The weekly soliphone., August 30, 1917, Page 2, Image 2

About The weekly soliphone. (Paragould, Greene County, Ark.) 1907-1918

Image provided by: Arkansas State Archives

                
The patlit yvess.j
CK1IK1N SMITH.l id it or-Mgr.
k. t'. WRIGHT... Advertising Mgr.
Knterod at. the post.officc in Para
Cgould, Arkansas, as mail matter of!
the second class, under act of
March ;’>. 1S07. Published at 107
Hast Court Street.
•
THIRTY BILLION DOLLARS.
News dispatches published yester-j
day conveyed the information that >
appropriations already made and
those contemplated by the present
congress will amount to approxi
mately thirty billions of dollars
an amount wholly beyond the con
ception of any man. We may talk
and think in denominations of hun
dreds and thousands, and perhaps
millions, hut when the figures pass
ten hundred million., and are theni
multiplied by thirty, the mind is;
staggered and fails completely to,
grasp the enormity of the amount:
involved. But recently a nation
wide campaign was made to sell1
three billions of dollars worth of I
"government bonds. Several weeks |
eve re required to complete the
transaction, and for days money |
tiowed into the national treasury
at the rate of thousands of dollars
a second. -Yet this represents but.
one-tenth the amount necessary in f
'appropriations if the Washington j
government is to prosecute the war
according to plans now outlined.
There are so many lug tilings to lie
done: so much to buy and such co
lossal organizations to pigfect that
one can only stand amazed in con
, templation. When we even attempt
to think in such units it is easy to
understand why calm deliberation
and earel'u! preparation are neces
sary upon the part of those entrust
ed with the creation and expendi
ture of this wealth.
mm lmt recently a billion dollar
' congress was unheard of. Tut.il
\) within the pa : decade it did not
t; require ten hundred thousand dol-j
h iar$ to meet the running expenses!
■of the federal government, including
'I appropriations for rivers and har-j
jutork, and all the allied hills of ex-j
If nense that wore saddled upon thoj
■ i ,ea -ury. ‘Now >.ve see, in a single
) session, enough money placed at the,
•disposition oi the various managing
heads to operate the entire I ntt.ed
States for a period of thirty years.
Naturally, our ft it impression is
that this vast wealth is actually
spent—that it is checked out ot I
the nation’s strong hox and dissi- ;
pated into nothingness, or sent toj
foreign countries. As a matter of j
fact, war conditions have produced!
exceptional opportunities for the re-.
i cation of virtually the entire
amount. Embargoes fixed by neu
tral nations against the exportation
of commodities, added to the pauci
ty of the belligerent countries in
-1Ho matter of production of any
thing needed by the I’uitcd States,
have combined to make this nation
i more self-reliant and self-sufficient
• than at any time in its entire hia
S tory. A constant stream of gold is
pouring opt of the treasury at
Washington into the cotiers of the
' steel mills, and in turn these mills
are employing hundreds of thou
• sands of laborers at good wages, on
| day and night shifts. Trices, too.
have been fixed by legislative en
\ actment. and the unusual spectacle
• of a parent government buying at
its own figures is presented. The
lirice on coal, copper, lead. zinc,
wheat and other commodities essen
rtial to manufacture and to the mis
• reimnce of life turn* hoe* aajnsum
§ jj, nr. equitable manne.r The l’resi
4 Pent has established advisory and
t? co-operative boards, whose heads
are picked from among the nation's
most successful business men. v. ho
4 are assisting in the tremendous
task of organizing a force of suf
ficient moment to stand up before
, • the world and give battle for the
principles of democracy. Strange
as it may seem, the amount of act
i. ual cash to leave the 1'nited States
| during the progress of war will be
" negligible by comparison. With the
exception of an occasional loan to
our allies, all of the vast sums com
peted and appropriated by congress
T. will merely constitute a medium of
1 exchange which will pass from hand
4 to hand, enriching many as it trav
t'cis the financial paths.
With bounteous harvests. high
wages, good health and lahot fullv
4 employed, there is no reason for
£ worry over hard times for many:
i£ months to come. Especially .loesj
this truth hold good locally, where i
£ £ nature, divinity, man and his gov- (
4 moment seem to have conspiiod for -
q the common good.
..—-oOo
Paragould this evening hold- out;
i * irUie glad hand to the Jonesboro drl
, r-ates who are to * with us tor a
y c.ijuple of horns. Jonesboro has a
,i. virile commercial organization and
is doing splendid publicity work
for all of Northeastern Arkansas
LOGIC OF THE LIQUORITES.
II would seem even to the re
sourcefulness and intelligence of a
crazy man that tin- time for spend
ing money on an anti-prohibition1
propaganda in Arkansas has ended.
