About Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920 | View Entire Issue (June 19, 1917)
4 THE SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL < Ifb.TX.AITTA, GA., 5 SOUTH FOBSYTH ST. Entered at the Atlanta rostoffice as Mail Matter o. the Second Class. JAMES B GRAY, President and Editor. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE. Twelve months Six months „ Three months The Semi-Weekly Journal is published on Tues day and Friday, and is mailed by ths shortest routes for early delivery. It contains news from .11 over the world, brought by special leased wires into our office- It has a staff of distinguished contributors, with strong depart ments of special value to the horde and the farm. Agents wanted at every postoffice. Liberal com mission allowed. Outfit free. \fr!te R. R. BRAD LEY. Circulation Manager. The only traveling representatives we have are B. F. Bolton. C. C. Coyle. L. H. Kimbrough. Charles H. Woodliff and L- J. Farris. We will be responsible only for money paid to the above named traveling representatives. TICE TU bUbSvK:.; EB S Th* label used for addressing your peter shows the time jeer ssbaeriptiea expires. By renewing at least two weeks be fore the date on thia label, you insure regular service. in ordering paper changed, be sure to mention w«E as yonr new address. If on a route, please give the route WBB We cannot enter subscriptions to begin with back numbers. Remittances should be sent by postal order or registered mail. Address all orders and notices for this Department to THE BEMI-WEBKI.T JOURNAL. Atlanta, Oa. Playing With Dynamite. “Every vote In Congress against the Food- Control bill is a vote to increase still further the high cost of living, which has already be come almost Intolerable. If is a vote to strengthen the hands of Germany by crippling the economic resources of the democratic na tions that are battling against autocracy. Whatever the professed motives of the oppo nents of this measure may be, they are helping (Germany and weakening the Uthted States when they seek to deny their own Government a power that has become vital to the winning of the war." —The New York World. This puts the issue precisely, and If states well the conviction that is deepening tn the minds of thoughtful and patriotic observers the nation over. The people muss be protected against food gam blers. or there will be want and woe from one end of onr land to the other. The Government must be empowered to safeguard and conserve those necessaries which are essential to the prosecution of the war. or our country’s vital Interests will b® betrayed and Its cause go down In disaster. In a time like this the problem of food control, as Mr. Gompers has well said, "strikes at the very roots of life.” Tens of thousands of families are now barelv able to struggle along under the burden gome cost of living. What will be the fate of these men and women and children next winter. If the food monopolists and speculators are allowed to continue hoarding life-necessaries and Juggling prices? When Congress plays politics with this matter, it is playing with dynamite. When if par leys over the alternative of giving the Government needed control to meet a war emergency, or of let ting a gluttonous gang of food gamblers hold the nation by the throat —when Congress parleys over such an alternative, the time has come for the American people to speak In tones Congress can not fall to understand. How Georgia Can Serve Herself and the Nation. What a paradise of prosperity Georgia will be when we can say of every farming community In the State what the Dawson News says of Terrell county: “There have been shipped out of this county during the past year more foodstuffs and feed stuffs than have been shipped ?.to it. A wholesale grocer informs the News that not a carload of oath, hay. corn or meal has been brought to Dawson In more than a year, whereas only a few years ago these commod ities could not be got fast enough, several carloads a week being required to supply the demand. No meal at all is now Imported here, as Jobbers buy from local mills that grind Terrell county corn. And this already de sirable condition will be improved this year. Never before were there as many acrer planted to corn and other food crops, to say ✓ nothing of thousands of acres In peanuts and velvet beans, with several local mills to con vert them into merchantable products and thus enlarge the supply of feedstuffs, in crease the farmer’s bank account and <yid to the Independence and prosperity of the peo ple generally.” This record Is the outgrowth of fertile re sources. with which the entire. State is endowed, plus human energy and enterprise. What Ter rell county has done Is attainable in kind If not wholly tn degree by every county In the State. By every natural circumstance Georgia is destined to be one of America's great centers of food production; It remains only to utilize the rich and abundant opportunities. That they are being utilized more and more extensively is not to be .questioned. Georgia’s corn crop last year