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About The Omaha morning bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 1922-1927 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 1924)
NO MORE BUSINESS MEN WANTED ON DOWNING STREET By GEORGE BERNARD SHAW. Special Cable. Dondon, Jan. 19.—In England par 'lament has actually become Interest ing to people who are not party poli ticians. . Fifty ream ago Ruskln w-rote to arlyle asking him how It could pos sibly be supposed that the party speeches of Gladstone and IMsraeli vere of more Importance than the • ironing of two old bagpipes, and Tom the point of view of men like Ituskin, who were thinking of the ■ onditlon of the people and the des Uny of civilisation, there was not a possible retort. From that moment until the other day when a young writer, Mr. St. • iohn Ervlne, made a passing refer nee to ‘‘(hat contemptible assembly, be house of commons,” nothing bap >ened to improve the intellectual '■edit of the British parliament. The war suspended judgment for a while because any fool can manage a war, or rather allow a war to man age him. If he has plenty of energy ml no eoneern about anything but victory. But the real teat of statesmanship i« peacemaking. Here we are more tttkn five years after the order to cease firing, and no peace yet—only ruin, unemployment, starvation and bankruptcy.” Kngland's share of tbls mess Is the result of government by practical business men. Naturally nobody ever wants to see a practical business man again within a hundred miles of Downing strept. The efficiency of these gentlemen in wrecking the magnificent national organization that grew up in 1915 was prodigious. Business government. They sold off nine first rate na tional factories fog less than they paid, immediately afterwards to a prl vate contractor, for one new one. The filled their newspapers week by week with articles describing the corruption, extravagance and gross inefficiency .of national work until they had worked up the average citi zen into the heated conviction that nothing could save the country but the utter destruction of every vestige of his public capital and industry except what was saved by transfer of as much of it as could pay divi dends to profiteers. Practical business men handed out doles in all direction* and were afraid to withdraw them when the mlechlef was den* lest they should provoke revolution by men used to the sight and the shedding of blood. Never was there such a ramp in the history of boodlednm. (iermany Made to Pay. Meanwhile, Germany was being made to pay. It paid in ships, and ruined the shipyard* on the Tees. Tyne and Clyde. It paid In coal, and ruined the south of Wales coal fields. l.lovd George was reduced to declar ing that Germany must pay in pot ash only, and by the time the laugh ter had subsided It. was evident that (iermany was past paying at all and that the business of the rest of the world. Including America, was to treat Germany exactly as the victors had treated wounded German soldier* picked up on the Held of battle—that is. to nurse it back to health and strength at their Joint expense. Rut M. Poincare, being a practical business man, could not see It, and Marshal Foch, a military baby crying for the moon, moaned for security, meaning that France could never be secure as long as there existed a rival whom she could not destroy. Even the practical business men could not null® swallow Poincare finding £80h.000.000 to tend to Poland or any other state that would arm against Germany whilst he could not find /SOO.OOO.flOO to pay France's war debt to England. People who had made colossal for tunes out of the war began to hope 'for another war. Germany and Aus tria. unable to pay, were forced to cheat the)r creditors. A government can always do this quite easily by the method of Henry VT1I. That monarch, owing a considerable sum in gold, paid it in a mixture of gold and lead. The 18th century, having retained something of the candor of the middle ages, called this debasing the coinage. We call It Inflation. Paper Replaced Gold. It was resorted to by the British government during the war. Gold was withdrawn and paper currency sub stituted then by the simple expedient of printing and circulating twice as many notes as there were goods for them to represent. Prices were dou bled and the government and all other debtors In the country were enabled to pay every pound they owed by a note that waa reatly worth only 10 shillings. Practical business men who were debtori instead of creditors, were de lighted, and declared and still main tain that the government had. by * master stroke of finance, doubled the capital of the country. They are now advocating a repetition of the master stroke as a means for providing capi tal to employ the unemployed. All the governments followed suit, more or less to the ruin of people with fixed incomes and to the utter dismay of those who had, mostly by considerable sacrifices, psid life in surance premiums over a long pe riod of years, only to find now that the sufficient provision for their widows or daughters for which they had paid, was become a beggar's pittance, and