Page Two
THE PILOT, Southern Pines and Aberdeen, North Carolittft
Friday, April 19, 1935^
THE PILOT
Published every Friday by
THE PILOT, Intorporat*^,
Aberdeen and Southern Pines, N. C.
NELSON C. HYDE, ManaginK Editor
JAMES BOVI> STRl’THERS BURT
WALTER L1PP>IANN
Contributing Editors
SubKoriptlon Rates:
One Year $2.00
Six Months $1.00
Three Months .50
Address all communications to The
Pilot, Inc., Southern Pines, N. C.
Entered at the Postcffice at South
ern Pines, N. C.. as second-class mail
matter.
CONGRESS AND
AVAR PROFITS
BY WALTER LIPPMAN
The underlying question pre
sented by the agitation about
war profits is whether the Unit
ed States should now pass laws
that at the declaration of war
there shall be an automatic con
scription of persons and prop
erty and a complete military
dictatorship. The traditional
American policy has been to have
the Congress which declares the
war and the succeeding Con
gresses which continue it decide
what drafts on the life and pi’op-
erty of the nation are required
and are justified. It has been as
sumed that while the war pow'-
ers of the President were very
great, they should remain sub
ject to the control of Congress.
That control consisted in the
power of Congress to grant or
to refuse man power and funds.
This democratic control of the con
duct of war would be swept away un
der the program which Senator Nye
and Representative McSwain are
sponsoring. Both bills provide that
once war is declared the President
can commandeer at the price he fixes
the total resources of the American
people, and both imply, though they
do not appear specifically to say so,
that he may conscript an unlimited
army. They also, though they do not
specifically say so, vest him with
powers over all business which could,
without any practical difficulty what
ever, be used to establish complete
control of the printing press, the ra
dio and other means of discussion.
Maybe that is the kind of w’ar ma
chine we ought to have. But we
should not set it up unintentionally,
as an accidental consequence of a
desire to deal with profiteers, or un
der the delusion that it is anything
but what it is: a proposal to create
an omnipotent war machine. My own
view is that once the people take a
good look at this thing they will re
coil from it — as the House already
has from conscription—saying that
they are not going to suspend repre
sentative government and have a war
dictatorship all signed, sealed and
ready for instant delivery in order to
have the satisfaction of feeling that
at some date in the unknown future,
during a war of an unknown char
acter, certain men wlii not make ex
cessive profits.
these bills became so blindly inter
ested in preventing war profits that
they did not realize that they were
setting up conscription and dictator
ship as the supposed remedies. In
their passion to catch every lEist prof
iteer they extended the executive war
power to the absolute limit in the
feai’ that anything less than an ab
solute dictatorship might fail to catch
a profiteer. The result is grotesque.
For however great may be the in
fluence of war profiteers in ferment
ing and prolonging wars, no sane
man can have any doubt that an ab
solute military machine is a much
greater danger to peace. The sup
pression of war profiteers does not
require, and would not be worth the
cost if it did require, the destruction
of democratic control over war and
the establishment in America of an
automatic military aasolutism.
As a matter of fact, there is no rea
son why Congiess could not Icgi.slate
intelligently to deal with war profit
eers. The tax provisions of the Nye
bill, or some modification of them,
could be separated from the rest of
the bill and put on the statute books.
They are probably too drastic and
would probably defeat themselves in
some measures for that reason, but in
principle they are sound enough. Tax
ation is the most effective way of
reaching war profits. Moreover, the
more the country taxes and the less
it borrows, the less war inflation it
will have.
The enactment of such a w'ar tax
bill would be a very different thing
from giving the President complete
power to commandeer everything and
it would not seriously tie the hands
of Congress after war was declared.
If, for example, it seemed desirable,
as it did in the last war, to increase
the production of wheat by offering
high prices and large profits for
wheat, the law could be amended.
For there is nothing so automatical
ly absolute about a tax bill as there
is about thw conscription of life and
property.
Civic Loyalty Pays Big Dividends
Sponsored by
CAMERON’S REALTY AND INSURANCE CO.
Try Your Home Town First
balance when the festivities end
ed. The week can well be con
sidered a splendid success. It at
tracted many visitors, it held
over our winter guests w’ho
woul<l otherwise have left ear
lier, it entertained our own res
idents, and it brought endless
favorable publicity, something
the slight unfavorable balance
could not possibly^ have purchas
ed.
The program was well worked
out. The opening day parade of
floats, the gymkhana, the fire
works. Old Slave Day with its
galax,* of aged colored folks as
the center of attraction and in
terest, the fine Festival Chorus,
the Military Day features, the
tennis match and baseball game,
the danct-s and the band con
certs each day were excellent en
tertainment. Thanks and appre-
ciation are due those w’ho spent
Grains of Sand
OUR E.ASTER FAITH
On Easter by our silent dead
Stands One who walked in Gallilee;
And Hope lights golden lamps o’er-
head
Since life with Christ may end
less be.
No far off time or foreign strand
Enshrines our Lora. He liveth
still.
Our homes are in the Holy Land;
Our times are holy, if we will. |
No absent Lord iu skies afar j
Will save us here from woe and
strife; j
We pray not to some distant star, I
But share today His risen life, j
!
In country lanes and city streets ;
The living Christ walks day by
day; ,
And when dire need with mercy i
meets |
We see His footprints by the way.!
I
For when fair Faith defeats distrust,
When star-eyed Hope sees grief'
depart.
