The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1933-06-30
Howe About:
Neitzsche
Henry Ford
The World Court
Rv ED HOWE

|
= Frederick Neitzsche, is widely
proclaimed as one of the greatest
books ever written. AS matter of GU
riosity l lately looked over eight Of
its pages and noted the lines contain
ing ordinary common sense easily I'M
derstandable. 1 found but five such
lines in the eight pages. Neitzsche
had enormous common sense, but it
was so corrupted by nonsense in the
literature of the past that in his most
famous book the proportion of good
to bad is five to two hundred and sew
enty-two
'Thus Spake Zarathustra" is writ
ten in mongrel poetry, a weakness
the author certainly inherited from the
past. The book is full of references
to gods Neitzsche did not believe in.
The title is a tribute to a tissue of
myths originating more than a thou
sand years before the Christian era.
IL Zarathustra ever lived, he was q
type of man utterly unknown in the
time of Neitzsche, hundreds of years
before, or in the present; better
title would have been THUS Spake
Frederick Neitzsche."
There is value in the book, but 1
shall not bother to dig. it out, as it
may be found in many short sum-
maries. Neitzsche was highly educat-
ed, but never learned to write simply,
naturally and properly except in five
lines of two hundred and seventy-twO
of his best product. Probably the pro-
portion of nonsense in the conversa-
ton and writing of men less noted is
! greater.
| A foreigner was quoted lately as
saying a depression is about the most
natural thing there is; that he was
born during depression, and has
lived in one ever since.
Americans will not accept any such
reasoning; they demand boom all
the time, and, failing to get it go bawl-
ing to the government for relief. For
many years we have been breaking
| records and astonishing foreigners.
The action of the foreigners in laugh
| ing at us now after robbing us, is very
humiliating.
l once saw in the newspapers a
| statement credited to Henry Ford in
| the days of his greatest prosperity.
He said the standard of living in the
United States should be advanced until
every man who wanted job was
guaranteed one at twentyseven dollars
| a day as a minimum. Every Ameri-
| can, he admitted, was so noble, so in
/ telligent, so much better than the peo-
| pie of other countries, he could not
live fittingly on less.
And you needn't laugh; probably
you read Mr.. Ford's brag with APP
prevail.
Nothing astonishes me more than
the incompetence Of great men when
called upon to make decisions in ques-
tions of a public nature. Men who in
business life achieve reputation for
sound sense, honor and capacity, when
asked to consider questions affecting
the public at large, have in thousands
of cases become pitiful fools and dis
graced long lives of probity. There
is in existence world court to
which most nations belong, the men,
bership made up presumably of as ca
pable men as can be found among the
better classes. A booklet is available
giving its history, membership and
proceedings to date, and have read
it during idle time The object Of
the world court, of course. Is to get
rid of war; of the expense of armies
and navies during intervals of peace.
In most parts of the earth practical
bakers, after hundreds of years of ex-
perience at their trade, have found it
convenient to operate night shifts,
surely one of the simplest and most
unimportant questions. Yet on page
fifty | find the World court consider
ing night work in bakeries. Many
have been profoundly discouraged by
the lack of intelligence in men. be-
lieve statesmen are responsible for
most of the encouragement; any fair
review of the situation clearly indi-
Gates that the common people in their
private affairs have done very we'll
Sometime look over those actions in
your life generally called deviltry.
You'll find that not one of them ever
paid you; that every one brought some
humiliation. All anyone can truth
fully say of good conduct is that it is
profitable.
A man held up the other night says
one of the bandits was not day over
sixteen. In the progress We are now
making | wonder no one has suggested
that children be permitted to vote at
fourteen, that the youth movement
may become more effective.
AS moving tragedy as / have ever
heard was told me by an ancient
maiden of the martyrdom her mother
endured in living with the father Of
the relator of the story. l knew the
old man and thor pht SO LITTLE Of him