Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1923-03-28
American
MdiuiduaHsn1
A Timely Message to
the American People
By HERBERT HOOVER
Secretary of Commerce.

world The causes of these explosions
lie at far greater depths than the fall
ure of governments in war. The war
itself In its last stages was conflict
of social phiiosophies-bu beyond this
the causes of social explosion lay in
the great inequalities and iniustices
of centuries fiogged beyond endurance
by the conflict and freed from restraint
by the destruction of war The urgent
forces which drive human society have
been plunged into Il Terrible furnace.
Great theories spun by dreamers to
remedy the pressing human Ills have
come to the front OF mems minds
Great formulas came into life that
promised to dissolve all trouble. Great
masses Of people have focked to their
banners in hopes born of misery and
suffering. Nor has this great social
fermeit been confined to those nations
that have burned with revolutions.
Now. as the storm of war. Of revo-
luton and Of emotion subsidies there
Is left even with us of the United
States much unrest, much discomfort
with the surer forces of human adj
vancenlent To all of u.s. out of this
crucibe of actual, poignant, Individual
experience has come II deal Of new
understanding and 1t Is for all OF us
to ponder these new currents 81 we are
80 shape our future with intelligence.
Even those parts of tie world that
suffered less rrom the war have been
sartly infected by these ideas. Beyond
t&s however, many have had high
h~pes of civilization suddenly purified
etFl eiinobled by the sacrifices and
services OF the war; they had thought
the fine unity of purpose gained in war
would he 'arried into great unity or
action in remedy Of the faults of ciVill-
zation in peace. But from concentrn-
ticn of every spiritual ard material
energy upon the single purpose of war
the scene changed to the immense com
plexity and the many purposes of
peace.
Thus there loom up certain definite
underlying forces in our national life
that need TO be stripped Of the ifnagi-
nary-the transitory-and definition
Should be given to the actual, perma-
nent and persistent motivation of our
civilization. In contemplation of these
questions we must 90 far deeper than
the superficials of our political and
economic structure, for these are but
the products of our social philosophy
the machinery of our social system.
Nor is it ever amiss to review the
political, economic, and spiritual princi-
pies through which oUr country has
steadily grown in usefulness and great
ness. not only to preserve them from
being fouled by false notions, but more
importantly that we may guide our
selves in the road of progress.
Five or six great social PHILOSOPHERS
are at struggle in the world for as
tendency. There is the Individualism
Of America. There is the Individual
ism of the more democratic states of
Europe with it's careful reservations of
castles and classes. There are Com
munism, Socialism, Syndicalism, Cap
itulisn, and finally there is Autocracy
whether by birth, by possessions,
militarism, or divine right of kings.
Even the Divine Right still fingers on
although our lifetime has seen fully
two-thirds of the earth's population. in
Guiding Germany, Austria, Russia. and
China, arrive at a state of angry dis
gust with this type of social motive
power and throw it on the scrap heap.
All these thoughts are in ferment
today in every country in the world.
They fuctuate in ascendency with
times and places. They compromise
with each other in daily reaction on
governments and peoples. Some of
these ideas are perhaps more adapted
to one race than another, Some are
islse, some are true. What we are
Interested IN is their challenge to the
physical and spiritual forces Of Amer
lea.
The partisans of some of these other
hrpnds of social schemes challenge MS
10 comparison; and some of their par
tisans even among cur own people are
Increasing in their agitation that We
adopt one or another or parts Of their
devices in place of our tried individual
ism. They insist that our social foun
cations are exhausted, that like fued0l
ism and autocracy Americas plan has
served Its purpose that it must he
abandoned.
There are those who have been left
IN sober doubt of our institutions or
ave-, founded nv hnNil6pPing catch