The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1934-04-27
Howe About:
Using Soldiers
Destroying Our Nation
John D. Rockefeller
By ED HOWE
@ Bell syndicate-wNu Service.


siderable magniticence and idleness
In our expensive forts cavalrymen de-
vote much time to fancy riding not
required In war: army posts are the
mainstay of the aristocratic game
called polo.
Since We pay an enormous soldier
tax. why not make some sensible use
of soldiers? Why not distribute squads
of them over the country and require
them TO get exercise by chasing nigh
waymen. bank burglars. the radicals
who bomb peaceful and useful bust
ness institutions. and beat up peace
able wOrkmen? Why not thousand
soldier camps instead of few dozen
luxurious ones like the Presidio.
show place In San FranciscO2 Why
NOT use the fighting men we employ at
snch terrific expense in maintaining
reasonable order in a thousand diff
ferent communities?
There is man named Oswald Spen-
gler whose writing one hears good
deal about. His book called 1.-The De-
cline of the West" Is An attempt tc
prove that the United States is going
it Mr. Spengler does not specially
criticize US for throwing our cook
stoves and beds away, and going back
to campfires and brush piles. except
that his statistics seem to show that
while nations always destroy them
selves with dissension and false prog.
ress our pace is rather more rapid
than has been the rule In national
destruction heretofore
Civilization Mr.. Spengler declares,
always destroys itself because people
demand too much of II. After man
gets one bath room. and Is fairly com.
Portable in his home. he demands two
or three II was lately charged against
prominent citizen of Texas he had
nineteen Now be has lost not only
his nineteen bath tubs. but his house.
and the fortune that supported 1t. His
neighbOrS who had but one bath room
took after this aristocrat, and caught
him. They are all going to the creek
for bathing now but they had an en-
joyahle fight.
Mr.. Spengler believes the special
speed we have displayed in going to
the devil is due more to our editors
than to any other cause. The Amer
lean newspapers. he charges. have
fh hn bot
wide open policy: they drive as fast
in everything as their readers drive
their new automobiles. and wrecks
will inevitably destroy Us a little
earlier than has been the rule In old
er civilizations
A few conservatives are begging for
reasonable delay In travelling the road
to destruction: for at least as much
moderation as the Greek and Romans
displayed. but ours is fast age. and
propably we shall continue to step
on It.
Considering the many bad things !
have known other men to do, con-
clude John D. Rockefeller is an excep
tionally good man. His father was
runaway. and deserted good wife
and her little children. buf John was
a good boy, and took care not only of
his mother and his younger brothers
and sisters. but looked up his father
and helped him. too.
When John had children of his own.
he had family prayers, and tried to
bring them up right
The Rockefeller foundation, the
greatest philanthropy in the history
of the world. is still on its feet, al
though possibly staggered a little by
the recent depression. At ninety-three
old John is still pursuing his policy of
saying little. and doing much.
In moral conduct. finance. fairness.
common sense. his average is higher
than that of any other pan I know
from reading the papers. OF course
he has been rich long time. but this
is the most excusable of faults, since
every one is trying to be guilty; and
predict that after he has been dead
long enough for gossip to get around
to the truth (Which II always does) his
monument will be little higher than
those of Gothic. the poet Hannibal. the
general. or Plato. the philosopher
After all. II is the Butter and Egg
Man who is in position TO most infiu.
ence and better the world by making
a high average in the practical things
Writing q bit of poetry. winning a
fight, or tossing off philosophical
gem. are small matters compared with
the daily Butter and Egg struggle; In
this John D. Rockefeller has long been
a master. and made an exceptionally
high average from boy of fourteen
to an old man of ninety-three-
There is a bold, merciless thing
called Right Opposed TO II is timid
thing making explanations called
Wrong.
England recently celebrated the
anniversary of the birth of
John Locke, said TO have been one of
the worlds greatest thinkers
What did this man think that gave
him renownf In simple words. be be
lieyed that men only know what they
see, feel, taste, hear or smell. and
register in their minds In the form
of ideas" by reflective consciousness
Beyond that everything is pure guess
work. He was first among modern
philosophers to forsake the jargoD of