tar - ,"
U
M. I
The Commoner
VOL. 16, NO. 5
20
" - "-e
The Wilson Administration is
rnmanly Constructive
(Cnrl Vrooman la Tho Arkansas
Gazette.)
Tho following Is, In part, tho ad
dress dollvercd by Carl Vrooman, as
sistant socrotary of agriculture, be
fore tho convention of tho Arkansas
Bankers' Association in Little Rock'
thin week:
"Wo aro frequently askod, 'What
is tho attitude of tho department of
agrlculturo toward business?' Some
poople seem to think wo are gunning
for tho business man, that we aro
trying to tlo him up with useless re
strictions and regulations that throt
tlo Initiative. This is vory far from
boing the caso. The policy of tho
departmont of agrlculturo is that of
tho ontiro Wilson administration.
That policy has boon and is primarily
constructive, and only secondarily
critical, regulative and punitive. At
no time has It boon iconoclastic or
destructive. In attempting to bring
tho practice of tho business world up
to a higher standard, it has In no
caso 'run amuck.' It has in no ln
stanco shown tho slightest vlndlctive
ness or desire to Impose punishment
for othor than reformatory purposes.
It has invoked tho principle of tho
'indoterminato to sentence' and tho
Buajiumiuu uuiuonco wnerever nos-
dl.1n Ti. .1 ... . ..
"The groatost single pleco of legis- oral r081lrvo BstGm today we see tin
b extraordinary phenomenon of an un
u
MEAL-TIME CONSCIENCE
What Do tho Children Drink?
What Do tho Children Drink? needless to sav that HiIq nnZ commercial and industrial leaders as
There are times when mother or sRuaUon orTotht ines men'S SKte'TonSt m
her feeds tho youngsters some- farmers, to nlJwi ?? not contrary
father taota thn
tlUUPT that tllGV know MlMrlfnn nlwl,1
not have.- Perhaps it is soirio rich
dessert but more often it is tea or
coffee.
It is better to have some delicious,
not food-drink that you can take
yourself and feed to 'your children,
conscious that it will hoip and
strengthen, but novor hurt them.
A Yorkstato lady says: "I used
coffee many years in spite of tho
conviction that it injured my nervous
system and produced my nervous
headaches. While visiting a friend
I was served with Postuni and I de
termined to got a package and try it
myself. The result was all that
could bo desireda delicious, finely
flavored, richly colored beverage.
Since I quit coffoe, Postum has
worked wonders for me.
"My husband, who had sufferod
from kidney trouble when drinking
coffee, quit tho coffee and took up
Postum with me and since drinking
Postum ho has felt stronger and bet
ter, with no indication of kidney
trouble.
"You may bo sure I find it a great
comfort to have a warm drink at
meals that I can give my children,
with a oloar conscience that it will
holp and not hurt them as coffee or
tea wuld."
, Name given by Postum Co., Battle
Creek, Mich.
Postum comes in two forms:
makes a doliclous beverage instantly
9ln nrA ft l n !!
wvo tMlVA UWU HUB.
And COSt aim lit thn snmo nm. ,.
llml -, "" '" ViUlJ.
- iuuro-s a ueasoiv ror Postum.
sold by Grocers.
tfiitn i il. ..n.lll- n.0 41. A WT O fT
administration, or of any other ad
ministration during tho lifetime of
any one now living, was the law cre
ating tho federal reservo banking
system. This measure visited no
retribution upon the heads of those
who had piled up immense fortunes
by tho unjustifiable, though not act
ually illegal, financial methods so
widely in vogue before the Wilson
regime. It put a stop to these unfair
and unjust practices, not by prohib
itory enactments backed up by the
imposition of heavy legal penalties,
but by inaugurating a better system
for controlling the credit facilities of
tho country. The result has been
that when tho recent world war burst
upon us, even before the federal re
servo system had gone into effect, the
business men of the country re
publican as well as democratic
looked to the future smilingly and
confidently, knowing that under this
now banking system no panic could
seriously disturb our finances, so long
as crops were good and business was
conducted along sound and legiti
mate lines.