amounted in value to sixty four million dollars, its oat crop to twelve million dollars, and its food-animal products to upwards of thirty-seven million dollars. Os the State’s total agricultural income of three hundred and forty-eight million, six hundred and elghty-four thousand dollars, almost one-half was made up of field, truck and fruit crops and animal products. When the high prices of 1916 cotton are consid ered. that record becomes particularly Impressive. Food production is undoubtedly receiving a larger and larger share of the planter's attention, and as a result our agricultural system is becoming bet ter balanced and in every way more efficient. The increased acreage and diversity of food crops has been followed quite naturally by marked develop ment in animal husbandry. In hog production, Georgia stands seventh among all the States; and its percentage of increase tn this item exceeds that of any other State. Os all States having pig clubs Georgia elands first, according to the national De partment of Agriculture, for low cost and high profits in producing pork. While It Is thus evident that Terrell county has many companions in food productiveness, it should not be inferred that rhe State has yet ap proximated its opportunities or its urgent needs. While .we raised last year a million bushels of Irish potatoes and nearly eight million bushels of sweet potatoes, we needed for home consumption eighteen million, seven hundred and fifty thousand bushels of each. We lacked one hundred million THE ATLANTA SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL, ATLANTA, GA., TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 191/. dozen eggs and three hundred and ninety-three million gallons ot milk of producing enough to supply home needs. We raised some sixty-four million bushels of corn, but we must raise still more this year If we are t'o offset the w’heat short age and provide feedstuff for live stock. Authori ties estimate that if Georgia is to be self-sustain ing. we must produce for every man, woman and child in the State more than thirty dollars’ worth of foodstuffs above last year's record. In a time like this, patriotism and self-interest alike urge that everything possible be done to make Georgia and the South self-sustaining in food necessaries. Terrell county fanners, and those like them throughout the State, are serving the commonwealth and the nation as well as their immediate community and themselves when they make the county independent of outside sources for food staples. If every Georgia county came up to this standard, more than one hundred and seventy million dollars' worth of foodstuffs now imported into this State would be free for t'he army’s needs and for exportation to England and France. And, besides, the more than one hun dred and seventy million dollars now spent in distant markets would remain at home for the im provement of our farms and the promotion of sundry native enterprises. If all the Southern States raised enough food to supply their needs, upwards of one and a quarter billion dollars’ worth of necessaries would be released for war service; and the South would be far richer than the most prosperous of big cotton years ever made her. There are cheering evidences that the people of Georgia and neighboring States have awakened to the obligations and advantages of more abundant food production. Certain it is that in Georgia an unprecedentedly large acreage of food crops has been planted and the development of live stock in dustries is being pressed with extraordinary vigor. The spirit which the Dawson News praises in the farmers of its own county Is possessing the State as a whole. The lean, uncertain years of the all cotton system have gone for good, except among the most backward localities and individuals. And while we are still a long way from our goal, we are moving steadily forward. - ♦ The Pro-Prussian Tick. The cattle tick, observes the Savannah Morn ing News, is a faithful ally of the Kaiser, “and works for our enemies by keeping down the sup ply of three of our most important fqods—beef, milk and butter.’* To eradicate this minute but mighty accom plice of the Hobenzollern is one of the peculiarly urgent duties of Georgia and neighboring States, both as a matter of efficiency for war service and of prosperity in their own affairs. By every natural circumstance the South is an ideal country for cat tle raising. Its mild climate and abundance of pasturage reduce to a minimum the cost of hous-i ing and feeding the stock. Authorities say, in deed. that with the exception of certain districts of the far West, this is the only section of the United States in which beef can be produced cheaply. But for long years there .have been two serious obstacles to the free development of cattle Industries in the South —the absence of markets, and the presence of ticks. The solution of the market problem is in sight. In fact, no field of Southern enterprise is develop ing more surely or more swiftly than t'he packing house industries, together with those on which they depend