Omaha daily bee., 1915-12-11
Text of President Wilson'S Speech
Before Columbus Chamber Commerce

COLUMBUS. o.. Dec iO.-President
Wilson's speech before the Columbus
Chamber Of Commerce today is as fol
lows
Mr.. President, gentlemen OF the Co
iumbus Chamber OF Commerce:
II want first TO express my very deer
gratitude to you for the cordial manner
| IL which you have greeted me and my
sense Of privilege In standing here before
you 10 speak about some OF the things
IN which we are mutually interested. You.
gentlemen, are perhaps more interested
in those matters Of policy which affect
the business OF the country than IN any
others; and yet. It has never seemed 20
mo possible 20 separate the business OF
country from its essential spirit and
the life OF It's people. The mistake that
some men have made has been in sup
posing that business was one thing and
life another. whereas they are inseparable
in their principles and in their expression.
Not wholly Satisfactory.
Il must say that. IN looking back upon
the past. there is something about the
history of business In this country which
is not wholly satisfactory. It IL interest
ing 70 remember that In the early years
OF the republic we folt ourselves more n
part or the general world than we have
felt since then. Down TO the war in 1912
the seas were full OF American ships.
American enterprise was everywhere ex-
pressed In American commerce when we
we're little nation and yet now that we
are great nation the seas are almost
bare OF our ships. and we trade with other
countries at the convenience Of the car
riers OF other nations.
The truth IL that after the war Of
1872 we seem deliberately to have chosen
TO be provincial. to shut ourselves IN
upon ourselves, exploit our own resources
for our own benefit rather than for the
benefit OF the rest of the world; and we
did not return TO address ourselves 20
foreign commerce until our domestic de-
veiopment had 10 nearly burst its Jacket
that there was no strait jacket In which
Il could be confined.
The Provincial Mind.
NOW American industry in recent
years has been crying for an outlet into
the currents OF the world. There were
some American minds, some American
businees men--not a fow-who were not
built upon the provincial type, who did
find their way into foreign markets and
made the usual American peaceful con-
quest I'm those foreign markets. but
othcrs seemed deliberately TO refrain or
not TO know that there were opportuni-
ties 70 DO awaited Of.
Until the recent banking act you could
not find, 30 far as l am informed,
branch OF an American bank anywhere
outside OF the United states. whereas
other nations OF the world were doing
their banking business on foreign shores
through the fundamentally Of their own
bankers.
Organization Is necessary TO politics
and Il II necessary to business. but the
object OF organization ought not to be
exclusion; II ought to be efficiency. II
can never be legitimate when 1t is in
tended for hostile competitive purposes.
have never entertained the slightest
jealousy OF those processes OF organiEa-
ton which led % greater and greater
competency. but have always been jeal-
Gus OF those processes OF organization
which we're intended in the spirit Of OK
eluHion, and monopoly Il not the Ameri-
can spirit.
spirit of Opportunity.
'The American spirit Is a spirit OF OPP
portunity and OF equal opportunity and
Of admitting every man 10 the race who
can stand the pace So I say that we
have reason to look back upon the past
OF American business with some dissatis-
faction: hAit ]. for my part. look forward
20 the future OF American business with
the greatest confidence.
American business has altered It's