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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 20, 1919)
3!-""V..... I. V ,.. t SfEDFORD ' MATE TRTBTTM3. MTSDFQWB. O'HTCOON, OTTTCRnAY, MAY.'- 20, 1919 REPEAL OF (Continued from pass one.) uniiied, tlio international settlements which must form tho subject mattor of the present treaties of peace and of our national notion in the inline chain future. It would he premature to disenss them or to express a ww ment about them before thev are broueht to their complete formula tion hv the nereements winch nre now heme sought at the table of the conference. I shall hope to lav them before vou in their manv aspects as soon as arrangements have been reached. I hesitate to venture nnv opinion or press nnv recommendation wjtli rnimrd to domestic legislation while absent from the I nitod btates and out of dnilv touch with intimate Bonrecs of information and council I am conscious that I need, after so lumr an absence from Washincton, to seek the advice of those who have remained in constant touch with do mestic problems and who have known them close at hand from dav to dav and I! trust that it will very soon be possible for me to do so. But there nre Several questions pressine for ronsiderntion to which I feel that I nmv and indeed must, even now di rect vour nttention. if in only eener- nl tonus. In spenkimr of them I shall I dure snv. be doint' little more than speak vour own thoughts. I hope that I shall speak vour own indir ment also. The Question which stands at the front of all others in every eountrv amidst the present ereat awnkeninc is the uuestion of labor, and perhaps I can speak of it with as ereat advantage while en- urossed in the considration of mter- . ests wluuh nntnrullv most nffeet mv tlinuirht, because thev are the inter ests of our own people. : ' '' Men Who Work ... Bv the Question of labor I do not mean the Question of efficient mans trial production: the Question of how labor is to .be obtained and "made el fective in the ereat process of sus taining populations and winnine sue cess amidst commercial and indus trial rivalries. I mean that much greater and more vital Question, how are the men ond women who do the daily labor of the world to obtain proaressive improvement in the con ditions of their labor to be made hap- pier, and to be served better bv the communities and the industries wnicn ' their labor sustains and advances How are thev to be given their riaht advantage as citizens and human be- . inesf . .. We cannot eo anv further in our present direction. ' We have already gone too" far. , We cannot live our right life as a nation or achieve our proper success as an industrial community if capital and labor are to continue to be antagonistic instead of being partners : if thev ore to con tinue to distrust one another and - contrive how thev can get the bet ter of one another. Or.' what per haps amounts to the same thing, cal culate -bv what form and degree of coercion thev can manage to extort- on the one hand, work enough to make enterprise -profitable: oh the other, mstice and fair treatment enough to make life tolerable. That bad road has turned out a blind al lev. It is no thorouebfare to real prosperity. We must find another, leading in another direction and to a very definite destination. It must lead not merelv to 'accommodation but also to a genuine cooperation and partnership based upon a real com munity of interest and participation in control. . : Capital and Labor 'There is now in fact a real com munity of interest between capital and labor but it has never been made evident in notion. It can be made operative and manifest only in a new organization of industry. I he ge nius of our business men and the sound practical sense of our workers enn certainly work such a partner ship out when once' thev realize ex actly whnt it is that they seek and . sincerely adopt a common purpose with regard to it. Labor legislation lies, of, course. chiefly, with the states: but the new spirit and method of organization which must be effected are not to be brought about bv legislation so much as bv the common counsel and volun tary .cooperation of capitalist, man ager and workman. Legislation can go only a very little wav in com manding what shall be done. The organization of industry is n matter of corporate and individual initiative and of practical business arrangement.