Evening star., 1916-09-26

Presidents speech here yesterday aft
ernoon before the grain dealers fol-
lows:
IT is matter of sincere gratihcation
to me that I can come and address an
association of this sort. and yet I feel
that there is a certain drawback to the
present occasion. That drawback con-
sists of the fact that it occurs in the
midst of a political campaign. and
nothing so seriously interrupts or In
terferes with the serious and sincere
consideration of public questions as a
political campaign.
l want to say to you at the outset
that 1 believe in party action. but that
have supreme contempt for parti-
IN action: that I believe that 1T is
Necessary for men to concert measures
together in organized cooperation by
party, but that whenever party feeling
touches any one of the passions that
work against general interest, 1t is al
together to be condemned. And, there
fore. feel that on occasions like this
we should divest ourselves of the con-
seriousness that we are in the midst of
q political campaign, because associa-
gether to take part in partisan discus
sion, but to consider those permanent
interests of the nation which concern
us all the time-which do not alter
their aspects because parties are con-
testing for power-and that we ought
as much as possible on all occasions to
think of ourselves as first of all men
devoted to the welfare of the country
and as compared with that devoted to
nothing else whatever.
Country to Gain Full Field.
day, therefore, 1 would wish to say in
an atmosphere from which all the
vapors of passion have been cleared
away, for I want to speak to you
about the business situation of the
world so far as America is concerned,
I am not going to take the liberty of
discussing that business situation from
the special point of view of your as
sociation, because know that I
would be bringing Goals to Newcastle.
! know that am speaking to men who
business to the business of the world
very much better than 1 do, and /
know that it is true that. except under
very unusual circumstances, such as
have existed in the immediate past,
the export of grain from this country
has been a diminishing part of our
foreign commerce rather than an in
creasing part; that the increase of our
own population, the decrease in pro-
portion to that increase of our pro-
duction of grains. has been rendering
the question of foreign markets less
important. though still very important,
than 1t was in past generations, so
far as the dealing in grain lis con-
cerned. 1 also remember, however.
that We have only begun in this coun-
try the process by which the full pro-
quot of our agricultural acreage is to
De obtained The agricultural acreage
OF this country ought to produce twice
that 1t is now producing, and under
the stimulation and instruction which
nave recently been characteristic of
agricultural development I think we
let US say, a couple of decades the az,
ricultural production Of this country
VIII be something like double, whereas
there is no likelihood that the popula-
9. ..on OF this country will be doubled
within the same period. You can look
Forward, therefore, 1t seems to me.
win some degree of confidence to an
increasing and perhaps a rapidly in
ereasing volume of the products in
which you deal
Bank Law Gives Place in World.
But. as have said, I have not come
to DISCUSS that. have come to discuss
the general relation of the United
States to the business of the world in
the decades Immediately ahead of us.
We have swung out, my fellow citizens.
into new business era in America. I |
suppose that there Is no man connected
with your association who does not re-
member the time when the whole
emphasis of American business discus
SION was laid upon the domestic mar
ket l need not remind you how recent
" it has happened that our attention
has been extended to the markets of
the world. much less recently. I need
not say, in the matters with which YOU
are concerned than in the other export
interests of the country But 1t hap
pened that American production. not
only in the agricultural field and in
mining and in all the natural products
of the earth, but also in manufacture,
has increased in recent years to such
a volume that American business burst
Its jacket II could not any longer be
taken care of within the field of the do
mestic markets. and when that begun
to disclose itself as the situation, we
also became aware that American busi-
ness men had not studied foreign mar
kets. that they did not know the COM
merce of the world, and that they did
not have the ships in which to take
their proportfonate part in the carry
Ing trade OF the world: that our mer-
chant marine had sunk to a negligible
amount and that 1t had sunk to its low
est at the very time when the tide of
our exports began to grow in most for
midable volume.
America Now Has Her Place.
One of the most interesting circum-
stances of our business history is this:
The banking laws of the United States
i mean the federal banking laws
did not put the national banks IN a
position to do foreign exchange under
favorable conditions. and it was actu-
ally true that private banks and some
times branch banks drawn out of other
countries. notably out of Canada, were
established at our chief ports to do
what American bankers ought to have
done. It was as II America was not
IN oil hA