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The Commoner
yoii. 18, NO. 12
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td rondor, by which to make sure of an abundant
BttfeimOf ttid materials needed, r by which- to
check undertakings that could for the time bo
dlspqnsod with and stimulate thoso that wero
moat serviceable In war, by which to gain for
tho purchasing departments of the government
a certain control over tho prices of essential
articles and materials, by which to restrain trade
with alien onomlos, make the most of tho avail
able shipping and systematize financial trans
actions, both public and privato, so that thoro
would bo no unnecessary conflict or confusion
by wh'ch, In short, to put every material energy
of tho country In harness to drav the common
load and mako of us ono team In tho accomplish
ment o'f a great task. But the moment wo know
tho armistice to have been signed, wo took the
harness off. Raw raatorlals upon which the gov
ernment had kept Its hand for fear there should
not bo enough for tho industries that supplied
tin armlos, have been released and put Into the
gonoral markot again. Groat industrial plants
whoso wholo output and machinery had been
taken over for the uses of tho government have
boon sot freo to roturn to tho uses to wh'ch they
were put before tho war. It has not boon pos
sible to romovo so readily or so quickly the
control of foodstuffs and of shipping, because
tho world has still to bo fod f-om our granaries
and tho ships are still noodod to send supplies
to our men overseas and to bring tho men back
as fast as the disturbed conditions on the other
sido of tho water permit; but evtn tlio restraints
are being rolaxed as much as possible and more
anl more as tho weeks go by.
Never boforo have boon agoncios in existence
in this country which know so much of tho Hold
of supplies, of lab and of industry as tho war
Industries board, tho War trade board, tho labor
department, tho food administration and the fuel
administration have known since the'r labors
became thoroughly systematized; and thoy have
not boon isolated agencies; they have been
directed by men which' represented the perma
nent departments the government and so have
been the centers of unified and co-operative
action ... '
: U W boon tho policy of tho executive, there-
rorouiSUico the armistice was assured (which is
" J ,ff?c.5 a,C0IPlQtb submission .of tho enemy)
nniff Vl0kn?wl!?B0 of thoso bodlos at e dis
posal of tho business men of the country and
to offer their intelligent mediation at every point
and hi every matter where it .as des'red. It is
!n5?BiX,h0VaBt th0 procejia of roturn to a
peace footing hap moved In the throe weeks
since the fighting stopped. It promises to out!
run any inquiry that may bo instituted and that
may bo ofToi-ed. It willjiot be easy to d"rect It
any bettor than it will direct itself. The Amer
ican business man is of quick initiative.
rhe ordinary and, normal processes of private
initiative will not, however, provide Immediate
employment for all of tho men of our rXrninK
armies. Thoso who we of trained capacity thosl
who are skilled workmen, those who are' ready
S Z 5 ?! EL 11 tUo ?-. thoasre;S
of land that lie under swamps or suDjeci to peri
odical overflow or too wet lor anyimng uvi. sit
ing, which it is perfectly feasible to drain and
Trninnt nnri rniinom. The conirress can at onco
odical overflow or too wet for anything but graz
4fr whinh it la nerfectly feasible to drain ant
protect and redeem. Tho congress can at onco
direct thousands of the returning soldiers to tho
In finding nlaco nnri flmnin,,. i..? T, t0 m?i
be.othors who will e at a loss where to 7a in
J. livelihood, unless pains are taken to Kfi?de
them and put thorn in the way of wSrk There
Snn a Ug ,fl0lUllls resIdium of labor w hich
should not be loft wholly to shift for itself T
seems to me Important, therefore that nS
development of public works of every sort RL,,
bo promptly resumed, in mtovu.H
SaW? ff8?? f0F i"edhlab0oPrP Jn'pa ?
ular, and that plans should bo mirio Li .
devolopraeiits of our unused imE ,? Such
RECLAMATION PROGRAM PLANNED
I particularly direct your attention tn n,Q
practical plans which' the secretary n? w Ty
has developed in his inSSaSgirt anVw
your committee for the reclamation V .