- Those who really desire a new relut'onship between capital and la bor and can readilv find a wnv to brine- it about and perhaps' federal . legislation can help more than state legislation could. . ' Democratize Industry The object of all reform: in this essential mutter must .be the gen uine democratization , of industry, based upon a full recognition f the . right of those who work, in whatever rank, to participate in some organic 'wav m.overv decision which directly aficcts their welfare or the part thev nre to plav in industry. Some pos itive legislation is practicable. The congress has already shown the wav to one reform which should be world wide, bv establishing the eiclit-liour day as the standard day in eVcrV field of lubor over which- it can exercise- control. It tins xoiisilit to find the wav to prevent child labor, and will I hone and believe, presently find it It has served the whole country bv lending the wnv in developing the means of preserving and safeguard ine life and health in dangerous in j.... - n ...... I...I.. ;.. n. HuuMriVM. 11 l mi nun m-iu in ... difficult task of giving a new form and spirit to industrial onrnnimUioii hv Cfi.nrfliiintinp the several lliren cies of conciliation and adjustment which have been brought into exist ence bv the difficulties and mistaken policies of the present management ut industry, and bv scttiiis up nnd d vclopine new fderul agencies of advice and information which mnv serve ns n clearing house for the best experiments and the best thought on this great matter, upon which every thinking mini must be aware that the future development of society directly depends. Agencies of international counsel and suggestion nre presently to he created in connection with the League of Nation's in this verv tield: but it is national action and the enlightened policy of individuals, corporations and societies within each nation that must bring about the actual reforms. Tho members pf the committees on labor in the two houses will hardly need suggestions from me as to what means thev shull. seek to make the federal government the agent of the whole nation in pointine- out and, if need lie. guiding the process of re organization and reform. Returning Soldiers I am sure that it is not necessnrv for me to remind vou that there is one immediate nnd verv practical Question of lubor that we should meet in the most liberal spirit. We must see to' it that our returninsr soldiers nro assisted in every practicable wav to find tho places for which 'thev nre fitted in tho daily work of the coun try. This con be done hv develop ing and maintaining upon an adequate cale the admirable organization created bv the department of labor for placing men seeking work : and it can also be done, in at least one very great field bv creating new opportu nities for individual enterprise. The secretary of the interior has pointed out the wav bv which returning sol diers mav be helped to find and take up lands in the hitherto undeveloped regions of the country which the fed eral government has prepared or can readilv prepare for cultivation and for manv of the cut over or negelect- ed areas which lie within the limits of the older stntes: and I once more take the liberty of recommending verv urgently that his plans shall receive the immediate and substantial sup port of the congress. ' Great Opportunities Ahead Peculiar and verv stimulating con ditions await our commerce nnd in dustrial enterprise in the immediate future. Unusual opportunities will presently present themselves to our merchants and producers Jn foreign Markets and large fields for profit able investment will be opened to our free capital. But it is not onlv of that that I am thinking: it is not chieflv of that that I am thinking. Many great industries prostrated bv the war' need to be rehabilitated in many parts of the world where what will be lacking is not brains or will ing hands or organizing capacity or exceptional skill, but machinery and raw materials and capital. I believe our business men; our merchants, our manufacturers and our capitalists will have the vision to see that pros perity in one part of the world min isters to prosperity everywhere: that there is in a verv true sense a sol idarity of interest .throughout the world of ' enterprise, and that our dealings with the countries that have need of our products and our money will teach them to deem us more than ever friends whose necessities we seek in the right wav to serve. ' Tiie Merchant Marine Our new merchant ships which have in some Quarters been feared as de structive rivals, mav prove helpful rivals, rather, and common servants. verv much needed and very welcome. Our great shipyards, new nnd old, will be so opened to. the use of the world that thev will prove immensely ser- icenble to every maritime people in restoring, much more rapidly than would otherwise have been possible, the tonnage .wantonly destroyed in the war. I have only to suggest that there are