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November, 1917
THE ATLANTIAN
3
Hoke Smith as a Prophet
The Atlantian
Box 118, Atlanta, Georgia
THE ATLANTIAN will- five free apace to all Secret Societies and Labor
Organisations.
On the other hand, ire put everybody on notice when THE ATLANTIAN
makes a statement "-'•Ich we believe to be true, and such statement goes
uncontroverted, we shall Insist that it Is true.
Published Monthly bv The Atlantian Publishing Co.
VoLIX. NOVEMBER 104
‘ Our Motto: “Pull for Atlanta, or Pull Out. ”
Editorial Etchings
Thanksgiving Day
The Pharisee thanked God that he was not as other
men. He is pictured before us in the Scriptures as an ex
ample of what men ought not to be. A self-righteous,
smug, self-satisfied individual whose world began and
ended with himself.
We of America have this year a special reason to
give thanks because our nation has awakened to the
sense of responsibility to mankind. We are told that “he
who would save his life (by selfishness) shall lose it,” and
on the contrary, “he who loses his life (by unselfishness)
shall save it.”
It is reason for profound gratitude to God that the
conscience of this nation has been so aroused that it is
willing to wage an unselfish war for humanity, that it is
willing to spend its money and gives its sons and daugh
ters that Civilization, Democracy and Christianity shall
not perish from the earth.
For these are the issues at stake, and out of this tre
mendous and horrible struggle we shall emerge if we are
steadfast and loyal, a more homogeneous, a more right
eous, a more spiritual people, moving forward under
God’s guiding hand to a destiny greater than we can
imagine.
The world moves forward only through suffering,
and the bloody travail through which we must now pass
is our contribution to the upward movement of man.
Let us then thank the good God, the giver of life, that
He has so strengthened our hearts as to give us courage
to make our contribution cheerfully, promptly, loyally,
and that He has enabled us to see our duty even as our
forefathers saw theirs, and to discharge it as faithfully
as the men who endured all things for long and weary
years that America might be free.
Prophecy is a dangerous thing and many modern
prophets are humiliated by seeing that their prophecies
were vain. But Senator Hoke Smith has lived to see his
prophecy of “25-cent cotton” come true. He can pride
himself on having, been able to see farther into the grind
stone than a great many people, and it is quite likely that
having been successful in this instance will not turn his
head, and that should he in future indulge in prophecy he
will be quite certain that his premises are sound before he
makes public his prophetic utterance. Joking aside, it is
to the credit of his intelligence that he was able to see
far in advance of most of us that conditions were shaping
up in such a way that good prices for cotton were inevi
table. Now that our people are prospering as a result of
these good prices let us hope that the Senator will not
have occasion to indulge in any gloomy predictions.
Stick to Hoover and We Won’t Go
Hungry
Some people are not impressed with Mr. Hoover’s
work in the matter of food control.
Some think he is too much disposed to rely on general
co-operation of the people, and not disposed to use the
strong arm methods which these people believe the right
way to handle a most difficult situation.
But here is a crucial fact: If we will all snuggle up
close to Hoover and give him the co-operation he asks
Ihe food problem will be worked out with the least possi
ble friction. Here is crucial fact number two: If we
join forces with Hoover and help him to work out his way
there will be no bad taste left in anybody’s mouth,
whereas, if we refuse to give him co-operation and force
him to strong arm methods we introduce discord into
our ranks.
It is well to remember that while Mr. Hoover speaks
softly yet he has a big stick handy.
Government Ownership of Railroads
Steadily the shadow' of government ownership of our
railways looms larger and larger.
Notwithstanding the generously patriotic response
of the railway managers to the demand for war service
it is quite clear that w r ar conditions have inevitably
strengthened those who believe in government ownership
and increased their numbers. The writer came to the
conclusion some time back that there were only two pos
sible solutions of the railway problem. The first, a con
solidation of the 1,400 raihvay corporations into one
great corporation absolutely dominated by government,
or. second, government ownership.
The trend is decidedly toward government owner
ship* There is no disposition here to discuss the question,
merely a noting of the trend of public opinion and inci-