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The Commoner
- Vi' ' : WILLIAM J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR
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VOL. 13, NO. 32
Lincoln, Nebraska, December, 1913
Whole Number 656
Message of the President of the United States
Delivered at a Joint Session of the Two Houses of Congress, December 2, 1913
Gentlemen of the Congress:
In pursuance of my.constitutional duty to "give
to the Congress information of the state of the
Union," I take the liberty of addressing you on
several matters which' ought, as it seems to me,
particularly to engage the attention of your
honorable bodies, as of all who study the wel
fare and progress of tho Nation.
I shall ask your indulgence if I venture to de
part in some degree from the usual custom of
setting before you in formal review the many
matters which have engaged the attention and
called for the action of the several departments
of the Government or which look to them for
early treatment in the future, because, tho list
is l.ong, very Jong, and would suffer in "the ab
breviation to which I should jtiave to subject it.
I shall submit to you the reports of the headsof
the several departments, in which these subjects
are set forth in careful detail, and beg that they
may receive the thoughtful attention of your
committees and of all Members of the Congress
who may have the leisure to study them. Their
obvious importance, as constituting the very sub
stance of the business of the Government, makes,
comment and emphasis on my part unnecessary.
A test so compounded ought easily to be made
to govern both the establishment of new treaty
obligations and the interpretation of those al
ready assumed.
AT TEAOB WITH THE WORLD
The country, I am thankful to say, is at peace
with all the world, and many happy manifesta
tions multiply about us of a growing cordiality
and sense of community of interest among the
nations, foreshadowing an age of settled peace
and good will. More and more readily each
decade do the nations manifest their willingness
to bind themselves by solemn treaty to the pro
cesses of peace, the processes of frankness and
fair concession. So far the United States has
stood at the front of such negotiations. She
will, I earnestly hope and confidently believe,
give fresh proof of her sincere adherence to the
cause of international friendship by ratifying
the several treaties of arbitration awaiting re
newal by the Senate. In addition to these, it
has been the privilege of the Department of
State to gain the assent, in principle, of no less
than 31 nations, representing four-fifths of the
population of the world, to the negotiation of
treaties by which it shall be agreed that when
ever differences of interest or of policy arise
which can not be resolved by the ordinary pro
cesses of diplomacy they shall be publicly
analyzed, discussed, and reported upon by a
tribunal chosen by the parties before either
nation determines its course of action.
There is only one possible standard by which
to determine controversies between the United
States and other nations, and that s com
pounded of these two elements: Our own honor
and our obligations to the peace of the world.
THE MEXICAN SITUATION
There is but one cloud upon our horizon.
That has shown itself to the south of us, and
hangs over Mexico. There can be no certain
prospect of peace in America until Gen. Iluorta
has surrendered his usurped authority in
Mexico; until it is understood on all hands, in
deed, that such pretended governments will not
be countenanced or dealt with by tho Govern
ment of the United States, We are tho friends
of constitutional government in America; we
are more than its friends, we are its champions;
because in no other way can our neighbors, to
whom we would wish in every way to make
proof of our friendship, work out their own de
velopment In peace and liberty. Mexico has no
Government. The attempt to maintain one at
the City of Mexico has broken down, and a
mere military despotism has been set Up which
has hardly more than the somblanco of national
authority. It originated in the usurpation of
Victoriano Huerta, who, after a brief attempt
to play the part of constitutional President, has
at last cast aside even the pretense of legal right
and declared himself dictator. As a conse
quence, a condition of affairs now exists in
Mexico which has made it doubtful whether even
the most elementary and fundamental rights
either of her own people or of tho citizeus of
other countries resident within her territory can
long bo successfully safeguarded, and which
threatens, if long continued, to imperil the In
terests of peace, order, and tolerable life in the
lands immediately to tho south of us. Even if
CONTENTS .
PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS
THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS
FREE WOOL
SENATOR SFIAFROTII ON GOLD
RESERVE
A BOUQUET OF REFORMS
THE SITUATION IN MEXICO
THE PRESIDENT ON PEACE
GAMBLING GREAT AND SMALL
THE WORK OF THE PRESIDENT'S
CABINET
FREE DELIVERY FOR TOWNS AND
VILLAGES
CURRENCY MEASURE REACHES
SENATE
rnTJW SttNTTTMRNT IN NEBRASKA
SUCCESS OF THE CROP-MOVING FUND
DISARMAMENT THJS i'liiar oijui-
tho usurper had succeeded in his purposos, in
despite of the conatllullon of tho Republic and
the rights of Its people, he would havo sot up
nothing but a precarious and hateful power,
which could have lastod but a little while, and
whose eventual downfall would have left tho
country in a more deplorable condition than,
ever. But he has not succeeded. He has for
feited the respect and the moral support even
of those who were at one time willing to seo
him Buccecd. Little by little he has been com
pletely Isolated. By a little every day his power
and prestige are crumbling and the collapse fa
not far away. We shall not, I believe, be obliged
tp alter our policy of watchful waiting. And
then, when the end conieB, we shall hope to neo
constitutional order restored in distressed
Mexico by tho concert and energy of such of hor
leaders as prefer the liberty of their people to
their own ambitions.
BANKING AND Cl'KKKNCV AND FARM
C'ilKMTS
I turn to matters of domestic concern. "Sou
already have under consideration a bill for tho
reform of our system of banking and currency,
for which the country waits with impatience, as
for something fundamental to Its whole business
life and necessary to set crodlt freo from arbi
trary and artificial restraints. I need not cay
how earnestly I hope for Its early enactment
Into law. I lake leave to beg that tho whole
energy and attention of the Senate be concen
trated upon it till the matter is successfully dis
posed of. And yet I feel that the request Is not
needed that the Members of that great House
need no urging in this service to tho country.
I present to you, In addition, the urgent neces
sity that special provision be mada also for facili
tating the credits needed by the farmers of tho
country. Tho pending currency bill does tho
farmers a great service. It puts them upon an
equal footing with other business men and
masters of enterprise, as it should; and upon its
passage they will find themselves quit of many
of the difficulties which now hamper them in tho
field of credit. The farmers, of course, ask and
should be given no special privilege, such as ex
tending to them the credit of the Government
itself. What they need and should obtain Is'
legislation which will make their own abundant
and substantial credit resources available as a
foundation for joint, concerted local action In
their own behalf in getting the capital they must
use. It is to this we should now address our
selves. FARM INDUSTRY LAGS
It has, singularly enough, come to pass that
we have allowed the industry of our farms to
lag behind the other activities of the country in
ill
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