and to which they give rise. Within the past twelvemonth something like a score of such industries, representing an aggregate invest ment of millions of dollars have been established or responsibly projected in Georgia and the South east. x At the same time, earnest and broadly suc cessful efforts have been made to organize market ing facilities that will serve the needs of small farmers as well as the largest live stock interests. As a result, there is a ready and profitable outlet in almost every county for all the cattle and hogs that are raised. In the eradication of the tick a great deal re mains to be done, though in this field also en couraging progress has been made. Ten years ago upwards of seven hundred and twenty-eight thou sand square miles of territory were under quaran tine because of tick Infection. At the beginning of the present year, approximately half of that area was tick-free. Commenting on the campaign by which this was accomplished and the attendant results, the national Department of Agriculture says: “Native beef cattle, freed from attacks of the ticks, have put on more flesh; native dairy cows are giving more milk; and be cause danger of disease largely has been elim inated, cattle of better breeds have been brought into improve the native stock. The South has made greater progress in develop ing the cattle industry In the last five years than in the preceding fifty years, and there has been more progress in the industry in the South in that period than in any other section. The States and counties, railways and other corporations, and business men of the South have been active in emphasizing the great im portance of tick eradication and in spreading interest and information among farmers and cattlemen. As a result of the operation of all these forces, the work of tick eradication practically has been half completed.” We cannot afford to pause, however, until this highly important task is wholly completed. As the Savannah Morning News aptly puts It, the cattle tick works for our Prussian enemies by keeping down our supply of beef, milk and butter —three great staples—at a time when national as well as Individual interests demand the largest possible output of all foods. Southern farmers and business men should co-operate with one an other and with the State and Federal authorities more earnestly than ever to free the section of this last drawback to its live stock interests. As agn ficen t! The magnificent extent to which the Liberty loan was oversubscribed leaves no vestige of doubt that America's heart is in the war. The Govern ment asked for two billion dollars. The people poured out three hillions. Stupendous as it is, that sum is less impressive and less significant than the number of subscribers themselves. When more than three million persons Invest savings and sal aries and incomes in the nation’s causq, America may well take courage and go confidently forward. Those three millions of men and women and youths and children, together with the more than nine and a half millions of young men who regis tered for army service, constituite a vast shield and sword of patriotism that make sure our ulti mate victory, no matter how long and hard the fight may be. SAVING SUMMER FOODS 1. Canning Fruits and Vegetables By Frederic J. Haskin WASHINGTON, D. C.» June 10.— Every woman can serve her country this sum mer by canning as much food as possible. It is her duty to the nation as well as to her fam ily. We can't afford to waste a bean or a raspberry —else we may live to regret it next winter when the ground is covered With six inches of snow and there is no chance of harvesting anything but a big appetite. It is a commonplace to repeat that in recent years the apartment bouse, the canning} factory, the bakery and the delicatessen have been doing our housekeeing tor us. Why bake bread when you can buy it from a city bakery; why wear your nerves out cooking when you can buy cooked food at the corner delicatessen, and why can food when you can buy canned goods at any grocery? And so, every year, tons of fresh vegetables and fruits have rotted on the ground. Now the war has changed all this. It is as if we were suddenly plunged back to the times of our ancestors when the feeding of every family was the individual lesponsibility of its women members. The modern woman has been made to realize her waste and extravagance through the bitter school of high prices, and she now stands in the same position as her grandmother, who baked her bread, carefully planned the meals, and canned every left-over product because fotfd was scarce and the chance of winter want was always in the background. There is this difference, however. Our grandmothers were trained for it, while the great majority of modern woman are not. When the price of food started going up a year ago, for Instance, the women did not stop to think the situation over. If they had to save, why the sooner they started the better, and in their new enthusiasm for food economy they made the mis take of becoming miserly. They bought barrels of