manv points at which we can facilitate American enterprise in foreign trade bv opportune legisla tion and make it easy for American merchants to go where thev will be welcomed as friends rather than ns dreaded antagonists. American has great and honoiuble service to perform in bringing the commercial nd industrial undertakings of the world buck to their old scone and swing again, und putting a solid structure, of credit under them. All our legislation should be friendly to such plans and purposes. ' Simplify Taxes . And credit and enterprise nlike will be nuickencd bv timelv and helpful legislation with regard to taxation. I ope that the congress will find it possible to undertake an curlv rc- onsl ruction or federal taxes in order to make our svstem of taxation more simple ond easv of administration nd the taxes themselves as little burdensome as thev can be made and vet sufficient to support the gov ernment und met all its obligations. These figures to which those obli gations have arisen nre verv great indeed, but thev are not so great as to make it difficult for the nation to meet them and meet them, perhaps, in single generation, bv taxes which will neither crush nor discourage. These arc not so great as thev seem. not so grent as the unmense sums we have hud to borrow, added to the immense sums we have hud to rnise bv taxation, would seem to indicate: for u verv large proportion of those sums were ruined in order t hit t thev might be loaned to the governments with which we were associated in the war. and those loans will, of course, constitute assets, not liabilities, nnd will not have to be taken care of bv our tninvers. The main thing we shall have to emu for is that our taxation shall rest as lightly as pos sible on the productive resources of the eountrv. that its rates shall be stable, and that it shall be constant 'n its revenue vieldine bower. We have found the mniii sources from which it must be drawn. I tnko it for granted tb"t its nm'tistiivi will henceforth be tho income tax. the ex cess profits tax and tho estnto tax. All these enn so he adjusted to yield constant and adequate returns, and vet not constitute n too grievous burden pn the tnxnnver. iA revision of the income tnv has nlrwndv been nrovided for bv the net of 1018. but I think vou will find that further chances enn be made to ndvunliiirc, both in the rnt of tax and tho meth od of its collection. The excess profits tiir need not lo"g he main tained at te rtes .which wero nee essnrv while the enormous expen ses of the war had to be borne! but it should, be made tho 1"k;s of n per manent svstem which wWI reach undue profits without discouraging the en lerprisc and activity of our business men. 1 no tax on inheritance ought, no- doubt, to be reconsidered in its relation to the fiscal systems of the several states, but it ccrta:nlv ought to rem n in a permanent part of the fiscal svstem of tho federal govern ment also. Repeal KxeLso Tuxes Manv of the minor taxes nrovided for.in the revenue legislation of 1017 nnd 1918 though no doubt made ncc- essorv bv the pressing necessities of wnr time, could hntillv find sufficient pistiticntion under the easier cir cumstances of pence and can now hnnpilv he got rid of. Among these. hope vou will agree, nre the ex cises upon which various nianufac- tnrers und the taxes unon retail sales. The varo unenunl in thn incidence on different industries and on different individuals. Their collection is diffi cult nnd expensive. Those which nre levied upon articles sold at retail are largely evaded by the readjustment ot retail prices. On the other hand I should assume thut it is epedient to maintain a considerable range of indirect taxes: and the fact that al coholic linuors will no longer afford a source of revenue bv taxntion makes it the more necessary that the field should be carefnll" restudied in order that equivalent sources of revenue mnv be found which it will be legitimate nnd not burdensome to draw upon. Hut vou have at hand in the treasury department manv ex perts who can advise vou upon the matters inueh better than I can. I can onlv suggest the lines of a per manent and worknblc svstem. nnd the placing of the taxes where thev will least hamper the life of the people. No Tariff Revision There is. fortunntelv. no occasion for undertaking in the immediate fu ture anv general revision of our svs tem of import duties. No serious danger of foreign competition now threatens American industries. Our eountrv has emerged from the wnr less disturbed nnd les swenkened than any of the European countries which are our competitors in manufacture, their industrial establishments huve been subjected to a erentcr strain than