The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1914-12-16

jltlarly true OF our own ncigiIDUlS. l:ia
states, great and small, of Central and
South America. Their lines of trade
have hitherto run chiefly ;tlwart the
seas. not to our ports, but to the ports
Eof Great Britain and of the older con
itincnt of Europe. do not stop to IN
Iauire why or to make amy comment on
probable causes. What interests us
lust now is not the explanation. but
the fact and our duty and opportunity
lin the presence of it, Here are mar
kets which we must supply. and we
must find the means OF action.t The
United States this. great people for
whom we speak and ,act. should be,
ready as never before to serve itself
and to serve mankind, ready with It's
resources, its energies. its forces, OF
production and its means Of dist!ibu-
ton.
1t is Il very practical matter. mat
ter of ways ana means. We have the
resources. but are we fully ready to
tiSc lllICil. .Al't II NcNuI IiihhS tStiS
what we have. have we the means at
hand to distribute it? WEI are not
fully ready; neither have we the means
of distribution. We are willing. but
we are not fully able. We have the
wish to. serve and to serve greatly. gen
erously. But we are not prepared as
we should be- We are not ready to
mobilize our resources ut once. We are
not prepared to use them immediately
and at thtir best without delay and
without waste.
10 speak plainly, we haze grossly
erred III the way in which we have
.stuntel and llindered the development
of our merchant marine And now,
when VIC need ships. we have not got
them. We have year after year debat-
ed. without c.a or conclusion. the best
policy to pursue with regard 10 the
use Of the ores and forests and water
powers CT our national domain in the
rich states of the west. when we
should have acted. and they are still
locked up. The key is still turned
. litOll tHti.!, liz wv! SIM Aslol w III II
thousands Of vigorous men. full of
initiative. knock clamorously for ad
;nittanrc. Tile water power of our nav
igable streams outside the national
domain also. even in the eastern states.
where we have worked and planned
for generations. is still not used as it
might be. because we will and we
won't: because the laws we have
made do rot intelligently balance en-,
enlargement against restraint. We
Withhold BIZ regulation.
| have come to ask YOU to remedy
aud correct these mistakes and omis-
sions. even at this short session of IL
congress which would certainly, seem
10 have done all the work that could
reasonably be expected of it, The
tine aud the circumstances are ex-
tcaor;!inary. and so must our efforts be
also. II. Etr
Fortunately two great measures. fine
~ conceived, the one to unlock, with
proper safeguards. the resources of the
natiena! domain. the other to encOur-
age the use of the navigilble waters
outside that domain for the genera
ton of power lave already passed the
house Of representatives and are ready
for immediate consideration and ac-
ton by the senate. With the deepest
carnestness | urge their prompt pas
sage. In them both we turn our backs
upon hesitation and makeshift and
formulate Il genuine policy of use and
conservation in the best sense of those
words. We owe the one measure not
only to the people of that great west
crn country for whose free and sys-
tematie development. as it seems to
me. orlr legislation has done so little.
but also to the people Of the nation