quite a number of the practical business men assure them that the remedy is more inflation. Don't say hastily that they are either fools or rascals. Some are both, but for the most part they are simple ignoramuses and, in respect of high finance, congenital inrapablea. I doubt whether two per million of the adult population of Europe un demand finance or world politics. The hanker* and professional flnan ciers uertalnly do not. They are in some respects the worst blunderers because they always think of capital aa realisable and of credit as con crete wealth. War Ijoan Capital Gone. Tet nothing Is clsarer than that the war loan caj.'tal cannot he re alized because It was sll blown to smithereens in the field, X'o doubt one man can sell a war bond to an other who can spare the price out of the current year's income. It la this possibility which deceives your Wall street financier. Yet If all the bondholders attempt ed to sell simultaneously, say under pressure of a levy on capital, the price of bonds would crash to zero at once. The same thing Is true even of Industrial stocks. To realize on capital means to eat it and drink It, and you cannot eat and drink the Canadian Pacific railway or the fac tory chimneys of Pittsburgh. As to credit, bsnkers think you can build factories with credit but you cannot. Credit is only an opinion en tertained by on* man of another man a ability and willingness to re pay the loan. The loan Itself must he a loan of solid goods or it will not build a factory or employ a single man in industry of any sort. The present bankruptcy of Europe has been produced by governments acting on advice of stock exchange operators and bankers, who though they are dealing with capital and credit every day, have no more idea of what capita! and credit realty are than a motor car dealer has of metal lurgy or physics. The most striking recent proof of this Is that when the liberal and con servative parlies went to the poll playing as a frump card against la bor the danger of a levy on capital, neither of them was able to state the real objection to it, which Is that the Wall street nation that the possessor of $50,000 a year is a millionaire capi alist, is a delusion for the statesman, though art isolated Individual here and there with that Income can gen erally exchange it for a million loose cash. Capital levy Feasible. Apparently none of the capitalist candidates and none of the journal lets who were supporting them, were lacquainted with tbi* simple fart. They all clamored a* if a tax on capi tal were feasible but disastrous, in stead of being as it is. too good to j he true. But capital levy or no capita! levy, j the country Is paying *5.000,000 a I day interest to holders of Its war loan 'stock, and there la no reaeonabl* an swer to the contention of the labor I party that this debt was Incurred hr exempting the money of the capital isi* from the conscription that was ruthlessly applied to the llvea and | limbs and business and professions! goodwills of everyone else. The levy Is demanded by the labor [party, and its two capitalist rival* have nothing to say except to repeat their wrong reason for avoiding a levy on capital. Everyone who I* not a holder of war loan stock is agreed that, the daily *5,000,000-burden must b« light ened. The situation against which all English parties are hard up. can be judged far better by anyone who ha* grasped these facts, than by the most diligent reader of gossip about Pre mier Baldwin and ttamsay MacDon ald. , BUSINESS STATUS IS NOT 1924 ELECTION BAROMETER By MARK 81 LL.1VAN. Washington, Jan. 19.—Frequently t is said that presidential elections ■re determined by the state of busi es'*. by prosperity or the lack of it, nore-than by any other factor. Po iticians commonly take this for rapted. The state of business hail ttle to do with the elcclion of 1920 . ^hlch was extraordinary in it* de siveness ns measured by the major !V given to the winning party. It was the very middle of that cam paign that there began the procesH ■f deflation which was so rapid and -o extensive as to be most drastic n Its effects on large classes. As il ustrating the rapidity and extent of hat inflation the case of a certain 1’nited States senator then running for election Is vivid. This man was a irge operator in a certain industry. Vs such he was a heavy borrower of noney. it was said of him that vhen he began his campaign about Vugust 1 it was commonly reckoned hat his equities made him worth up vard of $2,000,000. By the end of the ' i smpaign in Novemher his equities • 'tad shrunk to almost nothing, so rest had been the decline in the price >f the commodity he dealt in. No Effect on Campaign. Nevertheless, drastic, as was this mrush of depression in 1920, it had little effect on the campaign between Harding and Cox, the outcome of which was determined by other con litlons and issues. - The course followed by the treasury nd the federal reserve hoard under ■he administration of Wilson and the Icmocrat* during that campaign year vas one of the outstanding examples •f political courage In the history of he United States. The deflation began ust about the time the two national