The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, October 28, 1915, Page 11

g N G s s S e e T THE NONPARTISAN LEADER PAGE ELEVEN HE marvel of the European war has been the wonderful in- conomic staying qualities of Germany. According to all - predictions Germany should today be starving, her indus- tries should be palsied and her armies shouid be out of action for lack of ammunition. All the rules of vesterday indicate that these facts should exist today. But they do not. Indeed the opposite of these facts exist. : : Several investigators and writers have been trying to figure ' out the reason for this. One of the most illuminating treatises on this subject is the recent book, “Socialized Germany,” by Fredric C. Howe, published by Scribner’s Sons, New York. This book was written before the great war broke out, and the manuscript was laid aside at that time to await develop- ments. “But,” Mr. Howe explains, “as the contest wore on and the extraordinary resources of Germany were disclosed, it seemed to me the thook should be published.” ' This is because the work not only explains German efficiency in war, but also , suggests and expounds the latter-day social statesmanship—which, says the author, “our own as well as other countries must talke into consideration, if they are to be prepared to meet Germany, which, in victory or defeat, emerges from the war.” ; | Mr. Howe observes that Germany had just reached the be- ginning of her greatest achievements and war or no war, the next generation will see her bestriding the narrow industrial world like a colossus. The malestorm, he asserts, is ahead of the nations in their blind course, and over it the author raises this beacon of warning. * Vast reforms, he affirms, are necessary before we can cope with the fatherland on even ters. We have got to do things differently, and a great deal better than ever before. “There must be a wide extension of public ownership, a greater control of the aggression of privilege and property, a big program of social legislation, a change in our system of education, and the exclusion of privileged and business interests from the long ascendancy which they have enjoyed in our political life.” . Mr. Howe's book treats informingly of the many points of in- dustrial, economic and social superiority.to be found'in great Ger- 1 man communities. The roster of achievements is imposing, the 4 vista of state collectivism in alliance with feudalism impressive, albeit somewhat confusing. The author really doesn’t want all men everywhere to follow this Teutonic pattern of big sausage and little, all on the same model, and all stuffed with fat meat. Of special interest and practical value are the author’s chap- R state. g i : In Germany, notes the writer, the city is viewed, not as a po- 2 litical, but as a social agency. The former is incidental. The main purpose is to promote the common welfare in every possible way —the state aids rather than hinders in this. ; It encourages new .projects involving land _purchase, dock building, promotion of education, even theatre and market con- struction. Experts from all over the empire hold frequent con- ferences from promoting town-planning and the expansion of mu- nicipal functions. 7 o : “City administration in Germany,” observes the author, “is not the. plaything of politics; it is the most serious problem of statescraft, and it commands the best_ thought of the empire.” ’” ters on municipalities, their governments and their relation to the| - . )_Ger many’s EMng Qualities These cities sprawl around among many activities unknown to city administrations in other lands. ‘They own and operate quar- ries, and breweries, wine factories and slaughter houses, bakeries and printing offices. ‘Nuremberg owns a big orchard, and all the fruit it produces. Dusseldorf speculates in outlying lands and owns an interrurban railway as an annex of this original specula- tive enterprise. These were the conditions that obtained in Germany before war started. Upon the declaration of war, at the outside, not later than ten days after, the authorities begun to seize and con- trol practically all industries. Not only so but they set the prices of food stuffs. Already owning her railroads Germany was then in a good position to make a hard fight. And she has done so. And it is not due to the superiority of her soldiers, the deadly accuracy of her gunners nor the superior quality of her strategy. British soldiers are just as brave, French gunners are just as good marksmen and Russian infantrymen are just as hard fighters. Germany’s marvelous success, rests with her ability to go right on feeding