The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-02-11
Certain Congress Will Adopt
New Tariff Board.
Neither Protection nor Free
Trade Interest Him.
KEEP WAR At ARMS LENGTH
But No Assurance That Flame
Won't Reach Us.
With Peace, Infinite Prosperity
Is With Us.

Washington, Feb. 11.-DeIegates to
the annual convention of the chamber
of commerce of the United States left
for their homes today, carrying with
them a message from President VII
son. The outstanding feature was ms
determination to keep the United
States out of the European conflict al
though he declared that the nation
merely held that trouble at arm
length.
The president was speaking on neu-
trality at the annual banquet of the
chamber, which was concluding fea-
ture OF a three days convention Ihe
president also spoke of the need OF a
real scientific tariff board ana a mer-
chant marine.
at is a cruel thing said the presi-
dent, ''to have it supposed, as it is in
many quarters, that we have kept out
of this war simply because we wanted
to, keep out of trouble and simply be-
cause we wanted to profit by the trou-
Bile of others. and yet misunderstand-
ings for the time being are not to be
reckoned as against the consciousness
that we must ourselves have that we
have pursued the right and only serv-
iceable course. l am not afraid OF the
slow verdict of history with regard to
the neutrality of the United States and
believe we are justified in exercising
every degree Of patience in making it
clear what our position is and how
I <
low this quarrel to become part of
ours.
Keep Judgments Cool.
ct have only this to say, though: kVe
hold this trouble at arms length and
keep or attempt to keep our own
judgments cool, but the rest of the
world is hot and it may be that any
time without our cooperation and
without our ability to stop it, the
flame may extend to us. And there
fore 1 am glad that the United States
has been put in a position to mobilize
its financial resources and to get into
the position which it must at least get
into whether it wants to or not
'1f only we can keep this great ma
ton at peace. there is an infinite pros
pect of happy prosperity before the
United States
The president spoke of the federal
reserve law saying:
when you reflect what might have
| happened if our banking system had
at the outset of this war been the
clumsy and antiquated thing that it
was three years ago. you will realize
| that not only might we not have
| escaped disaster, but that disaster
might have been so prolonged that il
would have been impossible for the
United States to occupy the position
she now occupies The president
told of the necessity of a scientific
tariff board and said he thought the
nation would get 1t.
Once Opposed Tariff Board.
''I want to say" he continued, that
| before the whole face of affairs was
| changed in the economics of the
world by the war, 1 was not in favor
| of a tariff board because the purpose
I of it then was to keep alive an un-
profitable controversy. 1 am not in
| terested in the doctrines of protec-
ton; 1 am not interested in the doc
trine of free trade. 1 have been q
1 college professor and know why 1 am
not, because there is nothing in either
/ doctrine. The only thing that is in
teresting is the facts of commerce and
| industry and the only thing that it is
right to deduce from the facts is some
with party politics at ALL