Presto

SJne Editor 5
THE CONSTRUCTIVE POWER OF NATURE
Today, as I write these words there is a feeling of spring in
the world. Nature is throbbing again under the straighter rays
of "Old Sol." (ireeness is in the grass, a glow is on the pussy
willow, the wind is whispering instead of whistling, and music
is in the song of the robbin whose returning note of joy fills our
hearts with gladness and hope. The miracle of nature is great
in the spring. It shows her in all her re-creative, constructive
force, trying to heal the wounds of winter and bring into being
new life in many forms. Of course, there are destructive forces
in nature too, lightening, flood, tornado, and earthquake, but these
are not constant as are the constructive forces of generation,
growth, and harvest.
Old Mother Earth naturally wants to supply all men with an
abundance of good things. She can produce far more food than
all mankind can use. She can give us unlimited supplies of ma-
terials for homes, clothes, recreation, and pleasure. She can furn-
ish us with the beauty of majestic mountains, with the symphony
of clear running streams, and with the sublime oratorios of oceans.
What else do we need? Nothing! Nature is more than sufficient
with all of her constructive powers to give man everything neces-
sary for an abundant life. But man through his greed and stupid-
ity works against the life giving forces of nature when he resorts to
war—the mania to destroy. Let us hope that some day man will
control his life by the constructive forces of his mind and of nature,
and by the spiritual forces of liberty, justice, and good will.
THE DESTRUCTIVE MAN El OF MAN
You have seen that famous picture of our cave-man ancestor
with his receeding forehead, his heavy chin, hairy chest, bulging
muscles, and little beady eyes. He sneaks out of his cave looking
warily in every direction. He carries in his right hand a big dub
and moves very cautiously ready to destroy any animal desired
for food or brain any man likely to be a foe. Some of the habits
of the cave and the jungle still cling to us. Millions of men still
like to kill.
The Terrible Mania of War!
What a contradiction man is! Did you ever see a sweet looking
little girl watch a fish worm and then stamp her foot on it and
smash it flat, and then say with a sort of triumphant shout,
"there now worm !" Did you ever see a boy kill a beautiful song
bird? That instinct to destroy seems to be born right in us. How
prevalent it is in the world today. Man seems to become a maniac
at times. Certainly, war is the most terrible mania to which our
human race is subject. Think how the destructive forces of men
are totally unleashed today and are like mad dogs devouring meat.
Human lives, the most precious possession we have, are cheap
today. Works of art, science, literature, and religion, the next
most precious possessions of men. are suffering terrible losses at
present. How long! How long! Oh man! Will you allow your
destructive powers to over-rule your constructive ones? The long,
long future only holds the answer.
PRESIDENT FEEDER'S LETTER ABOUT PROPOSED TAX ON MUSICAL
Every one in the United States is going to feel the pressure of
new taxes for Defense and the old taxes for National Debt and
Operation.. Certain proposals to raise taxes seem to be out of place.
Eor instance, we do not think it would be a good thing to put a
\0 r /r tax on the sale of musical instruments, for music is not a
luxury but a real and urgent necessity in times like the present.
Our minds are blurred and our hearts heavy with the tragedy
of this war which is destroying so many fruits of human achieve-
ment and killing so many people, many of them young and full of
promise. Music is a comfort, an inspiration, and an urge to carry
on. We must have music today.
Paul S. Felder, President of the National Association of Music
Merchants, wrote to Mr. \\ . A. Mennie, Secretary of the Associa-
tion, on April 26th, about this tax problem. Part of the letter
reads:
"I think our Association will have to take a very important part
in this matter because the merchants, as a voting element, are
much more powerful than the manufacturers, and besides, the
small merchant receives more favor in Washington than a big
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INSTRUMENTS
manufacturer. I am still of the opinion that we should bombard
all members of the Ways and Means Committee with letters from
the entire music industry all over the country and we should enlist
the support of the Senators and the Congressmen one hundred
percent if that is possible, and the people back home can certainly
do more with their representatives than somebody on a committee
in Washington; although, I believe we need that too. I do not
want to sit back and let the piano manufacturers and the band in-
strument manufacturers bear the full burden. This is one time
when our association can step out and really get busy. We must
send out a circular to all music merchants immediately for their full
cooperation and even then, it is going to be a tough battle."
PRESTO Ml'SIC TIMES
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