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The Commoner
VOL. 18. no. 10
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number of orgawtzations .havb taken upon
thomsolvos the task of aiding our BOYojrnment
In fthls work. -The greatest of those is .tho Red
Cross Socloty which lias no rival in all tho world
In ltd Hold of labor. When last year it asked
Tor one: hundrod million the country gave one,
hundred and twenty, and that did not Include
tho vnluo of tho time and labor so graciously
given by tho women of tho country. This year
tho Red Cross Socloty asked for one hundred
million moro and tho country gave ono hundred
and seventy million. It is not strange that tho
ovor-HubscrlplIon was groator this year than last.
Wo aro farther In the war; the Rod Cross
Society has moro work to do and wo learn day
by day moro clearly of- tho importance of that
work. No matter how often tho Rod Cross calls
and no matter for how much it calls the money
needed must bo furnishod and will be furnished.
But it is nocossary that wo shall nourish the
spiritual needs of these soldiers. No soldier will
return from this war just as ho was when ho
entered it; ho will bo stronger or weaker for his
exporlonco strongor if ho resists tomptation;
weaker If ho ylolds. Therefore, wo must bo
interested in throwing about those soldiers an
environment that will bo helpful and wholesome.
A number of organizations are helping In this
work. Tho Young Men's Christian Association,
tho Knights of Columbus, tho Jewish Brother
hood, tho Lutheran Brotherhood, tho Young
Women's Christian Association, tho Women's
Christian Tomporanco Union, and the Salvation
Army. Those aro some of the moro important
of tho organizations that are helping tho govern
ment to maintain in tho army the moral stand
ards of tho homo. Those organizations havo a
claim upon our hearts and upon our pocket
books. Wo must be interested In the morals of
theso men not only when they roturn homo, if
their lives bo spared, but wo must be interested
In their morals whilo they aro soldiers. You can
not ostimato tho fighting worth of a soldier
without taking into consideration his moral con
duct. I bolievo that wo aro putting upon tho
battloflold tho greatest fighting machine that
this world has over known. And why .not?
Whore boforo has there ever been such an "aver
ago, man as the average American? Wo have put
into tho average man in this country more than
was ovor put into any average man since time be
gan; and our Soldiers aro more than avorago
men ; thoy aro tho very pick of average American.
And wo hayo put boforo the average man of this
country moro of hope, of opportunity and of
aspiration than wore oyer put boforo any other
nvorago man, and wo aro sending into the army
the cleanest body of men who ovor carried a
musket or faced a cannon. And wo aro guarding
thoir moral wolfaro as tho welfare of soldiers
was never guarded boforo. Tho mothers who
havo loanod their sons to the nation havo reason
to be grateful that in tho threo places that come
noarest to tho soldior's lifo'wo havo a President,
a Secretary of War and a Secretary of tho Navy
who feol a vital intorost in the morals of the
men. And our soldiers fight with an inspiration.
Thoy aro not fighting 'for land; they are not
trying to grab Indemnities. Thoy are fighting
for a causo and thoy believo that the triumph
of that cause will bo as much a blessing to the
pooplo whom thoy meet upon Clio battlefield as
to thomsolves. And thoy are right. I believe that
fifty years from now the masses in Germany will
.luank God that this nation helped to break tho
yoke of a ruling family and sot a nation free to
sljaro In tho world's progress In Government.
..With such a combination how cou,ld our soldiers
bo less than tho best soldiers In the world'
Wo havo taught tho militarists of Europe an
important lesson. Because our nation has been
a leader In tho poaco movement and has favored
the substitution of reason for force in tho settle
ment of, international differences, thoy thought
our pooplo had grown weak and effeminate. Thoy
now see that tho qualities that make the Amer
ican the best, citizen in time of peace make him
alBOtho best soldier if fighting becomes neces
sary. LIQUOR TRAFFIC ROBS PEOPLE OF EQUAL
ITY OF OPPORTUNITY
. , I may hero draw a parallel. I said we were
fighting that opportunity shall be ours and de
scond to our children. Lot mo add that no other
Institution in our land has dono as much as tho
llauor traffic to rob our people of equality of
opportunity. It has deprived millions of children
of-higher education by 'absorbing tho money to
'which they were entitled.
