The Washington herald., 1915-01-30

At the mid-year conference OF tn
American Electric Railway Associatio
yesterday. President Wilson said, in par
1T seems to me that can say with
a good deal of confidence that We are
upon. the eve Of a new era of enter
prise and Of prosperity. Enterprise
has been checked in this country for
almost twenty years, because men
were moving amongst a maze Of in
terrogation points. They did not
know what was going to hap
pen to them. The most necessary
thing, therefore, was for US to agree,
as We did by slow stages agree, upon
the main particulars of what ought
not to be done and then to put our
laws in such shape as to correspond
with that general judgment. The
great forces Of a country like this
cannot pull separately; they have got
to pull together. And except upon
basis of common understanding as to
the law and as to the proprieties OF
conduct, il is impossible to pull to-
gether.
Burden Was Great.
Il, for one. have never doubted that
all America was of one principle. But
the method, the method OF control by
law against the small minority that
was recalcitrant against these prin-
ciples, was a thing that it was dim
cult to determine upon, and II was
very great burden, let me say, to fall
upon a particular administration of
this government to have to undertake
practically the whole business Of final
definition.
That is what. has been attempted by
the Congress now about to come to a
close. 1t has attempted the defini-
tions for which the country has been
getting ready for or trying to get
ready for nearly half a generation. 1t
will require a period Of test to deter
mine whether they have successfully
defined thep or not, but no one needs
to have It proved to him that it was
necessary to define them and remove
the uncertainties, and that the uncer-
tainties being removed, common un-
derstandings are possible and uni
VerSad cooperation.
You, gentlemen, representing these
arteries of which I have spoken, that
serve to release the forces of commu-
mites. and serve also to bind COM
munity with community. are surely
in a better position than the men per-
maps VI any ONllCl ~ Ill
derstand how communities constitute
units-and even a nation constitutes a
unit-and what is detrimental and
hurtful to a part Of you, above all
men, ought to know is detrimental to
all, and that you cannot demoralize
some OF the forces of a community
without being in danger Of demoraliz-
ing all the forces of a community.
Your interest is not in the conbestion
Of life, but in the release of life.
Your interest is not in isolation. but
in union, the union of parts Of this
great country. so that every energy in
those parts will flow freely and with
full force from county to county
throughout the whole nation.
Suspicions Blown Away.
What 1 have come to speak OF
this afternoon is this unity Of our in
terest, and l want to make some-I
will not say predictions but to use a
less dangerous though bigger word.
demonstrations. I have noticed all
by life that I could speak with the
greatest freedom about those things
that I did not understand; but there
are some things that a man il bound
to try to think out whether he fully
comprehends them or not
The thought OF no single man
can comprehend the life Of a
great nation like this; and yet
men in public life upon whom the
burden Of A certain degree Of
guidance is laid must attempt to
comprehend as much of 1t as they
can. We have had to do that in
attempting the definitions of law
which have been attempted by
this Congress, and now it is neces-
sary for US, in order to go for
ward with the great spirit with
which believe we can go for
ward, TO look ahead and see the