inventions were held. As soon as it got under way, as ooti as prices of commodities began to fall and banks began to call loans, here arose the strongest sort of measure on the then secretary of the leasury, Mr. Houston, and on the >deral reserve board, to follow a olicy which would arrest deflation r at least make It less drastic. Cotton was one of the commodities hat suffered most. In which the de line of the market price was most apid and disastrous. It was pointed out to the Wilson dministratlon that, according to very rule of political expediency. It as unheard of for an administration n power to permit In the very middle f a campaign in which the party's ortunes were at stake a condition of msinesa certain to lead to discontent vith the party In power. To all this nessure Mr. Wilson and Mr. Houston urned a deaf ear. Public Moods. Politicians generally express the iule that elections are determined by whether times are "good" or "bad.” Hut persons who think a little more l-eply Into things and express them elves more accurately say that the toverning consideration is something little more subtle. Tt Is the mood of he people at the time the election ikes place. Whether times are "good'' or "had" s of course a considerable factor in leterminlng the mood of the people. So far as there la anything suh ■tantial In this theory of public moods t would have a striking opportunity o express itself If the republican 9/in I'date should he Coolidge and the nem ' -ratio candidate McAdoo. Coolidge Is learly a man who would appeal to me public mood. With equal clearness VIcAdoo is a man who would appeal to mother public mood. Coolidge Is the sort of president and has the sort of personality that would elicit ap proval from the puhllc mood that ex presses itself bv saying “Leave well enough alone." AloAdoo, on the other hand, has the sort of personality which would elicit votes from a pub lic mood that looks to change. Business Prospects Fair. So far as the state of business is likely to have weight in the coming election, the universal assumption is that if business is good the party in power ifc helped; while if business is bad, the disposition is to blame the party in power and to vote against it. The general judgment is that the state of business throughout the United States during the coming year will be at leant satisfactory enough to lead to a feeling of fair content ment. Those who look most closely Into this subject say the volume of business during 1924 will probably be less than during 192.1. They say also that It will probably be more difficult to make large profits. Nevertheless, the great majority of the experts In this line expect a state of business good enough to lead to general satisfaction. New lloom Possible. Some of these experts say that not only is a fair state of business an sured to the country. They say It is possible for certain things to happen which may lead to uplift In business. What they have In mind chiefly la the possibility of a settlement of the reparations problem as a result of the sessions of the reparations commis sion now under way in Paris. Ever Since the end of the war every thoughtful person has known that the one great impediment to business has been the failure to fix reparations. If this Impediment should he re moved these experts would then an ticipate such a surging forward of business throughout the world as has probably never before been seen. In any such access of prosperity the United States would share. If the reparation problem should be settled In such a way as to permit Germany to go forward to the limit of Its capacity it would begin to manufacture goods at such a price that It would certainly undersell the United Slates In the neutral markets of the world. Some experts go further and say It might manufac ture so cheaply that it would be able to sell goods in the United States in spite of any conceivable tariff we will be likely to adopt. All this, however, look* forward to condition* beyond the present year. Kor the pending year the general judgment is, first, that business will be fairly good under any condition. Party Rotation Possible, fine of the most astute politicians in the 1'nited States says that the rotation of partners in power in the t'nited States for many years tp come will be determined bv the heaviness of our taxation. His theory i* that *o long a* the present burden of taxa tion last* no party will be abl» to endure in power for more than a single administration. Every four I years, he says, the people will blame the party In power for the heavy taxes and will turn them out and elect the other party in the hope that the latter will reduce taxes. The theory that ' good” business or ‘hart' business determines elections is always based on the effect that one of these conditions or the other has on wages. The wage earner is by far the most numerous class of voters affected by prosperity or the lack of it. Wage Scale High. In the United States, however. WOMAN’S INSTINCT WINS OVER LURE OF CAREER, SAYS MRS. RINEHART We arc: constantly pushing hack the age for marriage. There are two entirely separate ideas of marriage. One takes the at