ours,- their labor force to -a more serious disorganization and this is clearly not the time to seek an or ganized , advantage. The .work of mere reconstruction will, I am afraid, tax the capacity and the resources of their people for venrs to in. So far from there being anv danger or nred of foreign competition, it is likely that the conditions of the next few years will greatlv facilitate the marketing of American manufactures abroad. Least of all should we de part from the nolicv adopted in the tariff act of 1013. of permitting the free entrv into the United States of J the row materials needed to Ktinnle- OettiruJ rid of coffee troubles is made easy by chaira INSTANT 0STUM a delicious cereal drink Mi uieut anil enrich our onu abundant supplies. '..--. ' Humeri le Protection Needed Nevertheless there nro' parts of. Our tariff system which need prompt at tention. The experiences of tho wnr have innde it plain that in some eases too great reliance on fore'gn ' eases ton great reliance-on foreign nuppIv is (langerttis, and tluu in determining certain ivl of our tariff policy do- aicstice consideration must he. home in mind which nro political as well as oeonone. Among these mdiistiies to which special considivrtitioiV should h civen is that of tho manufacture of "dvestufis and related chainicnls Our eoinpMo dependence uuon Gor man sunnlicK before the war made interruption of trade a cause. of ex ceplionnl ..onnnnudo distiirhnnne. The close relation. between the mainline turar of dvest'nffs on the'onn hand. nnd of explosives nnd poisonous ffnses on the other, moreover has ivcn the industry an exceptional significance nnd value. Although he United Stntes will gladly nnd un liesitnt'iiglv ioin in the program nt intercMiniiul disarmament, it will nevertheless, be a policy of obvious prudence to make certain' of the suc cessful iiiainlenniice of manv strong "nd well equipped chemical plants. The Donna n chemical industry, with which we will he brought into compe tition nnd mnv ho again, i thorom-hlv knit monopoly enimliln of exero-sing n coipetitiou of peculiarly 'nsidious and dinwrons kind. .Tariff. Retaliation Hie I'mteil Mutes should, more over., have . the means of properly protecting itself whenever our trade is discriminated against bv foreign nations, in order that we mav be well assured of that euualitv of treatment which we hope to .accord and to pro mote the world over. Our tariff laws as thev now stand provide no weapon of retaliation in case other govern mcnts should- enact legislation tin on tin 1 in its hearing on our products as compared with the products of other nations, i Though we are us fur as possible from desiring to enter upou anv course of retaliation, we must franklv. face the fact that hos tile legislation hv other nut ions is not beyond Mie range of possibility and that it mav have to be met bv counter legislation. This subicct bus fortunntelv been exhaustively investigated bv the United States tariff commission. A recent report of that commission has Klinn U.pU nluni.li. Hint Ha Iti.tlr mill that we ought to have the instruments necessary fortlio assurance of canal and equitable treatment. The atten tion of the congress has been culled to this matter, on past occasions and the measures, .which are now recom mended bv the tariff commission are substantially ffxa same .that have been suggested by" previous administra tions. I' recommend that this phase of the tariff question receive tho eurl.v nttention of the congress. Adopt Suffnuco Amendment i ! Will vou not permit me. turning from these hinttors.. to speak once more nnd verv earnestly, of the nro posed at ftdment to the constitution which w'Wlld extend the miffrngo to women nnd which passed the house of representatives at the last session of the congress f It seems-to me thut every consideration of justice nnd of puhlio ndvnntage calls for the im mediate adoption of that amendment nnd its submission forthwith to the legislatures of the several states. Throughout the world this long do laved extension or the sultruge is looked for: in the United States Ion: er I believe, than anywhere else, the necessity for it and the immense ad vantage of it to the national life has been urged and debated bv women and men who saw the need for It and urged the policy of it when it re quired steadfast courage to be so much beforehand with the common conviction: nnd I for one. covet for our eountrv the distinction of being among the first to uct in a verv ereut reform, -i- - Return Railroads to Owners The" telegraph nd telephone lines ft ivill. of com so, he returned lo Ihcir owners so suou us their I ni lister can ho affected without administrative confusion, so Boon, that