SELLINGLUMBER 149 



and more hours to the problems of our business men, to the ex- 

 change of merchandise, than it does to all religion, all education 

 and all art combined. Why? Because the thing we are doing 

 lies at the basis of the whole gigantic pyramid of the social struc- 

 ture. Knowledge of the things made of lumber, shoes, and every- 

 thing we exchange, lies at the basis of the church and the school. 



As business wanes the schools wither. It is the business man Appreciating 



the Business 

 that endows schools and colleges and universities and sustains the Man 



preachers and the churches ; it is the whole thing ; and it is our 

 function to distribute. That is the reason anything that interferes 

 with trade distribution includes the business men and the teacher 

 and the preacher; and that is the reason we ought to appreciate 

 him. 



I want to tell you, there is going to come an age of recon- 

 struction. We will repair the destitution of Europe. A man said 

 to me, "All these factories will close down after the war and 

 then we will have a period of depression." Not on your life! 

 What will happen ? We will hear the call of the wild. There will 

 be such a demand for lumber that we will see more than I saw a 

 few days ago at Pensacola. I saw four scows loaded with lumber 

 and drawn by a tug, intended for war purposes. But then they 

 will be loaded for the purposes of peace, and not for the destruc- 

 tion of life, to meet the demand for things that were used in peace, 

 to rebuild everything, along the line; and whilst ammunition fac- 

 tories are now making ammunition, they will be making some- 

 thing else ; and we will have an age of prosperity that will demand 

 the pluck and grit and courage of the best of us. And that is 

 the thing that will save us. So, when I heard the three voices 

 mingled, and saw that vision the voice of the American past, the 

 voice of the American present and the voice of the American 

 future, here is what they said in answer to my friend's question : 



"As long as the song of Industry is heard, 

 As long as its thunders roll, 

 As long as its music 

 Nor beast nor bird, 

 But man and God control ; 

 So long as will the flag of Liberty's fane 

 Float over this land unfurled, 

 So long will its stars and stripes contain 

 Power to move the world." 