titude that the primary purpose of ■ marriage is the child: the other main tains that marriage is a vital and beautiful contract between two peo ple, and that the child is simply an Important by-product. But in either case it is plain that nature intended this union, with its flowering, to oc cur early. Instead, we are year by year in creasing the age at which it is pos sible for men to marry, and young women are postponing their own marriages, in total ignorance of what the price of this delay nny he. Part ly this is tlfe fault of our girls, who are laying too much stress on the Im portance of things, partly it is the fault of parents who want to see their children begin where they left off. Just what is this price? There can be no doubt whatever that the deferring of marriage sends young men otherwise decently in clined to an occasional wallowing in the mud. The vital urge in them is very strong, and this artificial re tardation of marriage undoubtedly sends many men of clear instincts to some sort of shady bypath of life. Abetting tile Social Evil. It Is a tragedy that we do not-bet ter understand this situation. It Is responsible, in an older and more cyni cal people such as the French, for the open recognition of irregular re lationships outside of marriage. Our colleges take cognizance of it in the emphasis laid on athletics. But the rank and file of our people go on, each year making It more difficult for men to marry young, and failing to understand why the so-called social evil persists. Women find It particularly hard to understand. A woman as a rule only gives herself Where her affections are Involved. A man'a passions are not dependent on love. Although It ia doubtful whether they Influence hia life as doe* a woman's Ies*"ex plosive but perhaps deeper sex na ture, they are Infinitely less under his control. The question of an early or late marriage Is thus more Important for men than for women. But It Is the attitude of our women which deter mines It. So long as over emphasis is laid on the value of things in mar riage, ami so long as our young wom en remain in Ignorance of the actual questions Involved, all the legislation in the world will not do away with our segregated districts. I hsve said that 1 married at the end of one epoch for women, and the beginning of another. That I was a pioneer in Independence among girls of my class. Since then the sttitude of women toward marriage has largely changed. They are less liable now to marry for a home and support. They are, perhaps, less likely to marry at all. The old days of the two choices /or women, marriage or a dependent old age, are gone. A woman ran support herself, if she does not find a proper mate. Rut there will he no fundamental change in marriage at that. < areer and Motherhood Reconcilable. When there is a conflict between a’ woman's natural instinct and her Required taste for freedom, nature ia pretty sure to win. And a wom an » natural Instinct Is toward moth erhood The lure of some sort of personal career Is very great, but sooner or later the cost of that career has to he paid. To secure a selfish personal success at tha cost ,of the ieal things Is to find oneself In time alone. And since the pleasure of success is to share It, the price, In the women [ have known, has al ways seemed too great for the result. Personally, of course, I believe that the two things are reconcilable. 1 do not see why a woman. If she is will ing to sacrifice herself sufficiently, cannot be s wife and mother, and an earner as well. Of course, 1 have to aiimit that l have been fortunate. My chosen career has been largely carried on in my home, with with the moral support of my entire family. 1 could not have gone on the stage, for instance, and have given my fam ily' so much of myself. But a woman under these condi tions must pay the price, too. She must carry a double burden, of fam ily and of labor. If anyone is to suf fer, let it be herself. Bringing Out Worst In Some Women. I must confess it does not alwsys work out. And I must confess that this new grasp at Independence tias brought out the worst in many women, ss well as ths best In oth ers: the women who give their work as sn excuse for not making a proper home: the ones who exact their hus bands support, and regard what they earn as only their own; that strange demonstration of the inferiority com plex, the women who refuse to take their husbands names; those others who, through defeated sex, are fo menting sex warfare and predicting a matriarchy, ami using the name of social progresa to cover what is really an Instinct of revenge! These women, often conspicuous, do the cause of all women great harm. But they are only, after all, devia tions from the normal. The normal woman is In the great majority; her primal instinct Is the mating one, her great normal function Is child hear ing. When there Is s conflict between nature and her acquired instinct, na ture will win. Ones, writing shout the war. T remember laying that It *eem«d resolve itself into long periods of ooredoi.i. *..