Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, December 03, 1918, Page 9, Image 9
THE BEE: OMAHA, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1918. PRESIDENT PRESENTS RAILROAD PROBLEM TO CONGRESS ..TT WASHINGTON, Dec. 2.-Fol- W lowing is the complete text , of "President Wilson's ad dress to the Sixty-fifth congress to day on its reassembling for the final ' session. ' Gentlemen of the Congress: Th vear trtaf liae Jk1ane1 eirtr-tt T j t, m ...... ... VIBJtU OlllbV last stood before you to fulfill my constitutional duty to give the con gress from tiriie to time information on the state of the union, has been so crowded with great evelits, great processes and great results that I cannot hope to give you an ade . quate picture of its transactions or of the far-reaching changes which have been wrought in the life of our . ' nation and of the world. You have yourselves witnessesd. these things, as I have. It is too soon to assess ' them; and we who stand in the ' midst of them and are part of them , are less qualified than men of an other generation will be to say what "they mean or even what they have been. But some great outstanding facts are onmistakable and consti tute in a sense part of the public business with which it is our duty to deal. To state them is to set the siace ior me legislative ana execu- "; tive action which must grow out of 1 ' them and which we have yet to ' shape and determine. fl A year ago we had sent 145,918 men, overseas. Since then we have sent 1,950,513, an average of 162,542 each montlf, the number, in factris ing in May last to 245,951; in June to 278,760; in July to 307,182, and :ontinuing to reach similar figures it! & iimief n A CantamKp in An . gust 289,570 and in September 257, 438. ' . Big Troop Movement n'" No such movement of troops ever " took place before, across 3,000 miles of sea, followed by adequate equip- ment and supplies, and carried safe ly through extraordinary dangers of : ' . ittack dangers which were alike fc" strange and infinitely difficult to juard against. In all this move ment only 758, men were lost by "jnemy attacks 630 of whom were ipon a single English transport which was sunk near the Orkney 'stands. -' I need not tell you what lay back jf this great movement of men and material. It is not invidious to say that back of it lay a supporting or ganization of the industries of the :ountry and all its productive activi ties more complete, more thorough in method and effective in results, aiore spirited and unanimous in pur nosp and pffnrt than anv other creat belligerent had ever been able to iffect. We, profited greatly by the experience bf the nations which had already been engaged for nearly three years in the exigent and exact ing business, their every resource and every executive proficiency taxed to the utmost. We were the pupils. But we learnad quickly and acted with a promptness and a ; readiness of co-operation that jus- tify our great pride that we were able to serve the world with un ' paralleled energy and quick ac complishment A'. Tribute to Men. ? . But it. is not the physical scale and executive efficiency of prepara tion,', suppljv equipment and . dis patch that I would dwell upon, but the mettle and quality ofithe offi . Ters and men we sent over and of , the. sailor 'who kept the seas, and the spirit of the nation that stood behind them. N o soldiers, or sai lors,' every proved themselves more quickly ready for . the test of battle or acquitted themselves with more splendid courage and achievement when put to the test. Those of us who played some part in directing the great processes by which the war was pushed irre sistibly forward to the final triumph maymow forget all that and delight our thoughts with, the story of what our men did. Their officers under stood the grim and exacting task they had undertaken and performed with audacity, efficiency, and unhes itating courage that touch ,the story of convoy and battle with imperish able distinction at every turn, whether the enterprise were great or smallfrom their chiefs, Per shing and Sims, down to the young est lieutenant; and their men were worthy of them such men as hard- - ly need to be commanded, and go to their terrible adventure blithely and with the quick, intelligence of those who know.' just what jt is they wouid accomplish. -I am proud to be the fellow coun . tryman of ,men of such stuff and valor. Those of us who stayed at home did, our duty; the war could r not. have been won or the gallant men who tought it given tneir op portunity to win it otherwise; but for many a long day we shall think ourselves -accurso wc were nui cheap while any speaks that fought". ; with these at St. Mihiel or Thierry. The memory of those days of tri umphant battle will go with these fortunate men to their graves; and each will have his favorite memory. "Old men forget;, yet all shall be forgot, but he'll remember with ad vantages what feats he did that dayl" '' ' . j . At Critical Time. thanlc God for with " deepest gratitude is that rW men ' . went in force into the line of bat tle just at the critical moment when the whole fate of the world seemed to hang in the balance and threw their fresh strength into the ranks of v freedom irt time to turn the - whole 4ide and sweep of the fateful struggle turn it once for all, "so that thenceforth it was back, back, back for their enemies, always back, never again forward 1 v After that it was only a scant four months before ' the commanders of the central em pires knew themselves beaten and now their very empires are in liqui dation. vAnd throughout it all now fine the spirit of the nation 'was; what unity Of purpose, what untiring teal! What elevation of purpose ran through all its splendid display of strength its untiring accomplish ment ,.. I have said that those of us who stayed at home to do thework jf organization and supply will al ways wish that we had been with the men whom we sustained by our labor, but we can never be ashamed. , Great Unselfishness Shown. It has been an inspiring thing to . be here in the midst of fine men who rtad turned aside from every private interest of their own and devoted the whole of their trained capacity to tfie tasks, that supplied the sis- Features of President's Address Before Congress Chief executive pays tribute to armed forces and loyal workers at home. - Declares problem of readjustment after war is taking care of itself without government aid. j Offers no solution of the railroad question; suggests study of problem by congress. Declares he is ready to return lines to private control whenever a satisfactory arrangement is made to pevent re turn to old systems under private management - Renews appeal for woman's suffrage. Requests early ratification of Colombian treaty. Suggests continued government control over exports. Declares it to be his paramount duty to attend the peace con ference in Paris. . ews of the whole great undertakingl The pariotism, the unselfishness, the thorough-going devotion and dis tinguished capacity that marked their toilsome labors, dav after dav. month after month, have made them fit mates and comrades of the men in the trenches and on the sea. And not the men here in Wash ington only. They have but directed the vast achievement. Throughout innumerable factories, upon innum erable farms, in the depths of coal mines land iron mines and copper mines.'wherever the stuffs of indus try were to be obtained and pre pared, in the shipyards, on the rail ways, at the docks, on the sea, in every labor that was needed to sus tain the battle lines, men have vied with each other to do their part and do it well. They can look any man-at-arms in the face and say, "we al so strove to win and gave the best that was in us to make our fleets and armies sure of their triumph. Gives Praise to Women. And what shall we say of the women of their instant intelli gence, quickening every task that they touched; their capacity for or ganization and co-operation, which gave their action discipline and en hanced the effectiveness of every thing they attempted; their aptitude at tasks to Which they had never before set their hands; their, utter self-sacrifice alike in what they did and in what they gave?" Their con tribution to the great result is be yond appraisal. They have added a new lustre to the annals pf Ameri can womanhood. , The least tribute we can pay them is to make them the equals of men in political rights, as ' they have proved themselves their "equals in every field of practical work they have entered, whether for them selves or for their country. These great days of completed achievement would be sadly marred were we to omit that act of justice. Besides the immense practical serv ices they have rendered, the women of the country have been the moving spirits in tbe systematic economies by which our people have voluntar ily assisted to supply the suffering peoples of the world and the armies ui ?k every, front with food and everything else that we had that might serve the common cause. The details of such a story can never be fully written,- but .. we carry them at our hearts and thank God that we can say that we are the kinsmen of such. ... . .. : Have Gained Sure Triumph. And now we are sure of the, great triumph for which every sacrifice was made. It has come, come in its completeness, and with the pride and inspiration of these days of achieve ment quick within us we turn to the tasks of peace again a peace sure against the violence of irresponsible monarchs and ambitious military coteries and make ready for a new order, for new foundations of justice and fair dealing. : We are about to give order and organization to this peace not only for ourselves, but for the other peoples of the wcpld as well, so far as they will suffer us to serve them. It is international justice' that we seek, not domestic safety merely. Our thoughts have dwelt of late upon Europe,' upon Asia, upon the near ind far east, very little upon the acts of peace and accommoda tion that wait to be performed at our own doors. vv '', - . ; ; , ' Refers to Colombian Treaty. " While we are adjusting our rela tions with (the rest of the world is it not of capital importance that . we should clear away- all grounds of misunderstanding with . our imme diate neighbors and give proof of the friendship we really feel? I hope that the members of the senate will permit "me to" speak once more , of the unratified' treaty of friendship and adjustment with the republic of Colombia. " I very earnestly urge upon them. an early and favorable action upon that vital matter. . I believe that they will feel, with me, that the Stage of affairs is now set for such action as will be not, only just, but generous and in the spirit of the new age upon which we have so happily entered..