flour and sugar and Irish potatoes and stored them in the cellar for future use. The result of all this enormous buying was to send the price of these staples up. Under no circumsta'nces must the legitimate preservation of food be confused with "hoarding. It is one thing to can perishable products which would otherwise go to waste, and quite another to hoard all-the-year-round staples in the attic or the cellar. If you want to put some lima beans or sweet corn away in jars for the next winter when they will be out of season, you will not only be practicing the very wisest economy, but be doing your country a service. The same thing is true if you dry apricots and string beans for winter use or salt a supply of fresh fish or meat. But ir you store flour, sugar, coffee, tea, baking powder and cereals in your cellar, you are boosting prices, and may now be breaking the law. Os all the methods of conserving perishable food, canning is the most satisfactory. Through the efforts of the department of agriculture, thou sands of women and children have been taught how to can fruits, vegetables and soups during the past five years, so that a part of the feminine popula tion is well able to meet the emergency. For the rest of the women the department is now establish ing community canning kitchens, where represen tatives from the bureau of farm extension work demonstrate the best methods of canning. In one respect, the modern woman has an ad vantage over her grandmother. The factories have developed the best methods of manufacturing things, and she has the benefit of their experi ments. There is also modern working equipment to facilitate work of all kinds. The vacuum clean, er. the electric iron and electric motor, the tireless cooker and the gas stove were not heard of in our day. Neither was the one-period cold-pack method of canning nor the steam-pres sure cooker, which have reduced canning to a sim ple process. Our grandmothers used to sterilize their fruits and vegetables three or four times before they packed them, and even then lost a great deal of the product through spoilage. By the modern methods, the housewife puts her fruit or vegetables in* a pan and blanches them in boiling water. Then she quickly dips them Into cold water, removes the skins and cuts them into the proper sizes for glass Jars or cans. She next puts them in the jars or containers, pours hot syrup on the fruit and hot water and a little salt on the vegetables, and partially seels the jars. (In the case of tin cans they are soldered.) The products are sterilized after they are in the jars or the containers. The boiling .or sterilizing of the jars may be done in an ordinary home-made outfit, such as a wash boiler, tin pail, milk qan, washtub or lard pall. If fitted with a false bottom, lifting handles and a tight-fitting cover, such an outfit is much more convenient. Then there are manufactured outfits, costing anywhere from fiften to twenty-five which, like the vacuum cleaner, are not necessary to do the work, but are much more effi cient. One of tjiese is the steam pressure epoker, and the water-seal outfit is another. The steam pressure cooker is a large kettle, with a rack in the middle to hold the jars, and n lid that screws tightly on, supporting a pressure gauge, a safety valve and a steam petcock. Before putting in the jars, the kettle should be filled with water half way up to the rack. The lid is then screwed on, and as soon as the water boils steam pressure is created, the amount of which may be gauged by the thermometer on the lid. From five to thirty pounds of steam pressure may be gener ated by this steam-tight sterilizing kettle. The water-seal outfit is of different construction, but it works on the same principle—steam. These outfits are not necessary. This point the department of agriculture takes great trouble to emphasize; no woman should forego canning this year simly because she has not a manufactured outfits, which, like the vacuum cleaner, are not chief advantage of the manufactured outfits is the shorter time required to sterilize the product, and therefore, in cases where gas stoves are used, a saving in gas. In canning strawberries, for in stance, the home-made outfit takes eight minutes to sterilize the fruit, while under a steam pressure of fifteen pounds in the steam-pressure kettle, only four minutes is necessary. The next question is the type of Jars to bo used. There are three of these which the depart ment of agriculture advocates for canning—the screw top. or Mason jar; the suction top and the spring clamp. Great care should be taken in seal ing the jars, as a poorly sealed jar is one of the most frequent causes of spoilage. Before packing food in the jars, they should be tested, to be sure they are not defective. In the first place, put the top on the jar without the rubber. Screw it on tight. Then see if you can insert a thumb nail between the top and the glass. If you can, the top is usually defective. In the case of glass tops, the glass top should first be placed on the jar without the rubber. Then tap around