• i itd by higher moments now and tnen of battle. Some mar riages are like that! But many, of course, consist of long stretches of aeml-monntnnous hut contented exist Mary Roberta Rinehart in Hough Riding Outfit. Nothuithatanding her remarkable literary produrtlvlty. Mra. Rinehart haa alao arrompliahed nnuaual feata of horaehaek riding, exploration and ranoeing through the wilderneaa of the Rorky and f'aarade mountalna. Her beat known hooka Inrlude. "The Breaking Point," "Tiah," "Baba.” "The Cir cular Ntalreaae (The Rat),” "The Amazing Interlude,” “Dangeroua Daya," etc. Hlth the exception, possibly of two nr three motion nlrtur# stars. Mary Roberts Rinehart receives the highest Income from her own efforts of nnr woman In the world. Her annual return* from l>ookv Elays, short stories and scenario* hss een estimated at more (ban fUtOU.OM. Yrt Mrs. Rinehart has found time to rear a family of threw hots and make a home for her husband and children. No part of her family life has been sacri ficed to her career. Renders who hare followed Mrs. Rlne- j Hart's series of “best sellers." from “The t Irrnlar Main ase." he first novel nub llshed In UK*. ("The Hat." as a play), to* “Tha Breaking P«tot." ana nf tha heat •ellara of IHtMttJ, and also a Mate aur «e»«, will be intrrcated In her own eiperl enrea in relation to marriage. home making and a career, art forlh In the accompanying article. Mr*. Kinehart waa a trained nur»a la a V*itt*h*irgk hoapltal when, at the age of I®. *he mat and married hr.Mianlrt M. Kinehart. lamg realdenta of I'itteburgh. I»r. and Mra. Kinehart now lire iu W *»h invton. I». ('. I*iihlia|iera eatimnte that Mra. Kinehart'* hooka ha»e hern read hr 15.900.000 \mrcl eana. Who la anlrwraofly recognised a* one of the outatanding literary rlgurea of tha da^. ence, with now en<l then a rise Into ■heer happiness. And thia Is ea ll should he. Happiness Is active, contentment la passive. Kesr of us are always happy, but a good many of us are contented, and all of us have our higher moments of sheer Joy. Naturally, two people, elected at random out of a populous world to live together the remainder of their lives, cannot expect absolute com munity of thought and ihterest at the beginning. Indeed, I sometimes wonder, not that there sra bo many divorces, hut that ao many people are able to make this miracle of re adjustment successfully. It Is partlculsrly hsrd Just now We are turning out a etrongly In dlvldualltitlc class of young people these deys. They are more opinion ated. Ies« given to concession, and totally unwilling to compromise with life. They regard all compromise ss weakness, not having learned yet that hitter lesson that ail of exist ence is nothing else. They will learn It. of course, hut not perhaps In time In make the early years of marriage successful. And It Is llie first years that count. Perhaps the secret nf the success ful marriage lies In the word "com promise." The old story Is that Noah wanted a door In the end of the ark and his wife wanted s win dow. So they rompromlsed—on a window! But at least we see that I this matter of compromise began fair ly early. A Cause of Shipwreck. I have seen marriage* where a failute to accept these compromises has caused shipwreck. I have known women who seemed deliberately bent on alienating their husbands by some stupid stand on an unimportant mat ter. I say women, because men are les« likely to lay stress on what is not vital, and perhaps are more weakly anxious for peace at any price. But I have known men. too. who clung to the outworn idea of their superiority and infallibility, and have shattered their homes by an Ipse dixit. No point, unless there is a vital principle behind it, is worth a stress ing which can upset harmony. 1 emphasize thia matter of mutual compromise, because in marriage the two principals invariably either grow together or grow apart, it is not the tendency of any human emotion to stand still. It increases or de crease* Ami individual* du not remain the same. Many a woman ha* had to recog nise. at JO, that her husband is not the man ahe married at 20, and men have the same experience. Charac ters alter, habits, likes and dislikes. If It is true that the human body ie remade every seven years. It is doub ly true of the human mind. Heart Choice—Early and IA ter To meet these alterations requires adaptability. The more rigid and un compromising the characters of the people Involved, the more difficult becomes the constant readjustment. And the tragedv of many marriage* occurs when the discovery is made that the choice made at *n early pe riod la not the choice which would have t»een made later. This is tha one and only argument against early marriage* which is really valid. In my current play. "The Breaking Point." the man con fronts such an issue. The woman with whom he has been wildly In love at 21. so greatly Infatuated that he has killed her husband, comes hack into his life 10 years later. She is almost meaningless to him. save for. the flood gates of wretchedness she releases, for he ha* by that time made the rhoice of his maturer years, a girl of an entirely different type. Women are lev* liable to these dis lllualonment* than men. I think. They have two gift*, one a quality of faithfulness, and the other to create an