"As a concreto and highly signifi
cant illustration of tho beneficial ef-
lecc me ieuerai reserve system nas
.turo, and of the entire Wilson admin
istration, is carried on as much in the
interest of the normal and legitimate
business man as it is in the interest
of the general public. For example,
the department of agriculture some
time ago discovered that certain
large grain dealers in different ter
minal elevator cities were adulterat
ing oats with anywhere from 7 to
33 1-3 per cent of barley screenings,
and adding two or three per cent of
water as well. As a result dealers
who would not stoop to these prac
tices were being driven out of busi
ness. The department promptly and
decisively put a stop to such meth
ods, and as a result, self-respecting
grain dealers who had been forced
to stop dealing in oats are again able
to handle them at a reasonable
mute. ii nas uono everything in its had on finance and business in this
power to rocognlzo and to regenerate country, take the matter of the rate
tho business world, and has done of Interest. Ordinarily when business
nothing tO dlflOrPanlsn fV rllarimt- V la lmnmtncr Intarnar m(nn - 1,U1.
it nas used tho surgeon'B knife as and ordinarily when interest rates
sparingly as skillfully. are low business is depressed and
Groatost Accomplishment of Years stagnant. But as a result of our fed-
"Tho groatost single pleco of lerls- oral r03G,rvo system today we see the
"This sort of regulative, restrictive
and punitive work, which is typical
of what is and has for the last three
years been going on in every depart
ment of the government, is fast mak
ing it possible for honest business
men to do business without fear of
unfair cnmnGtft.inn nn rhf nn.rf. nf un
scrupulous competitors. I tako it
that there is no function of govern
ment that is more important than
this, and that there is no activity
of government that ought to be and
is looked upon with greater favor by
the business world. If not, it would
be a sad commentary on the business
world.
To Redress Wrongs of Weak
"Tho truth of the matter is that
at present the vast and mighty ma
chinery of government is being util
ized not only to redress the wrongs
of the weak, not only to protect the
health, happiness and prosperity of
the individual citizen who is unable
x sn? &&?-
Tho Federal Trade Commission
"Tho creation of tho federal trade
commission was another great con
structive step, and was conceived in
the same spirit as the federal reserve
banking law. It has resorted to no
Inquisitorial measures; it is looking
for no heads to break with a 'big
stick'; it is attempting to administer
no noxious doses of physic to reluc
tant and squirming business men.
Its function is that of the skilled
physician and surgeon of tho busi
ness world, who does everything in
his power to give sound advice as to
hygiene, sanitation and intelligent
methods of living and working, who
co-oporates actively in creating a
healthful business environment for
all, and who only resorts to the med
icine of regulatory control, or the
surgical operation of a legal prose
cution as a last resort.
Jt the aericultural department
not more than 20 per cent of our
ntw 1"resulatory and punitive; the
and nr SiPMr ;ontfbe,IlB constructive
, ? Unct value t0 every legiti
mate interest that Intimately or re-
Uiral u 8G 'HI tGd WUh tUe Wleirt.
geneTac e
Tutl Practically all
low i.7:,:Tu..vuu. "apartment of
Postum Coronl tho o,oi r ,. .rv0"- tno aepartmont nf
-must bo well boiled. !Bc aid 25c ZSnmw (LlttT ot our
pkgs. ti, . , ? lareest propdrtion of
.,tPos,m - so,ub.e pow,.er STtt " SSS.'S? tK "X
W-mTwS, cVoUl V W " Vie3 ftS J VS "' W con!
makes a doliclous hovorn ie"iV businessman. Thrfin-mmi .... "nent, build un th w.8 con
business man." ThVee-quarters f 7t tinent up the great., t Cn'
fdltt mercial and induBWalSSS;
lating immigration intn i.i i..e " world has evr Bonn L mzaUon
c ana BOc tins. i emmures go to the work of rejru-
Both forms tiro equally delicious latins Emigration into this country
d cost about the same nor mm "FW Trn r..,
For tho DToncst Business Man
to public welfare. It believes that
the. strong can be strong perman
ently only on condition that their
strength is founded upon right and
justice, and that the strong are
sources of national power and pros
perity, and of social and economic
advancement, provided they are im
bued with the social rather than the
anti-social spirit.