- So far as our domestic affairs are i concerned, the problem of pur re- turn to peace is a problem of eco nomic and ; industrial readjustment. That problem, is lessserious for us than it may turn out to be for the nations which have suffered the dis arrangements and the losses of war longer than we. Our people, more over, do not wait tcvybe coached and led. They know their own business, are quick and resourceful at every radjustment, definhe in purpose and self-reliant in action. No Leading Strings Possible. Any leading strings we might seek to put them in would speedily become hopelessly tangled because they would pay no attention to them and go their own way. All that we can do as their legislative and executive servants is to mediate the process of change here, there, and elsewhere as we may. I have heard much counsel as to the plans that should bt formed and personal ly conducted to a happy consumma tion; but from no quarter have I seen any general scheme oiAecon struction" 'emerge which I thought it likely we could force our spirited business men and self-reliant labor ers to accept with due pliancy tnd obedience. ? -: -' While th war 'lasted we set up many agencies by which to direct the industries of the country an the services it was necessary for them to rendef, by which to make sure of an abundant supply of the materials needed, by which to check undertak ings that could for the time be dis pensed with and stimulate those that were most serviceable in war, by which to gain for the purchasing de partments of the government a cer tain control over the prices of es sential articles and materials," by which to restrain trade with alien enemies, make the most of the avail able shipping and systematize finan cial transactions, both public and private, so that there would be no unnecessary conflict or confusion by which, in short, to put every ma terial energy' of the country in har ness to draw the common load and make of us 6ne team in the accom plishment of a great task. But. the moment we knew the armistice to have been signed we took the har ness off. Raw Materials Released. Raw materials upon which the gov ernment had kept its hands for fear, there should not be enough for the industires that supplied the armies have been released and put into the general market again. Great indus trial plants whose whole output and machinery had been taken over for the uses of the government have been set free to return to the uses to which they were put before the war. It has not been possible to remove so readily or so quickly the control of .foodstuffs and of ship ping, because the world has still to be fed from our granaries and the ships are still needed to send sup plies to our men oversea and to bring the men back as fast as the disturbed conditions on the other side of the water permit, but even there restraints are being relaxed as much as possible and more and rhore as the weeks go by. Boards Offer Help. Never before have there been agencies in existence in this coun try which knew so much of the field of supply, of labor and of industry as the war industires board, the war trade board, the labor department, the food administration and the fuel administration have kwown since theif labors became thoroughly- sys-t temafized, and 'they havesnot been isolated agencies; they have been di rected by men who represented the permanent departments of the gov ernment and so have been the cen ters of unified and co-operative ac tiori. It has been the policy of the executive, therefore, since the ar mistice was assured (which is, in effect, a complete submission'of the enemy), td put the knowledge of these bodies at the disposal of the business men of the country and to offer their intelligent mediation at every point and in every matter where it was desired. Returning to Peace Footing. It is surprising how fast' the pro cess of return to a peace footing has moved in the three weeks since the. fighting stopped. It promises to outrun any inquiry that may be instituted and any aid that may be offered. It will not be easy to di rect it any better than it will direct itself. The American business man is of quick initiative. The ordinary and normal pro cesses of private initiative will not, However, provide immediate employ ment for all of the men of our re turning armies. Those who are of trained 'capacity, those who are skilled workmen, those who have ac quired familiarity with established businesses, those who are ready and willing to go to the farms, all those whose aptitudes are known or will be sought out by employers will find no difficulty, it is safe to say, in find ing place and employment. But there will be others who will be at a loss where to gain a livelihood, unless pains are taken to guide them and put them in the way of .work. There will be a large floating res iduum of labor which should not be left wholly to shift for itself. It seems to me important, therefore, that the development of public works of every sort- should be promptly resumed, in order that op portunities should be created for un skilled labor in particular and that plans should be made for such de velopments of our unused lands an:! our natural resources as we have hitherto lacked stimulation to under take. Should Reclaim Lands. I particularly direct your atten tion to the very practical plans which the secretary -of the interior has developed in his annual report and before your committees for the reclamation of arid, swamp and cut over lands which might if the states were willing and able to co-operate, redeem some 300,000,000 acres of land for cultivation. 