herself, clothing herself and supplying herself from within the iron ring that surrounds her. She was able to do this because private greed was eliminated and production was carried on for use and not for profit. This lesson is not cited to encourage “preparedness” for war. It is cited to demonstrate the superiority of the sure-fire methods over the hit and miss methods of other countries. Such a sys- tem has proven a success to Germany in times of war. And the question arises and will not down—not even after the war is over—if what was good for Germany in times of war is not good in times of peace, why not? Henry Ford declares he will not join the civilian soldier training camp at Ft. Sheridan. He doesn’t want to fight, he says. Neither do the other businessmen who are taking training. They are simply acting as “decoys” for the purpose of baiting a lot of fool workingmen into entering into seriously what these busi- . nessmen are “playing at.” . A ‘large consignment of cork and wooden legs have been shipped from this country to Europe. We sell ’em the shot and sharpnel to shoot away their flesh and bone legs and then sell ’em cork and wooden legs to take the place of those ordinary flesh and bone ones. Those latter can be shot away with less pain, you know. And besides, “business is business.” There are men who think, and then there are men who think as the men who think, think they ought to think. The wesults are that the men who think rule the world and the men who think as the men who think they ought to think; are ruled by the men who think. g We are .often told that what helps the business man also helps the farmer. But what the farmer is interested in is a prop- osition that will help the farmer first. Helps him to help himself. The”man whe milks the cows gets the skimmed, milk and the man who milks the man who milks the cows gets the cream—- and the cows. : {: A 'I\'here is a vast difference between ‘ the “stories told by the. subsidized press and. the . United: States Census k. : ° Buoreau regarding the increase of farm fns mortgages in this Country. Leaving e : out all the rant 'and biilingsgate that - is thrown to the public at large, in an effort to be-fuddle and fool the public mind, and considering only. the cold facts as set forth in that report, we find things startling -enough to their attempt to be-little and 'de- tract from it: L "There is an old truism that says, vhere there is smoke there is fire,” lways it is true that where a n coterie of men seek to lead ' : ¢ believe warrant those who are ‘interested, in| in this particular instance, but let- ting eaeh draw his own conclusions, we give here a brief summary of that report for the States” of Montana, North Dakota and Wisconsin: In the year 1890, only 15.6 per cent ‘of the farm lands of Montana carried a mortgage, leaving 84.4 per cent free of encumbrance. -However, twen- ty years later, in 1910, farm mort- gages had increased over 33:per cent. The number of mortgaged farms had grown by one-third, and the farmer in Montana began to find himself on the wrang side of the ledger to his banker ? In Wisconsin, and by the way; Wis- ‘consin is some older than Montana as| of his Banker’s ledger that the won- der of it is he didn’t then and there offer his body and soul as .additional security for his right to live to the men_ who were: skimming the cream of ‘his manhocd. This is what the U. S. Census Bu- reau says of farm_mortgages in Wis- consin, other reports to the contrary: - In"1890 42.9 per cent of Wisconsin’s farms were mortgaged, 57.1 per cent free of encumbrance, slightly over one-half of her farms being free: By 1900 Wiscondin farmers = had progressed sufficiently to have 45.8 per cent of their farms in hock. Their mortgages had increased over 6 per: cent ‘and their unencumbered |land " had - decreased’ from 57.1 per ent to 54.2 pet cent and this in ten -Leultural prosperity that was ours. = - North Dakota Mortgaged? By Orange Wright ed in favoc of the Bankers. Farm- mortgages had increased: anether 11 per cent and 1.4 per cent:of Wis- consin’s farms were tie dup and right: here the number of unencumbered farm in Wisconsin fell below the 59 per cent mark. Still the Wisconsin Bankers and newspapers talked Pros- perity. : . In this-our own State, North Da-: the farms were mortgaged. In_1910 just ten years afterward farms carry- ing mortgages had increased to 50.9 per cent. Over half the entire State acreage was mortgaged, an increass' of 63 per cent in one decade. Only: 49.1 per cent of the lands of North' Dakota were free of - encumbrance and still the press of our state’ preached to” us the wonderful agri~