The daily Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1916-1917, 1917-08-22
CONGRESS AND WILSON

conservative, friendly to Big Business
inclined to favor the Established Or
der, Golfers is mildly progressive
somewhat careless of consequences
and. on occasion, opposed to Special
Privilege.
This comment is from Leslie's:
Congress has been in continuous
session ever since April. Yet what
has it done? The President took the
guiding hand while the legislation
regarding the railroads demanded by
labor leaders was pending, and set
tied the issue in few days. He has
shown more than once what he can
do when he makes up his mind to do
it. The time has come for him again
TO make up his mind and for Congress
TO finish its work. adjourn and give
the people breathing spell.
Nothing is more destructive to
business than uncertainty. The Pres
ident himself must realize the utter
incongruity of having one member OF
the cabinet, on one day, agree to a
price for coal to the coal operators,
only to have another member of the
cabinet, the next day, denounce this
price as excessive and repudiate the
agreement. The depressing effect on
business that followed this action was
reflected in many lines of endeavor.
THE prices of all the commodities
the government needs can be fixed,
we believe, by agreement of the gov
ernment with their producers. The
latter are as patriotic as any other
class of citizens But there should be
"a just price to use the Presidents
words, and "a just price must always
p give fair consideration to the high
cost of labor. In some instances
wages are dependent-as in the pro-
duction of coal and copper-on the
selling prices of the commodities.
MANY are predicting long ant
exhausting war which means a bur
den of debt and taxation unparalleled
in our history We cannot conceiv
that this prediction is justified, bu
we must be prepared for any emer
gency. That is the view the Presiden
takes and it is maintained by his ad
visors. Under such conditions, ther
is all the greater necessity for boil
and aggressive leadership and destin
has placed leadership in the hands c
the President.
Let him lead. The nation wi
follow"
And thus Golfers speaks:
"At present it is not considered ps
triotic to criticize the administrator
1t is hard to select from the mass {
inefficiency piled up by the depar
ments specific instances of enoug
importance in themselves to intere
a public that has not awakened to Il
fatal seriousness of the war. It
possible that it will not be until son
great calamity overtakes the countl
that such occurrences as the protrac
ed and disgraceful controversy in IL
Shipping Board will seem more si
nificant than a comic row.
AT the same time the fact is dawI
ing on the minds of a considerab
part of the public that there ha'
been blunders and that these blunde
have cost the country much in rep
tation, and may eventually cost
more in the sacrifice of lives of o.
soldiers. In trying to identify d
blunderer, the newspapers find Co
gress is the easiest object of attac
1T is big and impersonal and,
whole, unpopular. The newspape
naturally report only the sillie
which are also the most amusir
speeches on the floor. The sound a
honest work of the committees is ne
lected because it is never spectaC
lar. But it is only justice to the me-
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