the edge of the top with a pencil or the finger. If the top rocks you will know it is defective. Be sure that the wire bail Is tight enough to hold the top firm ly in place, too. Jars and containers of all kinds this year are more expensive than ever before; hence? no pre caution is too elaborate to prevent breakage. Do nest overpack them. Corn, pumpkin, lima beans, peas and sweet potatoes, particularly, have a tendency to expand in processing and should be packed ac cordingly. Then to be sure not to put cold jars into boiling water, or boiling water on cold jars. Heat the jars before you put your hot water or syrup into them. If you use a manufactured out fit, don't put too much water in it. The water should not come all the way up to the rack hold ing the jars. Attention should be paid to draughts also. If a cold draught happens to strike the jars as they come steaming from the canner they are all likely to break. Most of these precautions are well known to the experienced canning housewife, but the woman who cans for the first time this summer wants to take heed of them. In its farm extension work, the department of agriculture also teaches canning in tin cans, but for ordinary home use it does not advocate them, chiefly because they are too much trouble. One more bit of advice, however: Wrap COUNCIL OF NATIONAL DEFENSE—By Ralph Smith ASHINGTON, June 16.—One hears more of and \A/ a b° u t the council of national defense in these ’ ’ parlous times than of any other governmental agency. It has eclipsed its creator, congress, in the public eye, and Its work commends more conspicuous attention than that of any of the executive depart ments. The president alone overshadows the council of national defense and its creatures, notably the advisory commission. The council and the advisory commission figure in practically -every debate in con gress. They are alternately objects of censure artd commendation—harsh criticism and high praise. The council of national defense is comparatively a new thing in the body politic, and the advisory com mission is even newer. The council was created by an amendment to the army appropriation bill for the fiscal year beginning July 1. 1916. Six cabinet officers constitute the council, as follows: Secretary of War Newton D. Baker, chairman. Secretary of Navy Josephus Daniels. Secretary of Interior Franklin K. Lane. Secretary of Agriculture Davis F. Houston. Secretary of Commerce William C. Redfield. Secretary of Labor William B. Wilson. The act creating the council contained a provision authorizing .the president, on the nomination of its members, to appoint an advisory commission, consist ing of not more than seven persons, “each of whom shall have special knowledge of some industry, public utility, or the development of some natural resource, or to be otherwise specially qualified, In the opinion of the council, for the performance of the duties. . . .” On the recommendation of the cabinet officers com posing the council, President Wilson appointed the following as members of the advisory commission: Daniel Willard, of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, chairman, in charge of transportation and communica tions. Howard E. Coffin, the Detroit automobile manufac turer, in charge of munitions and manufacturing, in cluding standardization and relations. Julius Rosenwald, in charge of supplies, including clothing, shoes, etc. Dr r Hollis Godfrey, in charge of engineering and education. Samuel Gompers, in charge of labor, including con servation of health and welfare of workers. Dr. Franklin Martin, in charge of medicine and surgery, including general sanitation. Waiter S. Gifford, director of council and advisory commission. Grosvenor B. Clarkson, secretary of council and advisory commission. • « • The council of national defense has a number of subordinate committees, such as the aircraft production board, the committee on coal production, the committee on shipping, etc., composed of men skilled in these various industries. The advisory commission, also, has a number of subordinate committees, so many, in fact, that it is doubtful if any member of either the council or the commission could enumerate them without the prompt ing of a printed book. Certainly the number of persons connected either with the council or the commission through some of their subordinate branches far exceeds a thousand, and the thing is growing numerically by leaps and bounds, spreading out all over Washington. • • • The purposes for which the council of national defense and the advisory commission were created by congress are set forth clearly in the military bill, as follows: “That it shall be the duty of the council of national defense to supervise and direct investiga tions and make recommendations to the president and the heads of executive departments as to the location of railroads with reference to the frontier of the United States so as to render possible expe ditious concentration of troops and supplies to points of defense; the co-ord tn at ion of military, industrial, and commercial