When Love lifts life above the dust,-
Our Lord abideth in the heart, j
—C. REXFORD RAYMOND.;
I
OMMBIS BILL NAMES
COl’NTY EDUC.VTION BOARD
Named for membership on the
Moore County Board of Education in
the biennial omnibus bill appointing
boards of education are the follow
ing; John W. Graham, F. H. Under-
W'ood, F. W. Von Cannon, W. P. Saun
ders, W. B. Graham
PERTUSSIN
SAFE
FOR EVERY
COUGH
PRESCRIBED
BY
IPHYSICIAIVS
49c. A 1.1^
THROWER’S PHARMACY,
West Broad St. Southern Pines
We make your
clothing
mothproof!
of their time and money on stag
ing the w'eek’s events.
And let all join hands in sup
port of such measures as the
Festival Committee and the
Chamber of Commerce may
adopt to raise the necessary
funds to met the expenses.
A single ruined Rown or suit
would ntiore than pay for a
treatment — in our warehouse
or in your home—of the new
Konate spray process. For full
details ask for
MONTESANTI
Dry Cleaning
Telephone 5541
I-IigHland F^ines Inn
ariidL Cottages
(WEYMOUTH HEIGHTS) SOUTHERN PINES
SEASON DECEMBER TO MAY
Highland Pines Inn with its Splendid Dining Room Service and its
Cheerful Homelike Atmo.sphere Caters to the Requirements of those
Occupying Winter Homes in the Pine Tree Section. The Hotel is
Situated on Weymouth Heights (Massachusetts Avenue) Amid De
lightful Surroundings. Good Parking Space is Available for Motorists.
All Features of First Class Hotels are Included at Highland Pines Inn.
Best of Everything.
M. H. TURNER,
Managing Director
W. E. FLYNN,
Resident Manager
This legislation ought to be rejected
because it destroys representative
government once war is declared.
The American national defense, owing
to our fortunate geographical position,
is based on the theory that the two
oceans, an adequate navy and a small
professional army, are sufficient pro
tection as a first line of defense, and
that behind that shield the nation can
take the time to organize as big an
army as Congress and the President
think necessary in the circumstances
of a particular war. The British, who
are far closer to any potential ag
gressor than we are, have not thought
it necessary to set up in advance a
complete militarism. Were our posi
tion like that of France or Germany,
we too should probably have to pre
pare for total and absolute mobiliza
tion at the moment war breaks out.
But why should we, in our much safer
position, suddenly, thoughtlessly, and
irresponsibly now put laws in the
statute books which mead that the
moment Congress declares war, Con
gress dies and can revive only by
consent of the President or by mus
tering two-thirds of both houses to
override him? Does Congress really
wish to abdicate in advance? Does it
really wish to sign away now its con
trol over life and property? Does it
really wish to say that the represen
tatives of the people during a war
shall have no right to say how mucb
of the life and property of the peo
ple is to be commandeered? If that
is what Congress means, it should
pass these bills. If it does not mean
that, it should stop, look and listen
before it goes any further.
For my own part I am more inter
ested in measures to prevent war
than in theoretical schemes that go j
into effect after war begins. What \
can be done, for example, to prevent
muniJ.ion makers from creating war
scares at home or abroad? There is
enough evidence to warrant the be
lief that this is not an imaginary evil.
I should suppose that the best method
might be to license all manufacturers
of lethal weapons and of military
transport and require that their books
and all their correspondence should be
continually open to inspection by j
some responsible government author- !
ity. What can be done to reduce the
dangers of our being drawn into a
war in which we mean to be neutral ?
This is a very difficult problem. But
I think we know enough to justify
the position that direct trade with
the belligerents is at the risk of the i
trader. But even this position would
not meet the most difficult problem
of neutrality, and that it trade with
a neutral country which is really des
tined for a belligerent. Mr. Charles
Warren, who is a great authority in
these matters, thinks that this trade
must be protected by direct diplomat
ic negotiation.
A very troublesome problem is that '
raised by propaganda designed to
force the country to take sides in the
war. What can be done about that?
For one thing, it should be made illeg
al, I think, to recruit troops on Amer
ican soil. For the rest the surest dis-
j infectant against propaganda would
be supplied, I think, by a Congres
sional committee continually inquir
ing into the activities of organzations
conducing propaganda.
The best antidate to propaganda is
publicity which exposes its tecnnique,
reveals who is running it, and shows
who is paying for it. The only kind
of propaganda which is really danger
ous or which can be called objection
able to American freedom of speech |
is masked propaganda from concealed
sources and by devious methods. Sup
pression is impracticable and unde
sirable, but exposure to the light of
day is very important when the war
fever is raging, and nations, desiring
to subvert our nuetrality, will stop
at nothing to gain their ends if they
think they can get away with it.
HEY MOM!
Now I want to take a Bath
As nearly as I can make out what
happened was that the authors of
No one must suppose that any of
these measures provides more than a
small additional protection against
the danger of war. The real protec
tion is to be found only in a foreign
policy that deals with the real Issues
of war and peace and is strong
enough to prevail.
Copyright, 1935, New York Tribune, Inc.
BLOSSOM FESTIVAL
GREAT SUCCESS
Those who worked ably and
diligently'in putting on Southern
Pines’ second Spring Blossom
Festival should not feel discour
aged that their budget did not
I
EASY
TERMS
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24 MONTHS
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Now, you and all the fanuly can have the
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And under our new liberal “No-Extra-
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tomers may be entitled to enough extra
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