swamp and cut-over lands whicT mteh WA
states were willing and able to coonerktl Vl
&rTrs -- ofanrcS:
pillion acres of land in the wi n? ln r Vmty
for wlfose reclamatioV'wSSf EXbWr
properly conserved. There ar nLT ! ,' If
tod and thirty million area Shmi'
topetta have been cut but whirl, w WlUch e
been cleared for the plow ana wS. ?,6Vf yet
and desolate. These lie scaUered ur "t tQ
union. Ad there are negh mUlC acres
reclamation of arid lands wnicn it uas aireuuy
' taken, If It will but enlarge their plans and
appropriations which it has entrusted to the de
partment of the interior. It is possmie m aeui
Ing with our unusod land to effect a great rural
and agricultural development which will afford
tho best sort of opportunity to men who want
to help themselves; and the secretary of tho
interior has thought tho possible methods out
In a way which is worthy of your mosrfriendly
attention.
CONTROL OVER SHIPPING .
I have spoken of tho control which must yet
for awhile, perhaps for a long while, bo exer
cised over shipping because of tho priority1 of
service to which our forces overseas are entitled,
and which should also be accorded the shipments
which are to save recently liberated peoples from
starvation and many devastated regions from
permanent ruin. May I not say a special word
about tho needs of Belgium and northern
Franco? No sums of money paid by way of in
demnity will serve of themselves to save them
from hopeless disadvantage and for years to
come. Soraeth'ng more must be done than
merely find the money. If they had money and
the rav materials in abundance tomorrow they
could not resume their place in the industry of
the world tomorrow tho very important place
they held before the flame of war swept across
them. Many of their factories are razed to tho
. very gro'und. Much of their machinery is de
stroyed or has been taken away. The people are
scattored and many of their best workmen are
dead. Their markets will be taken by others,
. if they are not in some special way assisted to
robu!ld their factories and replace their lost in
struments of manufacture. They should not be
left to the vicissitudes of the sharp competition
for materials and for industrial facilities which
is now set in. jl hope, therefore, that the con
gress will not be unwilling, if it should become
necessary to-grant to some agency as the war
trade, board the right to establish priorities of
export and supply for the benefit of these peoplo
whpni wo have been so happy to assist in saving
from the German terror 'and whom we must
not now thoughtlessly leave to shift for them
selves in a pitiless competitive market.
EZTERMINATION OF TAXES
- For the st adying and facfliation of our own
domestic business readjustments nothing is more
important than the immediate determination of
the taxes that are to be levied for 1918 1919
and 1920. As much of the burden of the taxa-
Uo mU8t .be 1Ifted from business, as sound
methods of financing the government will permit
and those who conduct the greatest industries
of the country must be told aq exactly as I?
Bible what obligations to the governnient th
will bo expected to meet in the years immediately
ahead of them. It will be of serious cons,
quences to the country to delay removing all
uncertainties in this matter a single day longer
than the right processes of debate justify It Is
idle to talk of successful and confident busine
reconstruction before those uncertainties .are re-
JLth0 WaP had continued it would have been
necossary to raise at least eicht him ? ?,
by taxation payable in the yet 1 J9 ut n
war has ended and I agree wUh th 'secretary
of tho treasury that it will be safe to red In It S
amount to ' billions An Immediate ran?d t
cline in tho expenses of the BovernmiSf i? I
to be looked for. Contracts mafl fS. S not
Plies will, indeed, be rapidly cancelled M Se
dated, but their immediate liqSS S Sff1"
heavy drains on the treasury for thLlJLmfke
ahead of us. Tho maintenance of m ,nths just
the other sido of the sea is t?ii n rces on
considerable proportion of thnJ J ece88ary- A
main in Europe during tl e peHod nf mUSt re"
and those which are broughuTome will hJ??ftUon
ported and demobilized at lea?v Lj tra?8"
months to come. The inteWt y expense 'or
must of course bo paid and I mSJiJ?UP wap-dt
tho retirement of the ohUgatC S S,1"8 for
x ment which represent it S5?S he g0VGrn
will of course fall SSch below Un?8e (lemanda
tion of the military oneratinL? connua
tailed and six mZTlTm sZllhVQ en'
a sound foundation for the . flnaJJLi t0 SUpply
of the year. "nancial operations
I entirely concur with the secretary. 0f the
treasury in recommending that tho , t.
