Glacier County chief., 1940-10-25

A ~ IlltlllOu IOG pIdCllCdl
charity ever devel-
Hugh Johnson oped. There was a
time when this country went drive
crazy. Well meaning people, wheth-
er they were simply riding a worthy
hobby or backing a far worthier
cause, could always drum up
house-to-house gimme campaign, or
post pretty girls rafting dime-in-the-
slot cans on every street corner.
The average American is always
willing to give something if he has
it. By the old helter-skelter meth
cd, he couldn't know exactly for
what he was giving, how the money
would be used, or whether there
we're not far better uses for his
contribution. Also, these drives"
became so frequent that many peo-
pie either were fed up with the con-
stantly repeated annoyance of solicit
tation, or simply couldn't afford to
give any more. The earlier bird got
the dough regardless of its merits.
The community chest idea was an
answer 10 most of these problems.
In many cities it is the only drive"
permitted. In nearly all cities it at
least combines in one, all drives"
for the worthiest established chart
ties. II is conducted under the most
responsible sponsorships there are.
This year both the President and
Mr.. Willkie will start the effort. The
funds collected will be divided by
the best-informed authorities among
the institutions where they are most
needed, and will go the furthest to
meet human needs.
II is, of course, more heart-warm-
ing to give directly to some person
or group whose suffering you can
see, but none of US can give enough
TO meet all the needs of our neigh
bors. None of US separately can
judge relative needs. Few of US
have the time or training to manage
and regulate our giving. For these
reasons, indiscriminate giving is al
ways wasteful and sometimes far
from fair. The Community Chest
method cures all these faults and
The tremendous sums of public
money being expended for relief and
charity greatly restrict the flow of
gifts, for two reasons. The tax bur-
dens necessary to support them re-
duce. the incomes of potential CIV
ers. The billions spent by govern
ment make some people believe that
there is no longer necessity for pri-
vate giving.
The fact is that the necessity is
greater than ever. Low interest
rates have cut the revenue of many
endowed charities in half or worse.
Public doles can never cover the
area of need. Finally, no warm
hearted American can ever feel
quite satisfied with charity enforced,
or to leave his humanitarian i'm
pulses to acts of congress. If there
had been far more voluntary sharing
through past years, there would be
less regimented sharing today-with
all the political evils that entails.
The demands upon US all are great
and the woes of the world will great
ly increase them. It will be well
for us to remember that there are
still great woes in our own country
and that there is nothing in the least
selfish in the motto: Charity be-
gins at home"
NAVAL BASE AFTERMATH
The acquisition of naval bases was
highly popular. It was said in de-
tense of the Presidents method of
obtaining them, that if he had con-
suited congress, the deal would not
have been permitted. Present evil
dences Of popular approval of this
result, as far as the bases are con-
cerned, make this conclusion highly
doubtful. Be that as it may, there is
no doubt on earth that congress
would ratify the result today with
scarcely dissenting vote.
It should do SO. It is of extreme
importance. If the only restraint on
the executive in dealing with the
laws of the Constitution of the Unit
ed States is the possible unpopulari-
ty Of the result, we have surely sue
cumbed to what Westbrook Pegler
calls the 'what-the- hell' philosophy
of laws. morals and obligations. Any
thing goes Il 1t succeeds regardless
OF law or principle.