Tlie advanced pot it ion this state
lias taken among I it ; commonwealths
where liquor lias been outlawed.,
and the tremendou; and constantly
growing sentiment in favor of keep
ing the fingers of the dirty liquor
element out of public places and
away from politic il influence, all
combine to prove that the people
of Arkansas appro date prohibition
and sobriety in their present forms,
and hope each yen' to approach ,
more closely that ideal condition'
which not only prevents the mak
ing and shipping of the fiery fluid
in the states designated as “dry."
but in all the world as well.
lint the liquor interests in Ciil
’innati, and in many of the other
arge Kastern cities do not seem to
ippreciate the fact that this senti
nent for decency and morality is
lincere in the fabric of our citinon
diip. They appear to understand
hat a few preachers and si ill a
evv other time-serving politicians
ire responsible for present-day coa
litions. Almost daily The l’ress re
.•civea ii letter, enclosed in mi on-*
.•dope marked "No vs Immediate,'
It shows that it is mailed from j
501 United Hank Uuilbiug. Uim n
inti. Unclosed is a proof-sheet giv- '
ng the liquor version of all things. I
mdicrous indeed are some of the
deas and argument:-, advanced. One j
leadline in particular makes ..n
impression today. Referring to the j
activities of ministers of the gospel
in lamentation of the trend of litis
element to leave truly orthodox
teachings and become practical, the
sheet says:
‘‘Preach the holy goS|>o!. Keep ,
extraneous subjects out of the i
church and pulpit. Ministers who j
neglect doctrine of Brotherly Love
and cater in emotional topics ate
criticized Leave agitation for week
days."
U is argued that the leaders of
church organizations refrain entire
ly front mentioning in the pulpit
those things which more directly
affect home life than any other
topic that could he advanced. Those
advocates of barley brew believe
that it is all right for a sin- and
booze-soaked brother to hide his
face in whiskey and bathe his
cheeks in beer foam six days out
of the week, but object to having
his sensibilities injured on Sunday
by a minister who may choose to
deliver a prohibtion sermon. Pro
hibition, you see, under these cir
cumstances, is “extraneous matter."
it is liable to injure the man’s mor
als. Leave the drunkard alone (o
the swine with whom he associa es
let his correction lie done by
those who more readily recognize
the odor of poach brandy and the j
like. Let ail good men and all)
teachers r drain from joining in
with the "elements of discontent,'’;
and leave the correction of drunken j
degenerates to their own kind. This
is tlie form of democracy and equal j
rights the liquor advocates plead <
for. A most wonderful doctrine, is I
ii not,?
I
I
ington, Aug. 29.—The general Amerk
translation of President Wilson's reply to the Pope's jj
Deace note is that the German Emperor must go. i nt
fact ths the n j it
man people that they can have peace merely by over
throwing the Kaiser and his Prussian advisors leads to,
the'belief that the German government will not permit jj
publication of the note in newspapers.
—
Washington. Aug. 29.- That the Kaiser is an outlaw p
and that from past experience peace agreements along
the line suggested by the Pope are impossible is the gist
:>f the message to the Vatican dispatched by President j
Wilson last night.
The text of the note follows:
TEXT OF MESSAGE.
‘His Holiness, Benedietus X\ , Pope:
“In acknowledgment of the communication of your
holiness to the belligerent peoples, dated Aug. 1, 1917.
the President of the United States requests me to trans
mit the folk wing reply:
“Every heart that has not been blinded and harden
ed by this terrible war must be touched by this moving
appeal of his holiness, the Pope,*must lee! the dignity
and force of the humane and generous motives which j
prompted it, and must fervently wish that we might take
the path of peace lie so persuasively points out. But it;
would be folly to take it if it does not in fact lead to the,
voal he proposes. Our response must be based upon the
stern facts and upon nothing else. It is not a mere cessa
tion of arms he desire -: it is a -able a,vl end-winy; » '
This agony must not be gone through who again, and it
must be a matter of very sober judgment that will insure1
us against it.
“His holiness in substance proposes that we return
to the status quo ante-bellum, and that then there be i
a general condonation, disarmament and a concert of na
tions based upon an acceptance of the principle of arbi
tration; that by a similar concert freedom of the seas
he established; and that territorial claims of trance
and Italy, the perplexing problems of the Balkan states,
and the restitution of Poland be left to such conciliatory
adjustments as may be possible of the peoples whose
political fortunes and affiliations will be involved,
l NSIN CEBIT Y S lT SPEC TED.
