required to satisfy the financial needs of most of the population. Doubtless the Federal Reserve Law will pass into history as the most beneficent piece of economic legislation that has ever been enacted in this country.

The response to Question 7 negatives much of the newspaper talk with regard to the inflation of currency and credit in the United States. If there is any inflation, but few business men are conscious of it, and it is, we think, reasonable to assume that until there is an inflation of which people are conscious there will be no attempt at contraction.

The answers to Question 8, in regard to the constructive activity of the country, reveal the basis upon which the present prosperity rests. Constructive activity means the creaation of productive wealth, and it is encouragingly significant that about eighty per cent of our replies indicate that the people are building new houses, enlarging their plants, and making permanent improvements that bespeak their confidence in the future.

We

The answers to Question 9 report an almost unanimous willingness that the tariff question shall be taken out of politics by the creation of a tariff commission. In view of the fact that a very large proportion of our replies come from manufacturers and States which on account of their industrial activities are generally reckoned as "protectionist," this unanimity of opinion may be said to mark something of a revolution in American political feeling with regard to the tariff. commend it to the special attention of the platform committees of both the Democratic and Republican parties, and are delighted to feel that we are nearing the time when the political energies of each successive Congress may be employed more profitably than in the revision of tariff schedules. One correspondent qualifies his acceptance of the tariff commission plan with the proviso that it shall be made operative "before the end of time." With this we are in hearty agreement.

The answers to Question 10, in regard to the market for real estate, drive another rivet in the structure of prosperity that is visualized by this investigation. If the Rural Credit Bill which the Senate has already passed shall become a law, the effect will probably be to increase greatly the availability of farm lands as a basis for loans, thus stabilizing their value; and a prosperity that is buttressed by higher wages, increased consumption, and stable values for land would seem to be, for a time at least, immune from any serious reaction.

We regard the answers to Question 11, in regard to the abatement of the antagonism toward the railroads, as providing what is, in a financial sense, the most important information in our report. That over ninety per cent of our correspondents should report that the disposition to harass the railroads is vanishing, is extremely encouraging. The railroads of the United States employ more labor and disburse a larger sum in wages than any other single industry. Their purchases constitute a very large proportion of our total commerce; and if their development in the future shall be unrestricted by the unwise legislation and regulation of which they have hitherto been the victims, it will be well for the future prosperity of the country.

The negative answers to Question 12, with regard to a possible advance of five per cent in railway freight rates, are, for the most part, qualified by statements of which the following from a Southern correspondent is typical: We have already accepted one advance of five per cent in ralway rates without complaint, and would not be willing to submit to a further advance unless it is equitably distributed throughout the entire country."

The answers to Question 13, in regard to the saving and extravagance, are also qualified. Most of our correspondents admit that the savings banks, insurance companies, and other repositories of thrift show increased resources which bespeak a reasonable provision for the future. One informant says that he "sees no increase in extravagance except in the matter of automobiles." His allusion to the automobile expenditure of the Nation is the only comment made upon it, from which we infer that there is a noteworthy change in the attitude of thinking men toward the American investment in this form of transportation.

The answers to Questions 14, 15, and 16, which deal with preparedness, the sense of civic responsibility, American Nationalism, and the protection of American citizens resident or having property interests outside of the United States, will, we think, be a surprise to the pacifists. If they could read the remarks and letters with which our replies to these questions have been accompanied, they would abandon the theory that the United States has become a spineless Nation. There is naturally a widespread disagreement as to the degree of preparedness to which we

1916

should commit ourselves. Some of our correspondents in the rural communities say that "the feeling in favor of preparedness is cooled by the fear that it is inspired by the Wall Street hope of large profits," but a willingness is generally expressed to support Congress and the Administration in any reasonable measure that shall be adopted for the defense of the Nation, and it is apparent that the war in Europe has quickened the spirit. of Nationalism and increased the individual consciousness of civic responsibility through out the country.

In regard to the protection to be afforded by our Government to American citizens resident or having property interests outside the United States, there is a somewhat wide divergence of opinion. One correspondent, in regard to whose Americanism there can be no doubt, writes that "we ought to protect our trade in foreign countries, but there is no reason why we should follow and protect the people who leave the United States to live and invest in foreign lands." He adds: "I believe that this country is good enough for any one and its guardianship should not follow expatriates. They should know what they are doing and assume the consequences."

Not a few feel that the Nation should avoid taking a position that would plunge 100,000,000 people into war for the protection of those who take unnecessary risks in belligerent countries or on belligerent vessels. For the most part, however, our replies indicate that the people of this country are jealous of the honor of our flag and the rights of our Nation and entirely willing to support any measures that may be necessary for their protection.

Upon the question of military intervention in Mexico there is a great division of opinion, and the correspondence that we have received provides a symposium that would greatly interest many Congressmen. A Baltimore friend says that "weeping prevents a reply to this question," meaning presumably that he is ashamed of the policy which the Government has thus far pursued. Another correspondent writes us that, "while the young men of the country may be in favor of Mexican intervention, the older people, who know the horrors of war, will continue to oppose it to the end."

We are somewhat surprised by the number of answers that advocate the solution of the Mexican problem by the purchase of the northern half of Mexico, and there are a

good many who seem to favor the forcible annexation of sufficient Mexican territory to indemnify us for the damages inflicted upon American life and property in that Republic. The division of public opinion in regard to the Mexican problem seems to be greater than that disclosed in regard to any other question submitted. It is evident that the issue is one in regard to which there is not as yet any great unanimity of feeling.

