us
wondered how long it was to be required to starve to death. Wages
were at the lowest ebb. In spite of that there was no work for
workers. A good horse could be bought for $25-if anyone could
be found with that much money who wanted a horse. Millions of
bushels of Iowa corn were bought at from 9 to Is cents a bushel
Five cents bought a can of corn or beans and other things were
in proportion. A very good looking and well made suit with
reasonable wearing quality might be bought for from $40 to SIS.
A good steak cost 10 cents a pound. Eggs sold as low as six cents
a dozen. Everything was cheap. Jerry Simpson, famous as
"SOckless" was a leader in congress. Bryan had thrown the bull
about the cross of gold and the crown of thorn and gained a presi-
Dental nomination thereby. Still with the cost of living at the
minimum we were unhappy and u%nrestful. We acted like hypo-
chOndriacs and sought political takers as specialists. Any medicine
show man who came along with hair waving in the wind and a
political Sagwa to sell guaranteed to cure all the economic ills
gathered a huge audience. The bought the remedy too, just as
we are doing now, tried to take it and found it hard on the mucuous
membranes. AS we shall when the fit wears out.
All along since the nation has existed we've had these recur-
rent periods of unrest. We had a whiskey rebellion once as we
have one now. Time after time the wave of unrest and dssatis-
faction has risen and raved and finally broken against the cliffs
of common sense and economic laws. Just as it is due to break
again.
And comparing these periods with the present we have never
had so little to base unrest and dissatisfaction upon as now. En-
plOyment is general and at good wages and higher pay is being
demanded. Those demands never come when conditions are really
bad in employment. Farmers are hard hit, that is true, but we
are buying more automobiles than ever. Most people seem to be
able to get on, big or little. Few laborers are not living in better
homes than those the farmers lived in 80 to 40 years ago. The
farmer himself lives in a better house than the banker lived il
then. Any man who has worked and saved his money can own his
own home. Take it all around to those who knew 1928 we seen
to be sitting pretty"
One thing that we don't notice is that we want pretty nearly
everything we see or see others have. The fact is that some O.
Us with a five-cent income, want to smoke three for a dollar. Tha
makes us unrestful.
Unrest, my boy, unrest? Yes it is common, always been com
mon. Each generation must have it like the chicken px an
measles. They get over it as we did along about 1900 and max
money end get rich for about 20 odd years and then the mex
batch comes on. After all it is the leaven of progress. Dissats
faction is often a strong incentive to the individual who seeks b
hard work and thrift to change his condition. The trouble wit
much of our present unrest is that it dismisses so much of ind
yidUal effort and bases it's demand on what it wants that other
have obtained by hard work and sacrifice and wants it withou
doing the work or making the sacrifice.
Yes, there's unrest, plenty. It's a good thing properly di
ected. It's another improperly directed and unwisely led.
And there we are. The epidemic is in full blast. epidemic
are teachers, though Of a hard school. Well tearn something. "
always do.