illusion about the men they love. Psychologically, perhaps, this is a defensive mechanism! But it often enable* them to exalt a common place Individual Into all they would like hit^v to be And. since no Ideal ie ever entire ly lost, perhaps1 such men are the better for It. By and large. I haven't a doubt that a good many pien today are trying to live up to tome wo man* quite baseless conception of them. • • • I have been married a good bit longer than I was unmarried. One marriage, then. I know very well in deed, and I have had contacts with a good many others. In a world of rapidly changing ideals I have stood fast for the home and children. Maybe it is a loairg battle. I have period* of discourage ment. for It is not fashionable to exalt the commonplace virtues. Mv little banner of love and work is often lost among the red flags of realism, sbnormal psychology and melancholy Introspection. But I my self have not lost faith. Personally, I cannot imagine life! without marriage, a home and chil dren. I cannot imagine life without children. The woman who la deliber ately childless is a mystery to me. The house which never re-echoes to the slain of the front door followed bv the cry of ' Mother! ’ is an empty house to me. And 1 shall not change. If I Had Had No Children— Only once in all these y ears has our family life, of parents and children, lern Interrupted, and that was dur ing the war. The war ttu particular ly hard on families like ours, closely knitted together, with a community of interest as well as love. The part nership had to be temporarily dis solved. and the first time we were re united again *a* when we took In a rartner. at the wedding of our eldest sen. True, things are changed with us We have no longer, for instance, a hilly goat tied up jn the yard. Or the rabbits, ferrets, goldfish guinea pigs and various other live stock which used to creep out from under the fur niture and startle visitors. It is pos sible now to go Into a dark room without destroying an entire railroad system. Automobiles have replaced bicycles and velocipedes at the front door, and the problem of toys for Christmas ha* become one of English pipes. But these are only surface change*. Sometimes I wonder what would have been the effect on my writing had 1 had no children. I have no doubt I would have done better work but I have no doubt either that I would have been more the creative machine and leas the woman. I have seen other creative workers trying to fill their lives with their work, and growing more and more concentrated on it. more progressively self ab eorbed. I have seen husband and wife fach ambitious, drifting away along their diverging roads, with nothing to hold them together but their com mon roof, their,common possessions Some of them are great artiste I watch their work with a pang of en vy. But I would not change places with them. Copyright. 1924 there is now a condition affecting the levfl of wages which makes them —to some degree at least—independ ent of minor change* in the state of business. Wages in the United State* are very high In the coal In dustry conspicuously, *nd in some Other industries also, wages today continue to be at the wartime peak. If we should have really bad tim»* doubtless jiiages would go down to some ertent. But there ha# been in troduced in the United States a pri mary condition affecting wag** which now- and for years to come will cguse them to be higher than they otherwise would, whether times be good or bad. This ne wcondition is the restric tion of immigration. In on# year juet preceding the war, upward of a mil kon and a half of immigrants came in from Europe. Over a considerable period preceding the war the annual influx of immigrants was upward ef a million. With the beginning of th# war m 1914 immigration practically eeas»d - This !nt«rruption by war lasted unt 1 the demobilization of European armies in the latter part of 1919. Then w* mad# th# Interruption permanent by adopting a definite policy of Im migration restriction. During the good years ef 1911 and 1923. if there had been no restriction of immigration, the Inflow of aliens might readily have reached upyard of 2.000,000. Actually, under the quo ta limitation the number was kept down to something over 190.00*. Oive* 1-abor Monopoly. In effect th!» operate* to give a monopoly to labor already In Amer ica. For the firet time In history American Isbor la protected aga.net the competition of a freeflow of im migrant! from Europe. This new condition la by far the weightieet factor among the causes of the present high level of wages In America. Because of the restriction of Immigration, labor In America Is going to have not only higher wages, but more power than aver before Our policy of Immigration restric tion is going to be maintained. There is no one subject about which Ameri can opinion, both in eor.greas and throughout the country, is so genera: ly agreed. Actually, w# ara on th# point of making our immigration restr.etlon more drastic. Our present Immigration law admits from each country a quota of 3 per cent of the rativea of that country already here according to the census of 1510. Th * law expires June SO next. Congress is Just now working on a new law that w!U reduce the quota to 1 per cent of the number from each coun try already here according to the cen sua of 1S?0. Kxpressed in terms of totals, the reduction will be from roughly 330,000 to roughly 150,00#. limitation to Continue. For good or ill, the limitation and the conditions that flow from It are here permanently—or at least indefi nitely. Of course. It is not meant to ssv that we shall never have unemploy ment in America, nor that wages will never suffer recessions. The high wires now enjoyed by laboe in America and its other aapec’S of power and privilere cannot continue to rmw Indefinite!'