Daily Kennebec journal., 1913-12-24

time was passed and it has taken us
more than a generation and half to
como to an understanding as to the
re-adjustments which were necessary
for our own time.
But we have reached those read
/ justments / myself. have always felt
when the Democratic party was crit
icized as not knowing how TO serve
the business interests OF the country
that there was no use Of replying to
| that in words. The only satisfactory
| reply was in action. We have written
the first chapter Of that reply.
| I'VE are greatly favored by the cir
! cumstances of our time. We come at
| the end of day of contest, at the end
| OF a day when we have been scrutiniz-
! ing the processes of our business
! scrutinizine them with careful and
| sometimes with hostile eye. We have
been slowly coming to this time which
has now happily arrived when there Is
| a common recognition of the things
! that Il is undesirable should be done
| in business and the things that 1t Is
| desirable should be done. What we are
| proceeding TO do now Is TO organize
| our peace so as to make our prosper
| ity not only stable, but free TO have
| an unimpeded momentum. 1t is so OBJ
| yious that 1t ought not need to be
| stated that nothing can be good for the
| country which is not good for all the
country.
Nothing can be for the interest of the
| country which is not for the interest OF
| everybody; therefore the day of accom-
| mediation and of concession and of COM
| mon understanding is the day of peace
| and achievement of necessity until we
have come to the beginning of that day.
Men are no longer resisting the conelu-
sions which the nation has arrived at as
to the necessity of readiustments of its
business Business men of all sorts are
showing their willingness to come into
this arrangement which l venture to
characterize as the constitution of peace.
So that by common counsel and by the
accommodating force of cooperation we
are going to seek more and more to serve
| the country.
| "I have been surprised at the sudden
| acceptance of this measure by public
| opinion everywhere. l say surprised be-
| cause 1t seems as If it had suddenly be-
come obvious to men who had looked at
it with too critical an eye that it were
really meant In their interest They have
! opened their eyes to see thing which
they had supposed to be hostile to the
| friendly and serviceable-exactly what
we intended it to be. The men who have
| fought for this measure have fought no
body They have simply fought for
those accommodations which are going to
secure us in prosperity and In peace No
| body can be the friend of any class In
| America in the sense of being the enemy
| of any other class. You can only be the
| friend of one class by showing 1t the
lines by which it can accommodate itself
| to the other class. The lines of help are
| always the lines of accommodation.
'It is in this spirit. therefore, that we
rejoice together tonight and cannot say
with what deep emotions of gratitude
feel that I have had part In complet-
| ing a work which 1 think will be of
| lasting benefit to the business of the
| country"
! The scene at the signing of the measure
was not unlike that which attended the
completion of the tariff law The confer
| ence report on the bill which had passed
| the House last night by an oyerwhelm-
ing vote was likewise adopted by the
Senate during this afternoon by a vote of
43 to 25 Republicans voting again with
the Democrats The engrossed bill. with
the signatures of the Vice President and
the Speaker of the House. was finally
brought to the White House shortly pe-
fore o'clock. BY o'clock. the hour set
| for the ceremony, Speaker Clark, Rep.
| Underwood Senator Owen and Rep.
| Glass, Secretaries McAdoo, Garrison,
Daniels, Lane and Wilson and Postmas-
| ter General Burleson were grouped
around the Presidents desk and in front
of the President had crowded members of
Congress and many government officials.
The group also included Mrs. Wilson and
her daughters and Miss McAdoo ana
| Mrs. Owen. There was an atmosphere
of joyousness rather than of solemnty
apparent The President inquired if SEN
ator James had come. The husky form
of the Kentucky senator appeared from
behind the crowd and someone remarked;
"A Majority of the Senate has now ar
rived"
/ Four gold pens were used by the Pres
| ident in writing the bill into law. He
wrote the words "23, December. 1913, ap
| proved" with one and used three pens
in writing Woodrow WILSON, splitting
! the first name into two syllables. The
last three pens he presented to Senator
Owen, Rep. Glass and Secretary McAdoo,
co-authors of the measure. The Presi-
dent answered the curiosity of the crowd
as to the disposition of the fourth with
the laughing remark; This is the 40 per
cent gold reserve"
Later it developed that Senator Chiffon
of West Virginia had sent up gold pen
! of his own to be used in writing the
date of the law. The President was in
a happy humor as he slowly wrote his
| name
I'm not accustomed" he said, ito
write my name in SERIES
We'll, the bill was made in install
ments," suggested Senator Lewis of IL
linois.
isn't that reflection on the Senate?'
inquired Rep. Glass, with a laugh.
! Senator Lewis retort was lost in the
| applause that followed the completion Of
the Presidents signature as he rose from
his desk