'There are said to be 15,000,000 or .20,000,000 acres of land in the west, at present arid, for whose reclamation water is available, if properly conserved. f There are about 230,000,000 acres from which the forests have been cut, but which have never yet been cleared for the plow and which lie waste and desolate. These lie scat tered all over the Union. And there are nearly 80,000,000 acres of land thaf' lie under swamps or subject to periodical overflow or too wet for anything but grazing which it is per fectly feasible to drain and protect and redeem. ; , The .congress can at once direct thousands of the returning soldiers to the reclamation of the arid lands which it has already .undertaken, if it will but enlarge the plans and the appropriations which it has in trusted to the department of the in terior. It is possible in dealing with our unused .land to ettect a great rural and agricultural development which will afford the best sort of opportunjty to men who want to help themselves; and the secretary of the mtenoras thought the cos sible methods out in a way which is worthy of your most friendly at tention. Control of Shipping. I have spoken of the control which must yet for a while, perhaps for a long while, be exercised over shipping because of the priority of service to which our forces overseas art entitled and which should also be accorded the 'shipments , which are to save recently liberated peo ples from starvation and many dev astated regions' from permanent ruin. May I not say a special word about the needs of Belgium and northern France? No sxims . of money paid by way of indemnity will serve of them selves to save them from hopeless disadvantage for years to come. S6mething more must be done than merely find the money. If they had money and raw materials in abun dance tomorrow they could not resume- their, place in the industry of the world tomorrow the very im portant place they held before the flame of war swept across , them. Many, of their factories are razed to the ground. Much of their machin ery is destroyed or has been taken away. Their people are scattered 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 rebuild 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 fa cilities which is now to set in. I hope, therefore, that the congress will not be unwilling, if it should become necessary, to grant to some such agency as" the war trade board the right to establish priorities of export and supply for the benefit of these people whom we have been so happy to assist in saving from the German terror and whom we must not now thoughtlessly leave to' shift for themselves in a pitiless competi tive market. ' Must Decide on Taxes. For the steadying and facilitation of our d6mestic business - readjust ments 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 "taxation must be lifted from business as sound methods of financing the government will per mit, and those who conduct the great essential industries of the country must be told as exactly as possible what obligations to the government they will be expected to meet in the years immediately ahead of them. It will be of serious con sequence 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 con fident husiness reconstruction before those,, uncertainties are resolved. If the war had continued it would have been necessary to raise at least $8,000,000,000 by taxation, payable in the yeark1919, but the war has ended and-1 agree with the secretary of the treasury that it will be safe to reduce the amount to $6,000,000,000. An immediate rapid decline in the expenses of the government is not to be looked for. Contracts made for supplies will, indeed, be rapidly can celed and liquidated, but' their im mediate liquidation will make heavy drains on the treasury for the months just ahead of us. The main tenance of our forces on the other side of the sea is still necessary.' A considerable proportion of those forces must remain in Europe during the period of occupation, those which are brought home will , be transported and demobilized at heavy expense for months to come. The interest on our war debt must, of course, be paid and provision made for the retirement of the obli gations of the government which represent it. But these demands will, of course, fall much below what a continuation of military opera tions would have entailed and six billions should suffice, to supply a sound foundation for the financial operations of the year. Should Tax Profits. I entirely concur with the secre tary of the treasury in recommend-' ing that the. two billions needed in addition to the four billions pro vided by existing law be obtained from the profits which have ac crued and shall accrue from ' way contracts and distinctively war business,- but that these taxes be con fined to the war profits accruing in 1918, or in 1919, from business orig inating in war contracts. I urge your acceptance of his recommenda tions that provision -be made now, not subsequently, 'that the taxes to be paid in 1920 should,' be reduced from six to four billions. Any ar rangements less definite than these would add elements of doubt and confusion to the critical period of industrial readjustment through which the country must now imme diately pass, and which no true friend of the nation's essential' bus iness interests can afford to be re sponsible for creating ior prolong ing. Gearly determined conditions, clearly and simply charted, are in dispensable to the economic revival and rapid industrial .development which may confidently be expected if we act now and sweep all inter rogation pointsaway. Recommends Naval Program. I take it for granted that con gress will carry out the naval pro gram which was undertaken before we entered the war. The secretary of the, navy has submitted to your committees for authorization that part of the program which covers the building plans of the next three years. These plans have been pre pared along the lines and in accord ance with the policy which the con gress established, not under the ex ceptional conditions of the war, but with the intention of adhering to a definite method of development for the. navy. 