'Another parallel: On tho 11th day of next
November tho drive is to begin for the raising
of one hundred and seventy millions of doltorB .
to protect tho moral welfare of the soldiers, and
three organizations will ask for ono hundrod
and forty-five millions of that sum The i Young
Men's Christian Association will ask for one
hundred millions; the Knights of Columbus will
ask for thirty millions and tho Young Women s
Christian Association will ask for fifteen mil
lions. Here are three great religious organiza
tions that together, will ask for one hundred and
forty-five millions of dollars to be expended in
guarding the moral welfare of our soldiers, and
it will be.subscribcd, but do you tli ink the people
who will subscribe ono hundred and forty-five
millions to guard the moral wolfaro of those,
sold'ers while in camp will cease to be interested .
in thorn when they come home? No, my friends.
The very people who will give their money to
protect tho morals of those men in camp by
surrounding them with an environment that will
bo helpful and wholesome arc going to drive tho
saloon out of this nation so that when these
boys come home they will have a wholesome
environment in which- to resume the work of
dvil life. l , n
Our people are also called upon to aid In tho
production and conservation of food, and they
arc so animated by tho spirit of patriotism that
I believe that all that is necessary is for the
government to indicate what it wants done and
tho line along which they can help to make sure
of a united support of tho government's every
effort.
RAISING OF MONEY AS NECESSARY AS THE
RAISING OF MEN
And then wo are called upon to aid in raising
tho money the government needs to carry on
.this war. Money is as necessary as men and a
failure to furnish it would be as disastrous to
our cause. Tho government raises its money in
two ways, by ta'xatjon and by borrowing. It is
using both methods. We aro now paying four
billions in taxation. Wo have never known such
taxation in this country before, but .two billions,
six mill'ons of the sum is raised by income
taxes and excess profit taxes. And, but for the
fact that after a fight of nearly twenty years
we amended the constitution and authorized all
income tax it would be impossible to distribute
the burdens of this war as equitably as they are
being distributed. From the day when the
Supreme Court by a majority of one, and that
one man changed his mind between the two
hearings of the case, nullified the income law
of 1894 down to the time when the constitution
was amended during that interim our nation
could draft a citizen but could not draft a pocket
book. We had put the dollar above the man,
and made money more precious than blood; but
now we have the income tax amendment and
can put the hand of the government on wealth
and make that wealth bear its share of the ex
pense of tho government that protects it.
We are asked to raise eight billions instead
of four. Congress will soon pass the law and
the people will pay the money, and if they want
twelve billions in taxes all they have to do is
to write the law and tho people will pay it.
No matter how high the tax rises let no tax
payer complain. As long as it necessary for ono
mother's son to lay his life upon the nation's
altar no tax that can .be levied on income or
property can possibly be as heavy as the tax on
life and blood. As long as soldiers must die for
our government we, who escape with the pay
ment of money only, should willingly pay any
amount assessed against us. But if it is easier
to pay taxes than it is to render military service
it is still easier to loan money to the govern
ment. When tho government takes our money
in taxes it does not promise to give it back.
When a dollar leaves the pocket for the treasury
n tho Payment of taxes it sings as it goes
"Farewell vain world, ye ne'er will see me
more. But when we LOAN money is comes back
to us with interest on it while-they keep it
Have you thought of tho difference between
loaning a son and loaning money? When a boy
rises in an aeroplane to meet a foe in the clouds
the government cannot guarantee that he will
return to he earth alive; if he goes out upon
a battlesh p the government cannot guarantee
that he will return to the shore alive- and if
bo puts his body between us ami a cruel, barbar
ous foe on the western battle front the govern
ment cannot guarantee that ho will return to
his homo alive, but every dollar that we loan
to the government with which to win this war
las a guaranteed rdturn and it not only comes
.back without a wound, but it bring ? a rate ?Tt
interest larger than the average rate paid by
tho savings banks of our country, if anrt ,
tells you that- a government bond is not I T
ftfip.iirltv vou can answer Minn i,. .
