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Show W0. Beleased by Western Newspaper Union. GROUP SELFISHNESS AND AMERICA IN THESE DAYS of intensive national na-tional war stress, groups of American Amer-ican people play the war game for what they or their group can get out of the war effort, rather than for what is best for the nation now and In the future. The dominating sin of all such groups is selfishness. Recently I listened to a speaker talking on the subject of "The Labor Situation of Today." He was employed em-ployed in his state to handle the farm labor problem and was naturally natu-rally sympathetic with the farm interests. in-terests. His audience was a group of just average Americans, including includ-ing farmers, merchants, small industrialists in-dustrialists and others who go to make up the population of a country community. In summing up, he said that labor, as represented by labor leaders; farmers, as represented by leaders of farm organizations, and industry and the politicians were all attempting attempt-ing to take advantage of war conditions condi-tions to further their own ends. Each group was more interested in securing secur-ing a present advantage for themselves them-selves than in winning the war and the peace; that despite these conditions, condi-tions, we would win the war, but as a result of the group selfishness, we would lose a prized possession the American system of free enterprise; that those interested in instituting in America a new economic system were utilizing the selfishness of these groups to further their desire for an economic change. The speaker's conclusions were quite correct. Group selfishness, making of political capital out of the exigencies of war, will overthrow our free enterprise system. There is happening just what Arthur Balfour, Bal-four, the great English statesman, told me on November 12, 1918, would happen If America should become involved in another world conflict, which he could see in the then "comparatively "com-paratively near future." ' ' ' INFLATION AND ITS CONTROL WHEN WE HAVE more money than commodities money will buy, demand pushes the price skyward and decreases money values. That is inflation. The government is attempting at-tempting to control this by limiting prices and taking money from people peo-ple for taxes and for the purchase of war bonds. The real basis of it all is the increased money in the pockets of workers and the policy of the government has been to keep on increasing that by a continuous raise in wages, either as direct hourly hour-ly pay or as overtime at time and one-half pay. There is a limit to the money water the dam will hold. The place to remedy the danger is at the source. WAR'S END I WAS IN LONDON when World War I ended. I saw the joy-crazed people of that great metropolis celebrate cele-brate the close of hostilities with every evidence of a mad delirium that continued for a week. My hope is to see the end of World War II as it will be celebrated in an American Ameri-can rural community. In such a setting there will be, I am sure, less of the dramatic, but a greater spiritual spir-itual sincerity than what I saw in London. It will be the kind of spiritual spir-itual sincerity that is characteristic of America's rural people and it has a greater and deeper meaning than the joy-crazed shouts of a metropolitan metropol-itan multitude. i JAPANESE LOYALTY ON THE MAINLAND EN HAWAII, some four or five years ago, secret service officers of the army and navy attempted to convince me that the Japs in the islands were not to be trusted. Surface Sur-face appearances all pointed in the other direction and I did not believe what I was told. Pearl Harbor demonstrated dem-onstrated that there was something more than surface appearance. What was true in Hawaii can also be true among the Japs on our mainland. main-land. There may be some good ones, but it takes more than the word of a Jap to provide convincing proof. UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER QUITE PROPERLY the Allies are demanding unconditional surrender, but from whom is that unconditional uncondition-al surrender to be accepted? Is there anyone In the Axis nations who can speak for all and if so, could we accept his word? When the German Ger-man army quits, we can know the war in Europe is over, regardless of who offers the white flag. That is the kind of unconditional surren-der surren-der the Allies are expecting. The Tunisian brand will be satisfactory. " GOVERNMENT OF CIVILIANS SOME PEOPLE are confused as to the meaning and extent of the President's title as commander-in-chief. Under the Constitution, he Ii technically the commander-ln-chlel of the armed forces only. For the civilian population, he is the President, Presi-dent, and to civilians the commander-in-chief title does not apply. Ours is a government of civilians, and not of soldiers. IT IS ONLY THOSE who do nothing noth-ing who never make mistakes. |