is, us the change can be made with least possi hie inconvenience to the public and to tho owners themselves. The rail roads will he handed over to their owners nt tho end of the culendii veil r i if ( were in iiumediutti contact Mill tho iidniiiiistrative questions which must govern the transfer of the telegraph and telephone lines I could nniiio the exact date for their return also. Until I am in direct con- tact with the practical ouest ions In volved 1 enn onlv suggest Hint in the ease of the telegriipliR and telephones as in the case of tho railways, it is clearly desirable in the iiublm inter est that soino legislation should he considered which mnv lend to mnke or these indispensable instrumental! ties of our modern ilfo n uniform nnd co-ordinated system whioh will uf ford those who use them ns complete and certain means of comtminiuution with nil parts of thn country us has so long been afforded by tho postal svstem of the government nnd nt rates as uniform and intelligible. Kx "ert ndvice is. of course, nvnihihln in this very practical matter, and the pulilie interest is manifest. Neither the telecrnnh nor the tele phono service of the country. can he said to li" in anv sense a national system.- There nro many confusions mid inconsistencies of rates. The scient if in means bv which commutii cation hv such instrumentalities can ie rendered more thorough and satis factory hes not been uindn full use of. An exhaustive study of tho whole niiestmn of electrical rnmmnmcn tion nnd of the means bv which i lu cent rnl authority of the nation can he used to unify nnd improve it. if undertaken bv the appropriate com. mil tes of coiivross would certainly result, indirectly even if not directly, in n verv creut public benefit. Itcmova llccr linn The dciiiobilizutioii of military forces of the country has 'progress ed to such u point that it seems to be entirelv safe now to remove tho ban upon the iiiaiiiifucture and sale of wines and beers, but I urn advised Hint without further legislation 1 have not tho legal authority to re inovo the present, restrictions. I therefore recommend that the act ap proved November 21. 1!18. entitled "nn net to enable the secretary of agriculture to carry out during the liscul year ending Jane .10. 1018, the purpose of the act entitled 'an net to provide further for the national security nnd defense hv stimulating agriculture and facilitating the dis tribution of agricultural products' and for other purposes," bo amend ed or repealed insofar as it upplies to wines and beers.' I sincerely trust that I shall verv soon be ut mv post in Washington again to-report upon tho measures which iniidc mv presence nt tho peneo table apparently imperative nnd to put mvself ut the service of the con gress in evcrv mutter of administra tion or counsel that mav seem to de man executive action or ndvice, W00DH0W WILSON. FISH NEWS CHINOOK SALMON Coming in Fish every day. ! Makes a fine Baked Dinner, Medford Fish Market Kodak Finishing Film developing, 15o roll. Printing, post enrd size, 3 for lOo. 2'ax3V4 and smaller. 2 for 5o. Every dav service. JAP ART STORE MEDFORD, EAGLE POINT, BUTTE FALLS Jitney Service Starts, Tuesday, May 20th. teuvCH NiihIi Hotel 0 a. ni. nnd llntte l''nlls at 4 p. m. dully ' . JIM LICHMU, I'HOXIB 00 MEDFORD IRON WORKS FOUNDRY AND MACHINE SHOP Also aeent for Fairbanks' and Mora Engine. 17 South Rlvcrslda. Vulcanizing All our work atrlutly guaranteed to be flrnt claw. IS N. Vlt St., Medford Phono 404-t MEDFORD VULCANIZING WORKS HAROLD LOCKWGDD : ROMANCE TODAY A NEW LOT OF LQWJ3H0ES JUST ARRIVED "Vc will sell them nt extra special prices. PUMPS Kid or Patent $5.75 OXFORPS Urown or black kid, military heel.. $7.00 OX FORDS Brown or hlack kid, French heels $7.50 You Save $1.00 a Pair. SCHMIDT'Si 21 N. CENTRAL AVE Why Does This Store iave Such ' ' a Remarkable Patronage? V ' - . ; ' ' ' One of tho reasons is that I follow the snitnd pol icy of never allowing any customer to htdissatis fied. :. . . ' r. . My customers must be satisfied ; , Scores, of new-customers are added to tho long list each month, ".!"., . ', , ', 7 , ' lie one of them nnd I give you this promise, I'll make you satisfied. ( ' V ' ', ,Thc biggest little store in . Southern', Oregon. Johnson The Jeweler - ' ITf Due Consideration T)- to Youf Own Interests II r mil ' 1 ' Thin In noltlior mlHorly nor nolflNli ' m II PW I 11 11 mutter of flnniicliil prudenro , " 11 Irjl '"' lmvo u rcH"rv Mi,d ",,vo "", ' lljlj WfiV j H,"'t ,,cu '"ml now -wllh tho1, 1 jljll . Jiiekson. County Jlunk. &3lr paid on invlngi 7 '' I r i r liiTl l fi iiiriii THE : TOMORROW ... ' . '.' ' . i v'-"' ' .- ,,,) '' . , ' , I ' , ', '' ..'' ' ,'!,."'" "-.'. ' , ' '