'I earnestly recommend the uninterrupted pursuit of that policy. It would clearly be unwise for us to attempt to adjust our pro grams, to a .future world policy as yet undetermined. The question which' causes me the greatest concern is the question of the policy to be adopted toward the railroads. I frankly turn' to you for counsel upon it.', I have no con fident judgment of my own. I do not see how any thoughtful man can have who knows anything of the complexity of the problem. It is a problem which must be studied, studied immediately and studied without bias or prejudice. Nothing can be gained by becoming parti sans of any particular plan of set Hement. . Was War Need. , It was necessary that the admin istration of the railways should be .taken over by the government so long as the war lasted. It would have been impossible otherwise to establish and carry through under a single direction the necessary prior ities of shipments. It would have been impossible otherwise to com bine maximum production at the factories and mines, and farms with the maximum possible car supply to take the products to the ports and markets; impossible to route troop shipments and freight ship ments without regard to the advan tage or disadvantage of the roads employed; impossible to subordi nate, when necessary, all questions of convenience to the public neces sity; impossible to give the neces sary financial support to the roads from the public treasury. But all these necessities have now been served, and the question is, what is best for the railroads and for the public in the future. Co-operation Impossible. Exceptional circumstances and exceptional methods of administra tion were not needed to convince us that the railroads were not equal to the immense tasks of transportation imposed upon, them by the rapid and continuous development of the industries of the country. We knew that already. And we knew that they were unequal to it partly be cause their full co-operation was rendered impossible byylaw and their competition made obligatory, so that it has been impossible to as sign to them severally the traffic which best could be carried by their respective lines in the interest of ex pedition and national economy. War's End in Spring. We may hope, I believe, for the formal conclusion of the war by treaty by the time spring has come. The 21 months to which the present control of the railways is limited after formal proclamation of peace shall have been made with run at the farthest, I take it for granted, only to the January of 1921. The full equipment of the railways which the federal administration had planned could , not be, completed within any such period. The present law does not permit the use of the revenues of the sev eral roads for the execution of such plans except by formal contract with their directors, some of whom will consent, while some will not, and therefore does, not afford suffi cient authority to undertake im provements upon the scale upon upon which it would be necessary to undertake them. Every approach to this difficult subject matter of decision brings, us face to ... face, therefore; with this unanswered question: What is right that we should do with the railroads, in the interest of the public and in fair ness to their owners? Question Must Be Answered. Let me say at once that I have no answer ready. The only thing that is perfectly clear to me is that it is not fair either to the public or to the owners of the railroads to leave the queshtion unanswered and that it .. will . presently become my duty to relinquish control of the roads, even bofer the expiration of the statutory period, unless there should appear some clear prospect in the meantime of a legislative so lution. Their release would at least produce one element of a solution, namely, certainty and a quick stim ulation of private initiative. Various Alternatives. I believe that it will be service able for me to set forth as explicitly as possible the alternative courses that lie open to our choice. We can, simply release the roads and go back to the old conditions of pri vate management, unrestricted com petition, and multiform regulation by both state and federal 'authorities; or we can go to the opposite ex treme and establish complete; gov ernment control, accompanied, if necessary, by actual government ownership; or we can adopt an in termediate course of modified pri vate control, under a more unified and affirmative public regulation and under such alterations of the law as will permit wasteful compe tion to be avoided and a consider able degree of "unification of the ad ministration to be effected, as, for example, by regional corporations under which the railways of defina ble area would be; in effect, com bined in single system. Must