Speaking generally, we may say that a careful examination of the replies received leads us to feel great satisfaction in the economic condition of the country and increased confidence in the political common sense of the people. If we were mapping American prosperity, we should paint New England, Pennsylvania, and Michigan in the most roseate colors. In fact, one correspondent in Detroit says that "the boom is dangerous." The Pacific States of the Northwest and northern California are the only sections in which the use of even a light shade of blue would be justifiable.

In the southern portion of California the absence of war-induced prosperity has been to some extent offset by the winter influx of tourists from the East and the demand for the petroleum production of that locality. The clouds have almost disappeared from the Cotton States as a result of the higher price of cotton and cotton seed and the increase in cattle production.

remunerative

In the Middle West the figures obtained for the grain crops for the past two years have made the people contented and happy, although there is some complaint that the high ocean freight rates are interfering with the export movement.

Dealing with what we may describe as the politico-economic situation disclosed by our report, it may be said that there is evidenced a much keener appreciation of the essential relation between good government and good times, and, while there is but little disposition to disparage the constructive achievements of the present Administration, there is a widespread dissatisfaction with the selfish political individualism of the present Congress and a disposition to hold the one that shall succeed it to a rigid accountability.

Our confidence in the permanent prosperity of the country and our optimism in regard to the benefits and sanity of representative government have been increased and to some extent rehabilitated by this investigation.

"You are complaining in America of thirtycent gasoline," writes a British friend, "but that means to you thirty cents a gallon; what would you say if it meant, as it does to us at this moment, thirty cents a quart! When gasoline went up to $1.25 a gallon, I put up the car and got out my old reliable bicycle !"

A book called “The Tobacco Habit Easily Conquered says that if a cigarette smoker wishes to give up the practice he should carry a box of crystallized ginger in his pocket. A nip of this aromatic confection will, it is claimed, ward off any tendency to look wistfully upon the enemy. Another help recommended consists of an oyster on the half shell, sprinkled plentifully with salt and paprika. When this is swallowed, the "bite," it is asserted, will remove the craving for the cigarette.

The American farmer, a correspondent writes, apropos of the hired man problem, too often seems to believe that the eight-hour day means eight hours in the forenoon and eight in the afternoon. But, he asserts, there is no need for the hired man to accept this definition; at present he can demand employment on his own terms. If he puts up with poor accommodations and long hours, it is his own fault. Let him demand a real eight-hour day and he will get it; the farmer needs labor so badly that he will give his hired man anything in reason.

In the time of Shakespeare, we learn from "A Book for Shakespeare Plays and Pageants," theaters were often used for bear-baiting as well as for the presentation of plays, and in some cases were equipped with a stage which could be removed when the bear-baiting was to occur. The contemporary attitude toward this diversion is seen in this quotation: "It was a sport very pleasant to see the bear with his pink eyes leering after his enemies' approach." It is comforting to reflect in these days of international bloodshed that the killing of animals at least, as a form of public amusement, has greatly diminished and in most countries has disappeared.

The former pupil, a girl of twelve, was “reminiscing about her old school to her sometime teacher, at whose house she was making a call.

"You and Miss-- - are the only teachers in that school that I remember," she said. "Ah! and what do you remember about Miss "I remember her because she was a bit of a crank," was the naive reply. Too often, it is to be feared, this is the unspokea tribute of childhood to its scholastic mentors.

A "chuck hole "club, says the "Rural New Yorker," has been organized in South Dakota to help improve the roads. A "chuck hole " is defined as a depression in a road; the idea probably being that it is a hole that "chucks" out the unlucky driver whose vehicle gets into

The demand for platinum for war purposes, according to "American Photography," has caused the British Government to forbid its use in photography. Even in America the use of platinum paper, which admittedly gives the most beautiful effects of any photographic medium, has been restricted on account of its high cost. A submarine commander, the Popular Science Monthly " says, has but one means of judging the speed of the vessel to be attackedby noting the size of the bow-wave thrown up by the intended victim. The correctness of the estimate means either a hit or a miss. To deceive the submarine in this matter British ship-owners have devised the clever ruse of painting a huge bow-wave on the sides of a ship, rendering it extremely difficult for the underwater craft to judge the speed accurately.

Among the humorous scissorings of the week are these: The time-table of a Sea Gate steamboat line shows a boat leaving at 3:30 P.M. On Saturdays, however, it says, "the boat leaving at 3:30 P.M. will not run." "Will it walk, swim, sink, or fly?" asks an inquisitive commuter. From across the Atlantic comes this: A muchloved Irish physician was calling on a peasant patient. The grateful woman, wishing to pay him a fine compliment, said, enthusiastically, “Ah, doctor, it's a rale Job's comforter ye are !"

A steamship line is proposed between New York City and Vigo, Spain. This route is said to be 1,000 miles shorter than the English route, and fast steamers might make the voyage in five days. Vigo is in almost the same latitude as New York, and, besides, has the advantage of being in neutral territory.

For complete antithesis of object wanted and treasure offered can any one beat this "exchange advertisement from a New York City newspaper:

Warted Well known poet wil exchange manuscrit of unpublished volume of verse for use of sparsely fiunished cottage for summer. Answer Poet, Box, etc.