The midland journal., 1945-09-21
LOOKING
AHEAD
" GEORGE S. BENSON
4 presideAf--HardiKg College
Searfy. Arkansas
Gifts of God

Draw on your imagination for a
moment and consider with me an
altogether improbable circum-
stance. Suppose a well-groomed
gentleman with an easy flow of Ian
guage should mount an improvised
platform in the public square of an
agricultural county-seat town next
Saturday afternoon, play phono-
graph record through loud speak
er to get an audience, and then
should say:
Ladies and Gentlemen-there is
just so much water in the entire
universe; so much and no more. Any
time you drink more of it than you
need to quench your thirst, you are
greedy because some unfortunate
person somewhere on earth wants
water. He is thirsty. His throat is
dry and his lips are parching. And
it is all for want of the water which
you so wantonly swallow"
1t Is Not True
Such a speaker would soon lose
his audience. People would walk
away and leave him. Some of them
might think about having his head
examined because they know his
ideas are out of joint. There is no
connection whatever between one
mans abundance of water and some
far-away strangers thirst. The need
of the sufferer, even if he were
victim of cruelty, is apart from the
owner of a good well.
But the speaker might hold his
audience if he said something like
this: Ladies' and Gentlemen-there
is just so much wealth in the world;
so much and no more. Anybody
with more than he needs for food,
clothes and shelter is greedy be-
cause there are many people in
China and India who never had
square meal in their lives. They are
poor because few people get very
rich"
Another FaMacy
This speech is no nearer true than
the one about the water. Both have
some facts in them but they are not
related facts. am not trying to say
that wealth is free and cheap like
water, but I am saying this: My
neighbor's fine home and big car
have cost me nothing. He has more
than I have because he Cor his fa-
ther maybe) has more wealth-creat-
ing ability than I have.
There is such thing as oppression
of the POOR. There is such thing
as exploiting labor. 1t is a crime
which Jesus decried openly. 1t is
also a short-sighted vice because it
leads toward poverty and not toward
wealth. "Good money in circula-
ton" is a manifestation of prosper
ity and itoccurs only in lands where
workers are well paid and thus per-
mitted to maintain good homes and
live in comfort.
Americas Blessing
Workers are paid well in Amer
lea, twice as well as in England and
six times as well as in Russia, and
America is rich country. Fami-
lies live on 81 month per person
in China-China is a poor country.
Is China poor because America is
rich? No! Without the United
States as customer, and supplier,
the Orient would be poorer still.
The difference is that we have lib
erty, and they have oppression.
We Americans receive countless
benefits from Gods hand that peo-
pie in other countries never heard
about. Is God partial to America?
Certainly not! Our benefits come
through channel that the rulers of
other countries have blindly and
selfishly closed by exploiting labor.
Our God-fearing ancestors opened 1t
Cor us long ago. The channel is
personal freedom, protected by rep
resentative, constitutional govern
ment.