needed in addition to the tow wufolSj
from t:
contracts and distinctlv wr t,,,, om
by existing law he obtain r. ?, pl
rtrlitnli Jiotra nAntmA n.l i. , -lQ X)T(ftt
m ar
theso taxes be ennflnn - f " ... H3 Uut that
cruing in 1918, or In 1919 from bu8inJI?flt8, ac'
ating in war contracts; Slne8s rSln-
I urge your acceptance of this recount
tion that provision bo. made now, no? S
quently, thai the taxes to be paid in 1920 rtBs
be reduced from six to four billions Vnhvou14
rangemonts less definite than these wouS Sa
elements of doubt and confusion to the critlJI
period of Industrial readjustment throKhS
the country must now immediately pass flnJ
which no true friend, of the naUoewaffl
business Interest can afford to be responsE hS
creating or prolonging. Clearly determined on
ditlons clearly and simply charted arc iZ
pensablo to the economic revival and rapid
dustrlal development which. may confidentlv I
expected if we act now and sweep all interronJ
tion points, away. ea
CARRY OUT NAVAL PROGRAM
I take it for granted that the congress will '
CaoU; the navdl PrSrain which was sub'
mitted before we entered the-war. The secretary
of the navy has submitted to your committee
for authorization that part of the program which
covers the buildjng plans of the next three years
These plans have been prepared along the lines
and In accordance .with the policy which the
congress established not under the exceptional
conditions of the war, but with the intention
of adhering to a definite method of development
for the navy. I earnestly recommend the un
interrupted pursuit of that policy. It would
.clearly be unwise for us to attempt to adjust
our program, to a future world policy as yet un
determined. QUESTION OF THE RAILROADS
The question -which causes me the greatest
concern is the question of the policy to be
adopted towards the railroads. I frankly turn
to " xou-for cjxunserupon.it, I have no confident
judgment of- myown. -I do not see how any
thoughtful man can have who knows anything
ot the complexity of the problem. It is a prob
lem which- must be studied, studied immediately,
and studied without bias or prejudice. Nothing
can be gained by becoming partisans of any
particular plan of settlement.
It was necessary, that the administration of
the railways should be taken over by the govern
ment so long as the war lasted. It would have
been impossible otherwise to establish and carry
through under a single direction the necessary
priorities of shipment. It would have been im
possible otherwise to combine maximum pro
, ductibn ' at the factories and mines and farms
with the maximum possible car supply to take
the products to the ports and markets; impos
sible to route troop shipments and freight ship
ments without regard to the advantage or dis
advantage of the roads employed; impossible to
subordinate, when, necessary all questions of
conveniences to the public necessity; impossible
to give the necessary financial support to tho
reads from the public treasury: Rut all these
necessities- haye not been served, and tho
question is vhat is best for tho railroads and
for the public in the future.
Exceptional circumstances and exceptional
methods of administration were not needed to
convince us that, the ' railroads were not equal
to the Immense tasks of transportation imposed
upon thorn by the rapid and continuous develop
ment of the industries of the country. Wo know
that already. And we knew that they were un
equal to it partly because theL full co-operation
was rendered impossible by law and their com
petition made obligatory, so that it has been
impossible to assign to them severally the traffic
which could best be carried by their respectivo
lines in the interest of expedition and national
economy. v
PEACE IN THE SPRINGTIME
We may hope, I believe, for the formal con
clusion of the war by treaty by tho time spring
has come. The twenty-one months to which tho
present control of the railways is limited after
formal proclamation of the peace shall have been
made will run at tho farthest, I take it tor
granted, only to January- of 1921. The ful
equipment of the railways which the federal
administration planned could not be completed
within any sucli periods Tlio present law does
not permit the ii8eof the revenues of the several
t