ment bond ceases to be good security, there 25
be nothing else In this country worth InvMti
in, for a government bond is a first morE?
on every dollar's worth of property under 2
flag and it has the nation's honor thrown In t!
make the security doubly sure. And if anybod
tells you that this world is going into bankroll
s,j iUov- v. w T, iv... m fcivu you this Ml
of consolation: If it does our nation will be u
last ono to make an assignment, so that om
bonds will bo good when all other bonds ar
worthless. You never need bo afraid ot your
government security; and we have ono govern
ment obligation that, as far as it goes, is a Httu
better, I think, than a government bond, and
that- is the war savings certificate because yoi
can collect it on ten days' notice at any time.
And it lias two additional advantages on He
side: One is that, being issued in very small
denominations, a child can use a government
security as the basi.." of a savings account, and
the habit of saving is so important that If e
can use the impulse of patriotism to lead onr
children into the establishing of a savings ac
count, based upon a government obligation, the
habit will be worth more to the children even
than their money will be to the government
These denominations are. so small that if any
grown person has not been able to purchase a
liberty bond no ono has any excuse for not In
vesting to some extent in. the war savings certifi
cates. Thus wo can put a whole nation back ot
pur government in tho financing of this war,
and we are doing so. Seventeen million joined'
in- furbishing the money" for the third loan, and '
that' is nearly as many people as we have voters ,
in this country. It is twice as many as fur
nished tho money for the second loan. It is four
times as many as furnished the money for the
first loan, and 1 have no doubt that a still larger
number will furnish the money for the fourth
loan; which will soon be called for.
The government is so confident of the re
sponse that it has reduced the time of the drive ;
from four weeks to three, and the peoplo will
not.' bo outdone in generosity; as the govern- j
ment has knocked- off onV week I think the ;
people will knock off aho'ther and raisd it in
two weeks instead of three. The fact that so
many peoplo join in the loan enables us to tell
the Kaiser that we have not only loaned and
loaned and loaned a third time, but that, judg- ;
ing by the response of those who participate, we
caii promise him that we will loan and loan and
loan until the liberties of the people of the
world are no longer menaced by autocratic
power.
I have not tried to tell you how long the war
would last. I do not know. I do not know of
anybody who does know, but I have been very
much interested in the news that comes from
the western front. -1 have never known the first
page of the newspapers to be as intensely inter
esting as it is Taow, and I am sure you have
noted, as I have, a change in tho dispatches
from Berlin. Whan this rlrivo lieean they used
to send out a dispatch from Berlin every. day
saying that for strategic reasons the German
army had withdrawn to a previously prepared ,
Dase, but now all the previously prepared oawj
have been exhausted and any old base is gooj
enough for a temporary stopping place untu ,
thoy start again. And, you know, my curios -is
excited. I have been watching to hear wmj
the Kaiser will say. In the early part of tho w
every time his troops made an advance he vonw
shout "Onward with God," and I am just curi
ous to see whether that old criminal is goiw
to be impudent enough to try to tako God mi"
mm as he retreats toward Berlin.
I say I do not know how long this war
wi
last but I can tell you a fact that is more im
portant now than any guess or prophecy w
that is that whether this war be long or snot
the quickest road to peace is the road straw"
ahead of us with no division among the A""
lean people.
ABOLITION OF. SALOON WILL HELP
HASTEN VICTORY
And this brings me to the prohibition qo'
tion. When I was in Washington, as I kaPP
to be on tho 17th day of last December, p
congress concurred with the senate in the resui
tion submitting prohibition, tho only argun
that the opponents of prohibition had to n
was that you must not disturb the harmony
the country or divide tho peoplo by bring"".
the prohibition question at this time, wen,
'Au&jijw