-. To aoma extent there has been coin* on in America \ division of wealth which takes from those who have and distributes among those who have not. There is nothing more obvious then the fact that tMs cannct go on beyond ' a certain limit. Some of the best * economists and some of the most thoughtful business men believe tha some time in the future wa ahall have a rather trying time in Amer ica. economically speaking. FRENCH VANITY MAY EMBROIL WORST WAR IN HISTORY By DAVID IXOYD GEORGE. «l>rrlkl Cable Klspstch to The Omihl Hrc. Gondon, Jan. 19.—If the object of statesmanship by to convert Europe into shambles within the lifetime of this generation, then Qual d'OrsaT a on the right track. T'nder the Poln i are regime. French policy has set Itself to the task of exasperating an exhausted people of 70.000,000 by ar togance, insult and stinging oppres sion. The special correspondent of the Times has revealed something of the met hods of the French military oc i upatlon In Germany. No self re specting people could possibly tol erate what la happening In the occu pied arena without, hanking up their resentment for future action. The black troops, the kind of ac commodation which decent German i itlzena Hre forced to provide for them, deportation of tens of thou sands from their homes In the Ituhr. negotiation wllh Industrial magnates of tgrms which can only he carried out by increasing hours of labor and diminishing wages of workmen are all done with the thousand petty In solences that military men In the as cendency naturally Indulge In. A people who will beer all this lamely would not. hrdd all nimerl world at. hay for four years and sur render th»n only when their children Wers/.itarvlng. I.et»us own the truth I about a bravo foe whom we have vanquished. As if to make sure that th» explo sion. when it bursts, shail spread over the whole continent, ftpeel.il measures are being taken to arm. equip ami train hug* armies throughout central Europe and to effect military under standings for striking together when the hour arrives All these armies tend to become provocative and op preeslva to dissibned neighbors Great armies were directly respon sible for the great war. There are greater armies In Ilia aggregate be ing raised today and they niny well plunge the world Into a greater war. And they will do so unless something or somebody Intervenes. The tramp of armed men and the rnrilc of nr llllery have an Intoxieatlng effect upon nations. Central Europe has always been a volcanic region. One had hoped that after the eruption of 1914 th* vol canic fires would have been ex bausted for at least a general Inn. Bui the French are working with In genuity to break down Hint crust and bring us ones more face to face with these hidden flies. I'nless means are taken to arrest It In time an over whelming catastrophe to mankind Is Inevitable The aggressive policy pursued by tb» Frenrh ministry Is ss rowsrdly as it is foolish. Trampling on a fallen foe In mi contemptible an art aa a man ran commit. It I* a poor aport and It la fooliah. On* way or another, the vanquiahed nation will arlae Infuriated with tha baae treatment, and France will then diaoover how her behavior In victory ha* disgusted all the friend* who alood by her In her trouble before. Franre. who cannot afford to honor her obligation* to Hrltain and (he United Slate*, can find plenty of money to equip Ktiropean nation* with deatructlva weapon* to lntlml date their neighbor*. It cannot af ford to pay Intereat upon thear debt*, »o the burdened taxpayer* of Itrltaln and Amerira muat continue to do *o while It la utilizing It* reaourcea In militarizing Europe. What doe* It hope to gain by thl* pollr.v? Inatead of Kuaata. the Itrltlah em plre, Italy and the I'nlted State* next lima there will be bv It* aide t’aecho Slovakia, Poland. Jugoslavia and Ku mania! That la the calculation. What statesmanship! If war ram# again between Franca and Germany, one word from Russia would neutralize three out of four of these new allies And even if Russia were mute, no Polish. Oecho Slovakian or Rumanian statesman would commit their armies to an invasion of Germany with the knowledge that a Rugsltn army stood on the other side of vulnerable fron tiara. What would happen If Poland marched her armlei Into Germany at the request of the French general staff? There would he a smaller Po land for the remnant of these atmiea to return to. And as for Caecho Slo vakia. the 1'r.echs ate wedged between 3,000,000 Hermans tnside their own frontier* on the west and 7,000,000 hostile Magyat* ort their southern frontier. I Oder these elrrumslsnees. 