“It is manifest that no part of this program can be
successfully carried out unless the restitution of the status
quo ante furnishes a firm and satisfactory basis
for it. The object of this war is to deliver the free poo-;
pies of the world from the menace ami. the actual power
of a vast military establishment controlled by an irre-•
sponsible government which, having secretly planned to
dominate the world, proceeded to carry the plan out
without regard either to the sacred obligations of treaty,
or the long established practices and long cherished prin
ciples of international action and honor; which chose its
own time for the war, delivered its blow fiercely and
IB rt
i Bib i
■
!
i
One lot ol' soiled waists, £*1^
choice of tlio lot .tf-Jis
—
One dozen skirts, formerly priced I
at $:i.9f> to $5.85, your (fto ft,*
choice .
I
—
One lot. of extra size skirts, to
close out, your
choice .
One lot of skirts, to get them
out of the house in a
hurry, choice . Oi/t
If you would share in these values
' you had better not delay a day,
! Tb will go it; a hurry and
t over.one of them is a genuine
! Ik’. >':C! AIN. Ml will he down
■-1: - fir:'! i toot*.
I mi ■ •• ■■■wun* ra »«*' "»»»«•• — '■""v>*u‘' ***»••»**■
• uddenly; stopped at no barrier, cither of law or of mer
. ; swept a whole coni:cent within the tide o
:iot the blood of soldier' only, but the blood of innocent
women and children also, and of the helpless poor; am
now stands balked, but not’defeated, the enemy of four
fifths of the world. This power is not the German peo
ple: It is the ruthless master of the German people. It
G no business of ours how that great people came under
its control or submitted with temporary zest to the domi
nation of its purpose; but it is our business to see to it
that the history of the rest of the world is no longer
left to its handling.
“To deal with such a power by way of peace upon
me plan proposed by his holiness, the Pope, would, so
far as we can see, involve a recuperation of its strength
ral o : 1 < ■ ndee
create a permanent hostile combination of : at ions
against the German people, who are its instmwwm; ana
would result in abandoning the new-born Russia to the
intrigue, the manifold subtle interference and the certain
. ounter revolution which would be attempted by all the
malign influences to which the German government has
of late accustomed the world. Can peace be based upon
a restitution of its power or upon any word of honor it
could pledge in a treaty of settlement and a<k*ommoda-‘
UUIl .
“Responsible statesmen must now everywhere see,
if they never saw before, that no peace can rest securely
upon political or economic restrictions meant- to benefit
some nations and cripple or embarrass others, upon vin
dictive action of any sort, or any kind of revenge or de
liberate injury. The American people have suffered in
tolerable wrong's at the hands of the imperial German
overnment, but they desire no reprisal upon the Ger
on people, who have themselves suffered a:! things in
s .... ■. - hiih thej A ot eh os . They b eve thi
■are should rest mnn the rights of poop’ * not the
‘ghts of governments—the rights of peo . s, great or
- nr-!!, weak or powerful--their equal right to freedom
and security and self-government and to a* participation
L'pon fair terms,in the economic opportunities ol' the
world -the German people, of course, included, if they
will accept equality and not seek domination.
“The test, therefore, of every pian of people is this:
Is it based upon the faith o. ail the peoples involved or
: merely upon the word of an ambitious and intriguing
; government, on the one hand, and of a group of free
; peoples on the other? This is a test which goes to the
coot of the matter; and it is the test which must be ap
: plied.
WAY OPEN FOR PEACE.
“The purposes of the United States in this war are
known to the whole world—to every people to whom the
truth has been permitted to come. They do not need to
be stated again. We seek no material advantage of any
kind. We believe that the intolerable wrongs dope in
i v me by the furious and brutal power of the imperial
■ ’ wmi government ought to he repaired, but not at the
of the sovereignty of any people—rather a vin
. i eat ion of the sovereignty, both of those that are weak
'and of those that are strong. Punitive damages, the
| dismemberment of empires, the establishment of selfish
land exclusive economic leagues we deem inexpedient
jand in the end worse than futile, no proper basis for a
i peace of any kind, least of all for an enduring peace.
That must be based upon justice and fairness and the
■common rights of mankind.
“We cannot take tilt* word of the present*rulers of
'Germany as a guarantee of anything that is to endure,
'unless explicitly supported by such conclusive evidence
(ii tl will and purpose of the German people themselves
as the other peoples of the world would be justified in ac
cepting. Without such guarantees, treaties of settlement,
; agreements for disarmament, covenants to set up arbi
\'U a hi the place of force, territorial adjustments, re
• P ' of sired! nations, if made with the German
; . . . *> m: '• no n.dion could now depend on.
. . . ,t.'. ;nie new evidence of the purposes of the
rU the central powers. God grant it may
i n and in a way to restore confidence of all
,, op a ew ywhere in the faith of nations and the possi
bility of a covenanted peace.
(Signed) “ROBERT LANSING,
“Secretary of State of the United States.”