purposes In the location of extensive highways and branch lines of rail road: the utilization of waterways; ths mobiliza tion of military and naval resources for defense: the increase of domestic production of articles and materials essential to the support of armies and of the people during the interruption of for eign commerce; the development of seagoing transportation; data as to amounts, location, method and means of production, and availability of military supplies; the giving of information to producers and manufacturers as to the class of supplies needed by the military and other services of the government, the requirements relating thereto, and the creation of relations which will render possible in time of need the immediate concentration and utilization of the resources of the nation. "That the council erf national defense shall adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of its work, which rules and regulations shall be subject to the approval of the president, and shall provide for the work of the advisory commission to the end that the special knowledge of such commission may be developed by suitable investigation, research, and Inquiry and made available in con z Terence and report for the use of the council; and the council may organize subordinate bodies for Its assistance In special investigations, either by the employment of experts or by the creation of committees of specially qualified persons to serve without compensation, but to direct the investiga tions of experts so employed. * • • • Senator Hoke Smith, discussing the railroad priority bill the other day, reflected the views of a considerable number of senators and congressmen concerning the advisory commission when he said: “We passed a little A WORD FOR DREAMERS —By H. Addington Bruce THE other day I met a most interesting man. Possessing wealth, he possessed also a de lightful personality. He had none of the insolence so often found in men of wealth. He was sincerely democratic, and was sincerely de sirous to be of service to his fellow-men. As an earnest of this desire he was devoting his time and money to the development of a novel idea in social organization. In a beautiful region of hills and ponds he had started a little colony of home-builders. It was his hope, he told me, that this coldny would become a nucleus for the gradual growth* of his idea to acceptance by society in general. When I said good-by to him I came away feel ing really refreshed by my visit to him and t’o his colony. To a mutual acquaintance I spoke of the pleasure it had given me to meet him. “Ah, yes,’’ was the comment I got. “As you say, he Is Indeed interesting. But his head’s pretty far up in the clouds. It’s too bad he is such a dreamer.” Now, lam fairly practical-minded myself. Yet never for an instant would I hold it’ against a man that he can dream dreams and have visions of a bigger, better world than the world of today. Perhaps this particular dreamer’s dream is Im possible of realization. No matter. The main your jars In brown paper before storing them. It prevents bleaching. Recipes for canning fruits and vegetables may be obtained by consulting almost any cook book, only if you use the one-period cold-pack method explained In this article do not mix It with any other methods. The amount of salt you desire to use on your string beans Is a matter of Individual taste, and It does not affect the canning process If you cook bacon or chipped beef with them. The syrup density you use Is also a matter for you to decided, albeat an important one. It has a great deal to d.o with the quality of the goods. But re member that the canning process itself must not be changed: Blanch the product with boiling water; douche it In cold water, pack it in partially sealed jars and sterilize. Innocent bill allowing the council of national defense to have an advisory commission, a board of some sort to advise them in some way. That little provision has developed until its magnitude passes my ability of description. I only hope that none of these men who are buying for the government are selling at the same time for themselves.” The subordinate committees co-operating with the council and the advisory commission are listed as follows: Aircraft production* board. Committee on coal production. Commercial economy ’board. Committee on shipping. Committee on women’s defense work. Interdepartmental advisory committee. General munitions board. Subcommittee on army vehicles. Subcommittee on armored cars. Subcommittee on emergency construction and con tracts. Subcommittee on optical glass. Subcommittee on priority. Subco-operative committee. Munitions standard board. Subcommittee on gauges, dies, etc. Subcommittee on army and navy artillery. Subcommittee on fuses and detonators. Subcommittee on small arms and munitions. Subcommittee on optical instruments. Subcommittee on and navy projectiles. • Co-operative committee on telephone and telegraphs. Special committee on railroad transportation. (There are perhaps a dozen subcommittees co-operating under this head.) Co-operative