Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1923-05-10

MdiuiduaHsn,
A Timely Message to
the American People
BY HERBERT.HOOVER
Secretary Of Commerce.


"HAT high and increasing stand
ards OF living aud comfort
should be the first of considera-
tons In public mind and In government
needs no apology, We have long since
realized that the basis Of an advancing
civilization must be high and grow
Ing standard of living for all the peo-
pie. not for single class. that educa-
tinn, food, clothing. housing. and the
spreading use of what we so often term
nonessentials. are the real fertilizers OF
the soil from which spring the finer
flowers of life. The economic develop
ment of the past fifty years has lifted
the general standard Of comfort far be-
yond the dreams Of our forefathers
The only road TO further advance In
the standard OF living Is by greater In.
yention, greater production and better
distribution OF commodities and serv-
Ices, for by increasing their ratio TO
our numbers and dividing them justly
we each will have more OF them.
The superlative value OF individual
ism through It's impulse 10 production.
its stimulation to invention. has, 10
far as l know, never been denied.
Criticism OF Il has lain In Its wastes
but more Importantly in its failures Of
equitable sharing OF the product. In
our country these contentious are main
ly over the division to each OF his
share of the comforts and luxuries for
none OF us Is either hungry or cold
or without place TO lay his head-and
we have much besides. In less than
four decades we have added electric
lights, plumbing. telephones, gramo-
phones. automobiles. and what not In
wide diffusion TO our standards of llv-
ing. Each In turn began as a luxury,
each In turn has become 80 common
place that seventy or eighty per cent
Of our people participate IN them.
To all practical souls there Is little
use in quarreling over the share Of
each OF us until wc have something to
divide. so long as we maintain our
indiyldualism we will have increasing
quantities 10 share and we shall have
time and leisure and taxes with which
to fight out proper sharing OF the "sur.
plus" The income tax returns show
that this surplus Is minor part OF our
total production after taxes are paid.
Some OF this surplus must be set
aside for rewards to saving. or stimnla-
tlon OF proper effort to skill, to leader
ship and Observation-Disclosures the dis
pute 10 In reality over much less than
the total OF such "surplus." While there
should be no minimizing Of certain
fringe OF injustices In sharing the re-
suits OF production or In the wasteful
use made by some OF their share, yet
there Is vastly wider field for gains to
all Of US through cheapenlng the costs
Of production and distribution through
the eliminating Of their wastes, from
increasing the volume OF product by
each and every one doing his utmost,
than will ever come to US even II we
can think out a method OF abstract
justice In sharing which did not stifis
production OF the total product
II Is a certainty we are confronted
with population In such numbers 40
can only exist by production attuned
to q pitch In which the slightest reduc
ton Of the impulse to produce will at
once create misery and want. IL we
throttle the fundamental impulses Of
man our production will decay. The
world In this hour IL witnessing the
most overshadowing tragedy Of ten
centuries In the heart-breaking life
and-death struggle with starvation by
a nation with a hundred and fifty mil
lions Of people. In Russia under the
new tyranny a group, In pursuit Of so
cisl theories. have destroyed the pri-
mary self-interest impulse Of the indi.
vidual to production.
Although socialism In a nationwide
application has now proved Itself with
rivers of blood and Uncomfortable mis-
cry to be an economic and spiritual fal
lacy and has wrecked itself finally up
on the rocks Of destroyed productior
and moral degeneracy. I believe II tc
have been necessary for the world "a
have had this demonstration Great
theoretic and emotional ideas have
arisen before In the worlds history and
have In more than mere material bank.
ruptcy deluged the world with fearful
losses Of life. A purely philosophical
view might be that In the long run hui
manity has to try every way. even
precipices. In finding the road to bet
terment
But those are utterly wrong who say
that individualism has as It's only end
the acquisition and preservation Of pri-
vate property-the selfish snatching
and boarding Of the common product.
Our American individualism, indeed,
Is only I'm part an economic creed. II
aims to provide opportunity for self.
expression. not merely economically.
but spiritually as well. Private prop
erty Is not a fetch In America. The
crushing Of the liquor trade without q
cent OF compensation. with scarcely
even q discussion Of Il. does not bear
out the notion that we give property
rights any Roadway over human rights
Our Development Of individualism
shows an Increasing tendency to regard
right Of property not AZ an object In
Itself. but In the light Of useful and
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