The midland journal., 1946-10-04
LOOKING
AHN1D
BY GEORGE S. BENSON
\ presideHf--Hardise college
SearfE. ArkaHsas
Harmony

During the recent months of in
dustrial strife and popular confu-
sion, current events have been al
most as common topic of CONVEX
sation as the weather. Wherever
people congregate, somebody opens
the subject of whats the world
coming to, anyhow" It's a whole
some condition. The common sense
of Tom, Dick and Harry has saved
this nation from many a bad spill.
Recently an old man (slightly
deaf sat near me on the train.
With him was a teen-age girl, a
granddaughter perhaps. They had
divided a newspaper between them.
Granddad spoke first. There's
nothing wrong with this country if
everybody would get together and
do the right thing" he observed.
The girl looked at him, shifted her
gum and replied, MANY an honest
heart beats beneath a wooden
head"
Not a Dreamer.
Maybe she lacked respect for her
elders but the young woman was
practical. People in a country this
large don't get together. Moreover
they don't do the right thing unless
they know what it is, and their edu-
cation in economic matters has
been sadly neglected. Unless that
very situation is corrected before
long, our people will trail the British
into the wilderness of Collectivism
believe in specialization but l
think no specially should be so mar
row as to exclude good citizenship.
I believe in versatility, but how can
any collection of miscellaneous
knowledge be complete without
some facts about how men became
free to pursue knowledge and get
understanding? No people can re-
main free long after their youth
cease to appreciate their sacred lib
critics.
Young Ideas.
Within the last IL months, I have
been privileged to talk with the stu
dents OF a great many high schools
and colleges in widely scattered
states. l have discussed private en-
terprise and state socialism with
them, and I can testify that most
of them seem to consider private
enterprise failure. Some of them
have been extremely well coached
to debate against it.
Questioning them sympathetical-
ly, find that very few of the stu
dents meet have a clear idea about
what private enterprise is. They
consider it system that gives spe-
cial advantages to rich men and big
corporations. They point out that
our system has not maintained full
employment, has not prevented al
ternate depressions and booms, and
has never equalized living stand
ards.
Look to Politics.
1t is no surprise that studious
youngsters are able to pick the OBJ
vious flaws in any system, but here
is a surprise: Almost without ex-
ception these young people seem to
think all the imperfections of Amer
ica's present system can be correct
ed by government management.
With the scandalous exhibitions OF
incompetence from WPA to the
OPA, how can anybody eXpec. poll
tics to help?
Harmony is really needed in
American industry, and American
government, but it will be found
only on a plane of better knowledge.
Text books must be prepared and
instructors trained to teach Amer
icanism if human freedom, individ.
ual opportunity and intellectual lib.
erty are to continue. When enough
of us know the truth we can do the
right thing whether we can actu.
ally get together or not.