Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-10-04
President Wilson So Announces
in Placing Signature
to Bill.
TELLS OFFICIAL FAMILY
JOURNEY is HALF OVER
Name Attached to Document at 8 :O9
O'Clock Last Night at
White House.


In signing the tariff bill at s:0s
O'Clock last night President Wilson
delivered an extemporaneous speech
TO the group of legislators, cabinet
members and friends who encircled
him. and was heartily applauded
Gentlemen, l feel very peculiar
pleasure" said the President, ''in what
l have just done by way of taking part
~, In tne completion of a great piece OF
business. 1t is pleasure which is very
nara TO express in words which are
adequate To express the feeling; because
the feeling that / have is that we have
this country great service 1t is hard
to speak of these things without SEEM
ing to go off into campaign eloquencc,
but that is not my feeling IL is one
very profound; a feeling of profound
gratitude that working with the splendid
men who have carried this thing
t,nrougn with studious attention and
had part in serving the people of this
country we have been striving tn
serve them ever since / can remember.
Only Half the Journey.
nave had the Accomplishment of
something like this at heart ever since I
was boy, and ] know men stapd;.r
around me who can say the same thing
VINO nave been waiting to see the things
done which it was necessary to do IN
order that there might be justice i'm the
oihleu states: And so it is a solemn
IIoneht that brings such a business to a
conclusion, and ] hope / will not be
tnousht to be demanding too much
OF myself or of my colleagues when
1 !. say that this, great as it is.
the journey. We have set the business
OF tms country free from those condi-
tions which have made monopoly not only
PosslDle' put in a sense easy and natural.
put tnere is no use taking away the con
uItlons or monopoly if we do nor tal,e
away also the power to create mononoir
ana that Is financial, rather than A
power
The power to control and guide and
aTeSt credits of the country is the
power TO say who shall and who shall
not build up the industries OF the
country, in which direction they shall
De punt and in which direction they
snail not be built. We are now about
10 take the second step. which will be
the maj step, in setting the business
Oh TINS country free. That is what we
shall do in the currency BILL which the
rouse mas already passed and which
L nave the utmost confidence the SEN
ate VIII pass much sooner than some
pessimlstic individuals believe Be-
cause the question, now that this piece
OF work is done, will arise all over the
country For what do we wait? WHY
should we wait to crown ourselves
with consummate honor? Are we so
self-denying that We do not wish to
complete our success?'
Covets Honor for Others.
Il was quoting the other day to Some
of my colleagues in the Senate those
lines from Shakespeare's Henry W
which have always appealed to me,
If it be a sin to covet honor then /
am the most offending soul alive and
/ am happy to say that i do not coyet
1T for myself alone. L covet it with
equal ardor for the men who are as
sociated with me, and the honor is
going to come from them. / am their
associate. 1 can only complete the
work which they do. i can only coun-
sci when they ask for my counsel. I
of the business are reached. And /
covet this honor for them quite as
much as L covet it for myself: and /
covet it for the great party of which
/ am a member; because that party is
not honorable unless il redeem its
name and serve the people Of the United
States.
so L feel tonight like a man who is
lodging happily in the inn which lies
half way along the journey and that
in the morning with a fresh impulse
we shall go the rest Of the journey and
sleep at the journeys end like men
with a quiet conscience, knowing that
we have served our fellowman and
have. thereby. tried to serve God
Uses Two Gold Pens.
President Wilson used two gold pens
in signing the bill. Representative
received the one with
which Woodrow was written and
Senator Simmons hat which affixed
Promptly at 9:Oa o'clock the Presi
dent began writing, and al $40 he had
written the wore S, Approved 9:1O
pm Sd October, 1913, Woodrow VIII
son. on the one hundred and eleventh
page of parchment containing the en-
crossed BILL
AS the President rose AID handed the
.wo pens to the men who had steered the
measure successfully through both houses
of Congress there was an enthusiastic
outburst of handclapping.
The President had not intended to make
a long speech and had not even prepared
a statement, but was moved on the spur
Of the moment to express his gratifica-
ton.
President Is Congratulated.
The small but distins dished audience
that heard the Presidents speech crowd
I'd about him afterward with congratu-
ationS. Leading nSureS or the demo-
cratic party-Speaker Clark, Secretary
Bryan, Representative Cnderwood-stoo I'd
ogether. sponsors with the President for
the first big piece of legislation that had
oeen accomplished in the democratic pro-
gram of reform. They gave the President
heir personal congratulations and reit-
Grated promises of support
We'll be coming here again in a short
ime to see the currency bill signed" said
Secretary Bryan. Secretary McAdoo
spoke with equal confidence.
While the President was surrounded by
members of his official family. there was
none happier than Joseph r. Wilson.
brother Of the chief executive,
who came here from Baltimore last night
20 witness the signing, Mrs. Wilson anG
daughters are stilT at Cornish, y. H., the
summer capital Besides the officials,
arge number of newspapermen crowded
nto the Presidents Office. There was
In informal reception for few minutes
md then the Underwood Simmons tariff
aw was carried away to the Department
# State and deposited in the archives
llong with other historic pieces of legis-
alton.