Life — October 5, 1928 — page 22: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“WHILE VoLUME 92 THERE IS LIFE THERE'S HOPE” October 5, 1928 NuMBER 2396 Published by LIFE PUBLISHING COMPANY 598 Madison Avenue, New York Cuarces Dana Ginson, President Crain Maxwett, Vice-President Tue propte whom Mr. Hearst calls “reverent religionists” ought to get a good deal of sat- isfaction out of this campaign. It is true that the country is being flooded with envy, hatred, malice and all uncharitable- ness, in the name of Christ; but the past three months have shown that whatever may have become of charity, we still live in a great Age of Faith. Mr. Hoover has faith in the Republican party—such faith that up to this writing re has addressed no arguments to any voters outside that party, perhaps feeling that Bishop Can- non is attending to all that; and the Re- ee party has faith in Mr. Hoover. ight years ago he told the more idealistic members of that party that the way to get into the League of Nations was to clect Harding. His success in making good that promise has convinced wet Republicans that the way to obtain the modification of Prohibition is to elect a man who says he is against modification. The logic may be a little hard to follow, but logic has nothing to do with faith, which is the substance of things hoped for, the evi- dence of things not seen. It is to faith, too, that the Republicans are in the main appealing—the faith which they believe to be ingrained in the people, that prosperity is possible only un- der a Republican administration. Un- doubtedly there has been a tremendous amount of prosperity in the country in the last few years. Its distribution might have _ been improved; there was perhaps an ex- cess of prosperity in the stock market, and a deficiency on the farm and else- where. But men who got rich on Cool- idge bull markets show a proper grati- tude, and having got rich they are able Rosert Emmet Srerwoop, Editor Lancuorne Gisson, Secretary-Treasurer to get themselves quoted in the papers with a frequency which cannot at tained by a man who is standing on the curbstone in front of an employment agency looking for a job. Mrs. Edison lately announced that she was for Hoover because he would give Prohibition a fair trial. Presumably, then, it has not had a fair trial during the past eight years, in which Mr. Hoover has been a member of the administration which was supposed to be enforcing Prohibition; but despite that Mrs. Edison has faith, So, no doubt, has many a good Republican who, as he sits on a park bench reading the Help Wanted columns, decides that he will vote for Hoover in the hope that he may give prosperity a fair trial. More and more, as the campaign goes on, Republican argument concentrates on the full dinner pail, which Mr. Samuel Vauclain says the voters will never ex- change for a glass of rum. Perhaps not, especially as for years past they have been able to get the rum, too. At any rate, the argument is a perfectly good one: My dinner pail, full or empty; if full to keep it full, 1f empty to get it full. Mr. Hoover has repeatedly, and truly, pointed out that while prosperity is not the whole story it is the necessary beginning; “we can build only on a foundation of prosperity.” There have been nations in history that attained a somewhat respectable spiritual life even though they were poor; but they were not poor intentionally, and as soon as they had a choice between a spiritual life and money they quite generally chose money. Mr. Hoover believes that when we all have all the money we n shall go in for the spiritual life, aie hope fe is right. At any rate, the platform of “Seek ye first the full dinner pail and all these things shall be added unto you” is one that has rarely failed in the hist of the United States, or any other wal governing nation. Our old friend, the visitor from Mars, might be surprised that one Party could appropriate so successfully to its own uss this most general of human yearnings, But it is well known that Democrats d& not like to eat; and that their perverted natures derive a fiendish pleasure from watching their wives and hades starve, Commoncy the politicians flavor this ab dominal appeal with a few phrases ad. dressed to the moral aspirations of their hearers, but business men are more frank. Mr. Roger W. Babson lately observed thi “today Presidents are created by busines conditions more often than business cox ditions are created by Presidents.” Since all men know that Mr. Coolidge alone is responsible for the opulence of the hs few years, that remark verged on heresy; but Mr. Babson atoned for it by com tinuing that “we have in the past attached too much attention to the electoral college and not enough tobusiness fundamentals” That will bring three loud cheers from many a business man, who would be ony too glad if we cut out this nonsense of a quadrennial election that calls for re current campaign contributions, and de. clare the Republican party in power for all time. Republican politicians know bet ter; there must be a Democratic admin- istration now and then, so that somebody can be blamed for the panics. Yet a voice was lately lifted against ths argument; a preacher of the old school d nounced both parties for materialism, 204 found the full dinner pail as reprehensibk as light wines and beer. Jesus, he t minded his congregation, said, “Take heed what ye shall eat or what ye stl drink.” Bishop Cannon could tell the ge tleman that many of the ideas of Je have been superseded by the more & lightened reasonings of the Methods Board of Temperance, Prohibition, 2 Public Morals. Elmer Davis. comicbooks.com 6 v = \ i Ae