Vagabond Editorials

By Jack Dionne

Don't hnow the author of the following, but I got a grin out of it:

"I have led a good life, full of peace and quiet, I shall have an old age, full of rum and riot. I have been a good boy, wed to peace and study, I shall have an old age, ribald, coarse, and bloody. I have been a nice boy, done what was expected, I shall be an old bum, loved but unrespected." ***

We celebrated the birthday of George Washington the other day. One thing they could never accuse the Father of Our Country of, was egotism. He kept a very careful diary of his life's doings, and failed even to mention that he was elected President of the United States. Things have certainly changed since those days, haven't they?

*** ft is related of President Coolidge that when Rupert Hughes' book which told such devastating things about Washington was first issued, a friend brought the book to Coolidge and expatiated loudly on the alleged revelations contained therein. Whereupon Coolidge dryly remarked: "I notice the Washington monument is still standing." The fact that Washington was a very human fellow never hurt his memory with me. I like human beings, and am strongly suspicious of those who are otherwise. *** rn time of trouble ""u. url"rl"r, worlds of peopte turn to the Scripture. I approve of that. But they dig out impressions of physical things too often, rather than spiritual uplift. They go "seeking signs," and signs are easy to find in such a book. You can translate so much of the ambiguous parts of the Bible to suit yourself. Ever since I can remember Biblical students have been predicting "the end of the world." Right'now there is a lot of that going on. Bible students can show you that world conditions today are clearly predicted in the Bible, and that we are once again close to the final brink. I have had that pulled on me a lot of times lately, and I gather from my reading that the same thing prevails generally.

It might be well at this time to recall just a few of the mighty words of wisdorn and of prophecy that Washington uttered. In his farewell address he said: "The disorders and miseries which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of the individual, and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation and the ruin of public liberty." Look about you to. day, at home and abroad, and see if Washington was not gifted with the power of prophecy.

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I have never been able to sell myself even partially on that line of thinking. To each man there will come some day the end of his world. But this sphore on which we live -oll€ of countless trillions of such spheres in the physical universe-will probably go on for quite some time to come. A colored boy who fell four stories on his head declared it to be his conviction that the earth is amazingly sound and solid, and I incline to agree with him. :1. ,fi :t

What I'm looking forward to is not the end of the world, but the end of depression. We used to erroneously refer to the depression of 1929 as the "floover Depression." Since it was a world-wide and not just a national condition, it is apparent that we were giving the then President too much credit. But today we have a nice new depression that is all our own. It is essentially ours because "we planned it that way." It was conceived in ignorance and brought forth in arrogance, was this nice little depression we aro wrestling with right ro*.*

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You won't learn these facts in any of the fireside chats, but one out of every five children in the city of New York today is on some form of relief, and the number grows at the rate of five thousand weekly. We are told officially that the business barometer is still falling, but are cheered by the statement that the rate of decline has materially lessened. We are further cheered when we are told that business is to have another "breathing spell" for nine months. No more anti-business legislation for that long. Isn't that charming? Some day the grip of politics on the throat of business is going to be loosened PERMANENTLY, and then, and not until then, are we going to get well. The grip of politics on the throat of business is the cause of all our troubles.

Again r must give a ;, -rr *an"

,orrrrru back of vicePresident Garner. He was offered one thousand dollars a (Continued on Page 8)