The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1923-02-22

XNVITI
REMEDY IN YOUR HANDS

nave Deen asked many times, ant
particularly since this series began
what is the remedy for the condition
and situation of government business
that you have described? What car
we, the average man or woman with
cut influence, and with no knowledge
of politics, what can we do about it 2
Well. the answer is that you can dc
everything about it. The remedy lies
wholly within your own hands, as
have tried to point out in each one
of the articles that have preceded
this one. 1t is a remedy easy to pre-
scribe but, I confess. difficult to put
into effect
Difficult, l mean, in the sense that
you will have to give up time from
your own engrOssing private affairs to
pay some attention to what you prob
ably think Of as public affairs and. as
such, not concerning you. The whole
point I have to make is that public
affairs are your affairs
do not suggest that you go into
politics. do not suggest that you
attend political meetings. I do sug-
gest that you take an interest, direct
personal interest, in the business of
government as distinguished from the
politics of government.
A part of the remedy you ask for
the conduct of the business of govern
ment has been applied when the facts
and the conditions are spread broad
cast and made known to every tax
rayer. Bad conditions are in a way
to be remedied when they become
known.
But some hundreds Of you have
written me and asked: "How can we
help? What can we do?" Let's take a
concrete case
Congress has committed itself to the
policy of building twenty first-class
battleships in the next few years.
Armed and equipped, those battleships
will cost in the neighborhood of $45,-
100000 each. That will make a total
cost of $90O,00O,0OO; that is, just short
of a billion dollars.
Do you approve that expenditure?
Do you think it wise and necessary?
Do you think we ought to spend our
money that way? Do you think we
ought to spend so or 90 per cent
of our total national income for wars.
past, present and prospective? That
Is what we are doing. If you approve
of it you have only to sit still and
say nothing If you disapprove of it.
et your congressman know
You live in a congressional district |
and every two years you send a man
lere to Washington to attend to your |
public business. Do you know him? |
Do you know what he is doing here? |
Your state has two senator's. who also |
represent you here. If they do not |
epresent you fairly, you can keep
hem at home. Whatever a majority
# you want you can have.
To this moment q majority have
approved, at least by silence the great
military expenditures that have been
made from the money you have paid
n taxes. If now you have come to
he conclusion that 1t Is too much, you
ave Only 10 say 30.
Do you realize that this conference
n the limitation Of armament which
resident Harding called arose fun
out Of the circumstance
nat all of the so-called big nations
re paying more than they can afford
} pay by way of preparation for war?
The endeavor to find a formula to
NIT ornaments is another way Of
aging that the nations are trying to
nd a way to save money. Since the
ar the great powers are all living
eyond their means. All Of them are
/ debt. All Of them, except ourselves,
We more than they can pay. In all
them, including the United States,
)vernment expenses are running be-
md government income. A nation
IN no more stand that sort of thing
ian a private person or a private
lsiness.
If you will devote a half hour or
l hour every evening to thinking
,out and talking about public bust
,ss you will be amazed at the
'ompt response you will get If there
any question you want to ask, write
your congressman or to either one
your senators. That will cost you
70 cents for postage stamp, and 1t ]
ont cost him anything to reply, for I
s letters go through the mails free.