Modify Conditions. The one conclusion that I am ready to state with confidence is that it would be a disservice alike to the country and to the owners of the railroads to return to the old Congress Refrains From Comment on Wilson Talk A LYK0 i MM In riglral Mck gas only, IIH ptetur mhwt, RttaMillMMHalM, Will bring you renewed strength and vigor r infuse 1 new life and new energy into your flagging, drooping body whether exhausted from excessive nervous strain, undue physical ex ertion or sickness. mm The Great General Tonic ASK YOUR DRUGGIST Washington, Dec. 2. Comment for publication on the president's address was not so general at the capitol today as usul. Senator Martin, democratic leader; Senator Lodge, republican leader; Senator Hitchock, chairman of the foreign relations committee, all refrained from making statements. Some senators did comment, how ever, and there were numerous state ments on the house side. Repre sentative Kitchin of North Carolina, democratic leader, said: "The president's message was a great address and his explanation about his trip ought to satisfy his critics." . Representative Mann of Illinois, republican leader, said: "The most important phase of the message was on railroads, about which he gave no recommendations. Next in impor tance was the entire failure to take the congress or the country into his confidence on his trip abroad to the peace conference." Speaker Clark: "It was a fine speech." Representative Longworth of Ohio, republican: "It is not the president's strongest effort. If is interesting to observer that congress is going to be permitted to do some thing of its own on the railroad question." Representative Kahn of California, republican: "The president asks con gress for its united support. Con gress will be much fairer, I am araid, in that respect than the presi dent, himself has been." Senator Keed of Missouri (demo crat): "There were many admirable things in the message. But I ut terly disagree with the president that the American boys were fight ing to maintain his 14 principles of peace. They were fighting to lick the Germans, and the 14 principles, in fact, were not announced until long after we were in the war. Also, I think there is no necessity or call for the president's personal attend ance at the peace conference." , Senator Calder (republican) of Mew Yorkjaid the president failed to convince him in the message "that his going to ( Europe was necessary." Representative Cannon of I'linois (republican): "I was pleased with the message.. It followed the con stitutional plan of giving to the congress information of the state of the union, and left the information with orders for it to consider in connection, with its' legislative duties." Senator Johnson (republican) of California, said: "The deserved tribute to our fighting men found a sympathetic echo with us all. But the remainder of the president's ad dress was intensely disappointing. The president leaves us without an administrative program for recon struction or definite American poli cies as to peace terms. The Ameri can people have the right to know both." conditions unmodified. Those are conditions of restraint without de velopment. There is nothing offirma tive or helpful about them, i What the country chiefly needs is that all, its means of transportation should be developed, its railways, its water ways, its highways, and its country side roads. Some new element of policy, therefore, is absolutely necessary necessary for the service of the public, necessary for the re lease of credit to those who are administering the railways, . neces sary for the protection of their their security holders. The old policy may be changed much or little, but surely it cannot wisely be left as it was. ! I hope that the congress will have a complete and impartial study of the whole problem instituted at once and prosecuted as rapidly as possible. I stand ready and anxious to release the roads from the pres ent control and I must do so at a very early date if by waiting until the statutory limit of time is reached I shall, be merely prolonging the period of doubt and uncertainty which is hurtful to every interest concerned. Is Going to France. I welcome this occasion to an nounce to the congress my purpose to join in Paris the representatives of the government with which we have been associated in the war against the central empires for the purpose of discussing With them the main features of the treaty of peace. I realize the great inconveniences that will attend my leaving the country, particularly at this time, but the conclusion that it was my aramount duty to go has been forced upon me by considerations which I hope will seem as conclu sive to you as they have seemed to me. Allies Desire Counsel. The allied governments have ac cepted the bases of peace which I outlined to the congress on the 8th of January last, as the central em pires also have, and very reason ably desire my personal counsel in their (interpretation and application, and, it is highly desirable that I should give it in order that the sin cere desire of our government to contribute without selfish purpose of any kind to settlements that will be of common benefit to all the na tions concerned may be made fully manifest. The peace settlements which are now to be agreed upon are of transcendent importance both to us and to the rest of the world, and I know of no business or in terest which should take precedence of them. The