Newspaper Page Text
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THE DAY BOOK
nTlenhnnPQ Editorial. Monroe 3Xt
1 eiepnones circulation. Monroe SblQ
N. D. COCHRAN
EDITOR AND PUBLISHER.
BOO S. PEORIA SY. CHICAGO, ILT..
'Subscription By Carrier in
Chicago, 50 cents a month. By
Mail, United States and Can
ada, 50 cents a Month.
Entered as second-clas matter April
21. 1914, at the postofflce at Chicago.
ill., unaer me aci or .narcn 3, 1379
FOR FRIGHTENED .FOLKS. In
limes of emergency some .folks seem
to think it their first duty i become
frightened and so, toda - have
people worrying over an attack by
Japan, an invasion by a Mex-Gennan
army, bank distress, famine and"
other ghosts calculated to terrify.
The first thing scared folks usually
do is to drawftheir savings out of the
bank and hide them in some sort of
a "stocking." If they happen to live
near the border or near some spot
where a Jap might get ashore, they
df ten move and utterly break up their
life plans. The usual exodus of tour
ists back to their eastern homes has
even now been magnified into a flight
of fearful people from the Mexican
border a'nd the foreigners whowould
raid our Pacific toast. And nothing
could be more foolish than this man
ufactured terror of what might hap
'pen. This nation, in every .part, was
never better prepared to combat
threatened calamity, notwithstand
ing all that has been published about
weakness of its navy and Inferiority
of Its army, and one great reason
for it is that no other nation is willing
and at all prepared to pitch into us.
Japan is not only an ally of our
ally, Great Britain, but she is oiline
f up prosperity as never before in her
, history. The number of new fac
tories being built in Japan's bigger
cities is simply astonishing. Reduc
ed to poverty by wars with China and
Russia, the masses of Japan suddenly
find themselves up to their eye-brows
in big profits, and they like it. They
see in their phenomenal industrial
progress a thousand times more na
tional advantage than, they could
possibly hope" for in an invasion of
America, or active werfare with any
body. They are a people who have
been down, and now they taste- mo
ney. Our war with Germany simply
means more prosperity for Japan.
The Mexican government, such as
it Is, is undoubtedly favorable to Ger
many. Very many of Mexico's banks
and larger manufactories have been
controlled by Germans for years, and
Mexico may summon up courage
enough to become very ugly toward
us, but that's an entirely different
matter than invading and taklngthe
U. S. territory with which Mr. Zim
merman baited his book. It is not
at all possible for Mexico to equip a
Mex-German force that our border
states could not easily beat off, and
Mexico knows this" well.
As to financial fright, the trem
bling ones should remember that our
banking system is now organized
with special regard to meeting pa
nicky times. The banks are not'only
crammed with resources but they are
inter-dependent, amalgamated. The
possible weakness of one is the con
cern of all, with the whole nation as
guardian angel. War is undoubtedly
a deterrent to the undertaking of
new enterprises by private individ
uals and cost of living must rise. But
the government will engage in some
tremendous new enterprises, bigger
army and navy mean more jobs for
civilians; and the whole nation has
been living too high, too fast and it
will be fine training, for many folks
if they have to cut out the waste
and luxuries.
There id no valid reason for fright..
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