committee on cars. Co-operative committee on locomotives. Co-operative committee on public utilities. Co-operative committee on automatic transporta tion. Co-operative committee from national industrial conference. Committee on supplies. Co-operative committee on cotton goods. Co-operative committee on woolen goods. Co-operative committee on shoe and leather Influs tries. Co-operative committee on knit goods. Co-operative committee on alcohol. Co-operative committee on aluminum. Co-operative committee on asbestos. Co-operative committee on brass. Co-operative committee on cement. Co-operative committee on chemicals. Subcommittee on alkalies. Subcommittee on fertilizers. Subcommittee on miscellaneous chemicals. Subcommittee on coal tar by-products. Subcommittee on sulphur. Co-operative committee on copper. Co-operative committee on lead. Co-operative committee on lumber. Co-operative committee on mica. Co-operative committee on nickel. Committee on steel and steel products. Subcommittee on alloys. Subcommittee on sheet steel. Subcommittee on steel distribution. Subcommittee on scrap iron. Subcommittee on pig Iron, iron ore, and lake trans portation. f Subcommittee on ferro-manganese. Co-operative committee on oil. / Co-operative committee on rubber. Co-operative committee on wool. Co-operative commitee on zinc. .. Committee on engineering and education. Subcommltee on general engineering. Subcommittee on production engineering. Subcommittee on universities and colleges. Subcommittee on secondary and normal schools. Committee on labor. Subcommittee on mediation and conciliation. Subcommittee on wages and hours. Subcommittee on women in industry. Subcommittee on welfare work. Subcommittee on information and statistics. Subcommittee on press. Subcommittee on publicity. Subcommittee on cost of living and domestic econ tmy. General medical board. X Pharmaceutical supplies. Surgical dressing. Surgical instruments. Dental instruments. Survey committee. Laboratory supplies. Executive committee. Subcommittee on sterilizers. Subcommittee on furniture. Subcommittee on thermometers. Subcommittee on beds and springs. Committee on standardization of medical and surgi cal supplies. • • • Each of the foregoing committees, subcommittees and co-operative committees is on “the job” in Wash ington. Each has from three to a dozen members and several clerks, and all of them apparently are as busy, judging from their importance and preoccupation, as it Is possible to be. It is a hopeless task for the aver age person, whose mission takes him to the Council of National Defense or to the advisory commission to accomplish anything unless he has an abundance of time at his disposal. The council was born* of a purpose to co-ordinate the resources of the nation. A glance at the commit tees already appointed indicates that few, if any, in dustries in the country have been overlooked in this work of co-ordination. The chief difficulty seems to be that there is no clearing house, no central point, where all this co-ordinated industrial information is itseli co-ordinated and made workable. thing is not that he may be dreaming vainly, but that he is dreaming at all. The world as we know it is certainly not a finished product'. But it would long ago_have been a finished product, and a miserably finished one, If it were not tor the dreamers that have arisen generation after generation. If all men had been content with taking things as they find them, consider where we actually would be today. We would still be in the age of prehistoric barbarism. We would still be dodging about, naked or semi-naked, dependent for existence sole ly on our keenness of eye, fleetness of foot, strength of arm. and ruggedness of constitution. But for dreamers of other days our yet imper fect civilization of the twentieth century could not have come into existence. And if civilization is to progress we must pin our faith in dreamers of to day and tomorrow. Dreamers have led us out of the animalism, feudalism, and slavery into which an atavistic Eu ropean monarch would again plunge the world. Dreamers have made possible the glorious achieve ments of art. literature, science, invention, explo ration and discovery. Columbus, remember, was a dreamer to the men of his day. What would be the condition of the America we know and love, if it had not been for the dreams of Columbus? Decidedly. It Is not the wisest thing in the w’orld to scorn and scoff at dreamers. The dreamer, rather, is a man we should honor. Instead of persecuting him—as still is sometimes done —instead of deriding him for his lack of “common sense,” we should attentively consider the nature of his dreams. If they hold a promise of real benefit to man kind. we should encourage and aid him In his efforts to bring them to realization. Only unless his dreams are demonstrably hurtful should we Interfere t’o check his dreaming. Dreamers, I repeat, have made possible the progress w’e of today cherish. Give dreamers ample oportunity to help us progress further. (Copyright, 1917 by the Associated Newspapers.)