"This being the case, tlie most im
portant thing for the business men
offU country t0 do is to pay less
wi V? the paid Gators and
walking delegates of the world of
tHvifi?nC?; wh0 arG instantly
striving to stir them up with the cry
that they are being "regulated out of
HSin??,8C ."tIed hand and foot?''
h i ?y restrictins," etc., when
there is not a syllable of truth in the
Zp?"0,11- ,The ee-quarters o?
n ne-tenths of the business men of
the country who are on the square
and who are anxious to build m Ta
lal iniV8trial and 'commercial
fabric in this country can do it only
one way, and that is by getting be
hind the governmental authorities
who are working for the same end
and giving them their wholehearted
and energetic support in this Seat
forward movement. The ttiVthX
is perhaps more needed than any
thing else in the business world to-
ssrsi S
tho world has ever seen.
Correcting Mistakes of the Past
zrjt
,,- "Ma im '-.oM.u oi me i-ast
day and night trying to undo tha
mistakes of the past, and to put
business, commerce and industry on
a sound and healthy basis, a basis
that will give justice to the worker
and the consumer, as well as to cap
ital and managerial skill. If this
effort proves successful, America at
a stride will become the dominant in
dustrial and financial force on our
planet. The world-war which is now
raging on three continents leaves us
the only great world power devoted
to the arts of peace and able to do
business in a neutral and friendly
way with all the warring nations.
"Once we have settled our indus
trial and- social problems at home,
broad and peaceful paths to power
stretch out before us in bewildering
and alluring profusion. This is one
of those historic crises in the life of
our nation when its moral fiber is to
be tested to the uttermost, when it
has but to measure up to a fair de
gree of intelligence and a reasonable
moral attitude, in order to havo
placed in its hands the scepter of
the moral and material leadership of
the world."
THE BETHLEHEM STEED SQUEAL
For years, twenty-nine, the presi
dent of the Bethlehem Steel company
says the armor making concerns
have been stealing from the gov
ernment by overcharging the naval
department for armor plate. This
much President Grace of the Beth
lehem concern admitted in his letter
to congress offering to cut the cost
of armor plate $30 a ton.
During all those years the grip of
the armor makers on the representa
tives of the people was great enough
to permit tho overcharge.
Recently, hbwever," the' people be
gan thinking about "taking the pri
vate profit out of preparedness," and
then they began talking about it and
writing letters to their servants in
congress demanding that it be done!
The result of this agitation against
profit in war traffic was the Tillman
bill appropriating $11,000,000 for a
government armor factory.
The armor ring threatened to go
right out of the business and not sell
Uncle Sam a single penny's worth of
armor plate.
That didn't have the desired re
sult, for the senate went right on and
passed the Tillman bill.
It is now in the house.
Threats not having the desired ef
fect, the Bethlehem Steel company
now comes forward with a letter to
congress offering a $30 reduction on
each ton of armor the government
will buy during the next five years,
provided the government doesn't
build its own factory.
Mr. Grace says that $395 per ton
is as cheap as any concern, his or the
government's could manufacture
armor plate. That may be true. But
even so, that is no reason why it
should be accepted. If the armor
makers should now agree to sell
their product to the government at
less than cost, the offer should be
turned down, for any such temporary
price reduction has in view the kill
ing of the Tillman bill.
And the killing of that bill means
that the hold of the armor ring up
on the American purse will be tight
er than ever and more exacting
than ever- after the five years aro
up.
They couldn't defeat the Tillman
bill with threats.
Shall we let them do it-with sugar
coated promises? Omaha News.
ONE GOOD FEATURE
"Do you think the income tax is a
good thing?"
"As an economic measure, I am
not prepared to say. .But I doknow
that it stopped a lot of braggiug."
Pittsburgh Dispatch. 4
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