gallant men of our armed forces on land and sea have con sciously fought for the ideals which they knew to be the ideals of their country;. I have sought to express those ideals; they have accepted my statements of them as the sub stance of their own thought and purpose, as 'the associated govern ments have accepted them; I owe it to them to see to it, so far as in me lies, that no false or mistaken in terpretation is put upon them, and no possible effort omitted tt realize them. It is now my duty to play my full part in making good what they offered their life's blood to ob tain. I can think of no call to serv ice which could transcend this. Keep in Touch with U. S. I shall be in close touch with you and with affairs on this side the water, and you will, know all. that I do. At my request, the French and English governments have ab solutely removed the censorship of cable news which until within a fortnight they had maintained, and there is now no censorship what ever exercised at this end except upon atttempted trade communica tions with enemy countries. It haJ been necessary to keep an open wire constantly available between Paris and the Department of State, and another between Franc? and the Department of War. In order that this might be done with the least possible interference with the other uses of the cables, I have temporar ily taken over control of both ca bles in order that they may be used as a single, system. I did so at the advice of the most experienced ca ble officials, and I hope that the re sults will justify my hope that the news of the next few months may pass with the utmost freedom and with the least possible delay from each side of the sea to the other. Asks for Support ' May I not hope, gentlemen of tht congress, that in the delicate taski . I shall have to perform on ths other side of the sea, in my effort! truly and faithfully to Riterpret th principles and purposes of the coun , try we love. I may have the en- couragement &nd the added strength of your united support? I realue the magnitude and difficulty of the dutv I am undertaking; I sm poignantly aware of its grave re sponsibilities. I am the servant of the nation. I can have no private thought or purpose of my own in performing such an errand. I go to give the best that is in me to the , common settlements which I must now assist in arriving at in confer ence with the other working heads . of the associated governments. 1 shall count upon your friendly countenance and encouragement, 1 shall not be inaccessible. The ca bles anq the wireless will render m available for any counsel or servics you may desire of me, and I shall b happy in the thought that I am con stantly in touch with the weighty matters of domestic policy with which we" shall have to deal. . I Shalt make my absence as brief as possu ble and ' shall hope to return with .' the happy assurance that it has been possible to translate into action the great ideals for which America has striven) mm Flavors in Vials In Jiffy-Jell tht flavors come in liquid form, in vials. They ' are made from fresh, ripe fruit They give to Jiffy-Jell desser wealth of fish fruit taste. With Jiffy-Jell yoo can make a delicious dessert in an instant. It comes ready sweetened, so it saves your sugar. And h , costs but trifle. A single package . serves six. There are 10 flavors, but we sug gest Loganberry or Pineapple. Try it today. It will bring you a new conception of gelatin desserts. J Paekaft for IS Cant At Yomr Cnemr't Jiffy Jell Waukesha, Wisconsin (IS) Kuxated Iron incrcaici itrtngth ant endurance of delicate, nervout run down people in two weeka' time in many instance!. It hat been naed and endorsed by inch men aa Hon. Lealia ' M. Shaw, former Secretary of ' the Treasury, and E-Governor of Iowa; Former United State Senator and Presidential Nominee Chat. A. Town; General John K. Clem (Retired), the. drummer boy of Shiloh, who waa ser geant in the U. 8. Army when only II yeara of enre; also' United States Judse G. W. Atkinson of the Court of Claim of Waahington, and others. Ask yotur doctor or druggist about It v -. n Oil Strike Means Bis Profits for Many Nebraskans ; Our well 1 came in November 20th, producing 150 barrels of Oil per , 4 day from thfe 1700-foot shallow sand on our Humble lease. Already we have started work on well No. 2 and expect it to be completed soon. We have locations for many more of these wells on this wonderful lease, and expect to continue our drilling operations, thus increasing earnings' : for our investors. : . ? -; In addition to these Wells'' in shallow sand, we -expect to develop some; wonderful Gushers from the deeper sands on this same property, just as ; has been done by other companies on the leases surrounding ours. , v We will also start drilling soon in our Big New Field at High Island. We , have every confidence this will prove to be one of the great Gusher Oil Fields of America. ' Limited Offering, at $50.00 per Tract (Should earn from present production approximately 24 per year.)' In order to push our drilling campaign to.the limit, we offer a limited num ber of, our Quarter-Acre Tracts at only $50 per tract. Each tract partici-' pates proportionately in our -Dividend Fund, and 50 of all profits from Oil produced is guaranteed to be set aside for this Fund. PHONE Tyler 398, or write wire or call at office for further information or reservation of tracts. 4 GULF COAST DEVELOPMENT COMPANY 740 First National Bank Bldg. Omaha, Nebraska.