1 cannot see a prudent minister en tangling an army corps of t'secho Slovakia In the mountains of Ra \arla on a French quarrel. OUR CHILDREN By A ngelo Patri I WHAT COUNTS. "Now If Robert were only like Jim mie. Jimmie I* such a gentle child; no ea*y to 11 \ e with. Hut Robert. Wherever he la you ran look for trouble. "He never accept* a *ugge*tlon. .Vever. He want* thing* hi* way and he'll argue and aqtilrm and lo*l*t un til he tire* the other* out *nd they either give In or go off in dlaguat. "Not that lir a a had tempered child or a aelfleh one. either, lie'll give up thing* readily to hi* playmate* and help thrni *ny time, hut he |* loud ill hi* will and won t. Jimmie lan't a bit like that." Which may hr had for Jimmie. The hoy who ha* a Mill of hi* own and exert* It haa a gift directly from t>t god*. )l« will not trot off at a word of command. Not he. He will aland atlll and revolve the thought In hla mind until It haa meaning to him The meaning he gel a out of It may not ha the one you held and ha will attempt to show you that you haven't the right Idea at nil. If you ere the usual parent you will he com# enraged at t lie Idea of hla ha\ Ing an Idea about an order you I* Mied and you will repent the mm mand without attempting to put it In term* that hi* mind accepts Then he alta hack In IJa mind and s«\s, ' I won't." and there are struggle* and tear* ahead for him and for you. Of course it ta.kea your time and It strain* your Intelligence to put the aituatlon In terma that hla mind can accept. It really take* a keen Intel 11genre to keep up with H child, lie's ao nun It (jutrker and hin Idea o( what la right Is so mu* h simpler than an adult's. To youth, black amt white. fight ami wrong aie dean cut, clearly tie fined. \Vh> trouble with the sIumIca between’ Ilia eye cannot discern them. Perhaps, too. he Is too hottest to try to find them where he believes they ate not to be found However that may h the?# )* no reason for grieving because the child thinks for himself. That he thinks wrong according to your light is not the point He think* and he wills and that is truly wonderful. Hn few folk do. * Instead <*/ moaning because ha - - ■ ... —.■. ,, I any a. "t’m going to." and "Not int." and Some chance. ’ and "Try and get it.’ you ah ou Id rejoice and forthwith act a Unit cultivating hia acquaintance so a* to be on the in aide naalatlng at tlie council tatde m Plead of being on the out aids wor rying about the decisions There 1* no reason for worrying about tlie la.I with a will and a pur pose Hr a in luck. The one to wror r> about is gentle .llmtnie who f* so easy to li\e with that he’s accepted aa part of the furniture and puahed about according to the purpose and the will of others That s the lad whoa in need of \our antioua tare Trv to put a little ginger into him anti keep hi* brother from lmp«w»ing Upon him until he cat. hes uo. The t'sechs are a hardened, prac tical race and very few of them have lived in Parle and inhaled its In cenee They have struggled hard to win h*.'k the national freedom thev dost centuries ago. They have se cured It largely hv luck. I predict that when the time comes thev will not risk that proclou* good fortune by engaging their national existence In a quarrel between France and Her many, provoked entirely by French politicians anxious to pose a* heroea before their own public. It la the supreme Interest of th> t'xerhs, having regard to the geog ! raphlcat position of Bohemia and lt« Internal racial conditions, to he on I terms of nmitv with their neighbor* It does not suit their interests to be come mere Jackals of the French I lion When the German rhlnocerous recovers his strength, the jackals may be trampled In the struggle For these reason*, these mllltarv conven lion* will break down If ever the tma come* for rely ing upon them. French Will \wakr. French statesmen will then find that they have recklcselv thrown away friendships that proved steadfast In days of trial and got nothing tn re turn but shadows that shtink lvefoie the fires of war. By the aid of those friendships Franca has been rn.ancl paled from th# constant t* . that darkened Its ot loo;, fni c 4> years It has recovered its lost' province*, added hundred* cf thou sand* of square miles to its colonial possession* and become the most powerful military power in Europe No French etatesman In hi* mcs' radiant dream a ever had such a vision of triumph. The Poles the Csecho Slovak*, the pi*\* of south ern \ at: s slid ths Rumanians ' western Austria have, by the sam« mean* and without much effort or sacrifu a on their own part, recover* t their national rights A c *11 these dauttng gams to he thrown away because there Is not rnough wisdom among the men w *■ % v'I .le the affairs of Europe to - e » la n greed, ambition and Insatiable \atut\ national as well as personal" That is the question of the hour rI’U W’T!/?/! T«iMI A WrictS* mentonivi* rp<w»^* iKc h*t |^\>v«i of iw«\BuS,f u tn m N cwnhann( aII to it* ol vt>i«k* ia Kaad or cKm TSo sji.tckly Wraak or »nd §np Aivi prrvmt tSa "!Wl I— ——|