Evening star., 1923-07-01
BY THOMAS n. MARSHALL,
Former vice President Of the
United states.

iTHE man who devotes himself
II exclusively to the scientific
part OF his calling has difi-
Guilty in understanding, the
lack of general interest in 1t. He has
pity, IL not contempt. for the unin-
itiate. So absorbef in his pursuit Is
he that he cannot understand the
viewpoint Of the outsider. Take. for
instance. the medical profession. For
a time every latent disorder In the
human body was directly traceable to
bad teeth. Further disclosures led to
the conclusion that many Ills were
caused by enlarged tonsils. At the
moment the thyroid gland OF every
sick man is under suspicion. These
shifts Of opinion. well understood by
scientists. prove nothing against the
great service which the medical fra
ternity is rendering to mankind. But
the ordinary man has not time to in
.yestigats and become convinced OF
the truth OF each succeeding theory.
He is apt to believe none OF them or
to accept them all as expressions OF
the best and latest thought.
The man who devotes himself ex-
clusively to a subject can very read
lily change his view as new light
comes to him. But adjustment to
latest thought is not easy for the
average man. He often hesitates to
accept something new for fear 1t may
not be true. He hesitates. also. be-
cause his experience has taught that
1t Is easier to accumulate knowledge
than 1t Is to get rid Of 1t, just as 1t IL
easier to acquire q habit than to dis.
pose of 1t. Scholars OF English. pure
and undefiled. will lapse into the use
OF impure language. The accumula-
tion of the correct was not difficult
for them. but 1t was a palimpsest. and
every once in a while the original
will show through. What is true of
science and of language Is true also
Of manners, morals and customs. But
II is not true Of responsibility. That
Is one thing that either an individual
or society shifts easily. The lessons
of self-reliance are readily forgotten.
X + "
Frequently we ride word until 1t
becomes swaybacked. Just like We ride
q hobby to death. Ever since we got
into the war We have been using the
word "profiteer" to condemn the man
whose business methods did not suit
US. Yet, no one has accurately defned
a profiteer. II, by the word, we mean a
man who Is charging too much for what
we purchase from him, then the only
difficulty about convieting him would
be to find an impartial Jury In America.
But the word il SO indiscriminately
applied that few escape its condemna-
ton. The larger the salary Of the pro-
fessional uplifter. the more venomous Is
his attack upon those whom he calls
profiteers. He overlooks the fact that
those who serve the commonweal only
In proportion to their compensation are
properly under the ban of public dis
approval. What constitutes guilt in the
matter of so-called profteering' Who
has said that man shall make only
Is, or 7 per cent on his invest
ment? Who has dared since the
war to Ak any price beyond which it
was declared men might not 90 in the
making of pront? Yet 1t was because
the necessities Of the war authorized.
IL they did not compel. the government
to Ak profits that the word ''profiteer"
came to rest upon the lips Of Ameri-
cans. The government intervened In
certain businesses. designated certain
commodities and fixed prices beyond