FUTURE OF AMERICA.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 30 December 1927, Page 9

FUTURE OF AMERICA.

A POSSIBLE DECLINE. EXTRA. Y A GANCE! AND' WASTE. NEW YORE, Dec. 1. That the decline and decay of the United, estates, now the wealthiest country an the world’s history, are possible, and that agencies 'or tendencies are already .at work, which, if not checked, may bmng a|bout America’s fail, are more than plainly hinted, at by President Coolidge, in his address to the Union League of America at Philadelphia. The press, eager to absorb ins political .reheetions, on tlie eve of the opening of Congress, have overlooked ins ooservations »nu warning in this regard. • The President, in a retrospective review of America’s rise and development, said that, rightly understood, tiller© was ncr more sensational story ol human experience. It resulted directly from reliance on the initiative and freedom of the individual, it was the very antithesis of communism, but it raised the general' welfare of the people to a position even beyond the promises of the extremists. Then came his warning, in clear and expressive terms.

“Tho test which now confronts the nation is prosperity,” said Mr Coolidge. “There is nothing more likely to reveal the soul of a people. History is flittered with stories cvf nations destroyed by their own wealth. It is true that we have accumulated a small but a blatant fringe of extravagance and waste, nourished in idleness, and another undesirable class, who seek to live without work.” This is the second time, within two years, that the president has warned the nation against extravagance. As if to give point to his warnings the papers, on the some day as his address appeared, contained an account of a wedding; acclaimed as excelling in splendour any nuptial celebration in the history of the country. A. pavilion which cost £20,000 housed a thousand guests,

There was an artificial moon, provided by great lenses hung from the lofty ceiling, and myriad electric bulbs were so arranged that clouds .appeared to drift a cto.s sthe sky. The guests looked from windows upon a calm summer night, although, in reality, outside the pavilion. Pain and sleet were being blown about by a winter wind. Inside there were pillars of gold, and the walls were draped with rare tapestries and rugs.