The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1941-05-29

the letters. 1t dropped on the floor
and 1 picked it up.
Il don't want to lose that" the
secretary said. its important. Read
it."
1t was an emphatic protest on the
subject of a measure before con
gress, written in a firm hand, in
good, straightforward English.
Notice the paper" said my
friend, "see that hole in the corner.
There was a string through that.
The pad was fastened to the tele-
phone. And it was written with the
pencil tied to another string. I hap
pen to know the man who wrote it.
He runs a flour and feed store, but
I'd know just about the type of writ
er it was from the paper"
why" l asked him, lis it that
Important"
IT'S important because the people
who write on that kind of paper,
with a pencil, are important people
to us. They elect U.S."
CThis secretary always said "us"
because he had been in politics with
the senator for 10 years. ever since
his chief was a member Of the state
le%gislature.)
For the past few weeks letters
like that-and other ones, too, which
I'll speak Of in a minute-have been
flooding the post office in the Capitol
building. They have concerned the
question Of conveys. And they have
had a lot to do with how congress
voted.
LETTERS SPUR DEBATE
When the letters stop, the debate
stops. That's an axiom. And on an
important question the number Of
letters grows each day until it
reaches a peak. Then suddenly the
number drops. The drive is over.
It's time to vote and settle the issue.
There are several kinds Of letters
which come in to congress. to COM
mentators and writer's. There are
the nut letters which are easy to
identify. They don't count. There
are the form letters. or letters
which, though sometimes they are
individually written, all have the
same phraseology. They are organ
lied propaganda, easy to identity
and to assay. Then there are the
letters Of expensive stationery. Usu.
ally their writer's are known. They
are in the minority. Then there are
the letters 1 spoke about first. Not
always in pencil or on scratch pa
per. But simple and spontaneously
written. They count.
But here is another interesting
point. Just because there are more
letters On one side of a question
than there are on the other doesn't
mean that the apparent majority is
an evidence of the real attitude of
the community. More people who
are against a measure will take pen
in hand than those who are for it.
One senator, in a community
where we all knew the sentiment for
a particular reason was very much
pro-convoy. told me his letters were
running three to one anti. ''They
would have to run ten to one against
a measure before it would mean
that the majority of my constituency
were against t." he told me.
PROPHET IN WASHINGTON
A prophet has come to Washing
ton-but he will not prophesy!
He is John Maynard Keynes, tall.
slim. precise. He was a member
Of the British delegation to the Paris
Peace conference of 1919. With the
ink hardly dry on the Versailles
treaty he wrote that the
Cartha ginian peace Ia peace OF
force) is not practically right or pos.
sible . The clock cannot be set
back without setting up such
strains in the European structure
and letting loose such human and
spiritual forces as will over.
whelm moi only your guarantees
but your institutions. and the exist
ing order of your society"
l asked Mr.. Keynes. who is here
in Washington as a British treasury
official to consult on the l%end-lease
law. if he thought it was necessary
to prepare for a new kind of peace.
Yes" he answered. but l am
much more concerned now with
fighting the war"
Mr.. Keynes believes that we mus,
raise money for defense by a type
of forced borrowing, a method by
which a part of all salaries are de.
Quoted and turned over to the gov.
eminent. After the war, these forced
savings. according to Keynes, would
help tide ove the period when de.
tense production drops off and thus
help to avoid a depression like the
' n that followed the last war.