The Monticellonian., 1917-12-14

And l beg that the members ol tHe house of representatives will permit me to express the opinion that 1t Will be impossible to deal in any hut very wasteful and extravagant fashion with the enormous appropriations of the public moneys which must continue to be made, if the war is to be properly sustained. unless the house will con sent to return to it's former pra etice of initiating and preparing all appro- priation bills through a single commit tee. in order that responsibility may be centered expenditures standardized and made uniform and waste and du- plication as much as possible avoided.
 Additional legislation may also be- come necessary before the present con greSS again adjourns in order to effect the most efficient coordination and op- eration of the railway and other trans portation systems of the country; but to that shall if circumstances should demand. call the attention of the con gross upon another occasion.
 Concentrate on Winning War.
 'lf l have overlooked anything that ought to be done for the more effective conduct of the war, your own counsels will supply the omission. What I am perfectly clear about is that in the present session of the congress our whole attention and energy should be concentrated on the vigorous, rapid and successful prosecution of the great task of winning the war.
 I've can do this with all the greater zeal and enthusiasm because we know that for us this as a war of high prin- ciple, debased by no selfish ambition of conquest or spoliation; because we know. and all the world knows. that we have been forced into 1t to save the very institutions we live under from corruption and destruction. The pur- poses of the central powers strike straight at the very heart of every thing we believe in; their methods of warfare outrage every principle of hu- manity and of knightly honor; their intrigue has corrupted the very thought and spirit of many of our people; their sinister and secret diplo- macy has sought to take our very ters ritory away from us and disrupt the union of the states. Our safety would be at an end. our honor forever sullied and brought into contempt were we 10 permit their triumph. They are strik- ing at the very existence of democracy and liberty.
 Cause Is Just and Holy.
 Tt Is because 1t is for us war Of high. disnterested purpose, in which all the free peoples of the world are banded together for the vindication of right, a war for the preservation of our nation, and of all that 1t has held dear of principle and of purpose, that we felt ourselves doubly constrained to purpose for it's outcome only that which is righteous and of irreproach- able intention, for our foes as well as for our friends. The cause being just and holy. the settlement must be of like motive and quality. For this we can fight, but for nothing less noble or less worthy of our traditions. For this cause we entered the war and for this cause will We battle until the last gun is fired.
 T have spoken plainly, because this seems to me the time when 1t is most necessary to speak plainly, in order that all the world may know that even in the heat and ardor of the struggle and when our whole thought is of carrying the war through to its end we have not forgotten any ideal or principle for which the name of Amer ica has been held in honor among the nations and for which it has been our glory to contend in the great genera tions that went before us. A supreme moment of history has come. The eyes of the people have been opened and they see, The hand of God is laid upon the nations. He will show them favor, I devoutly believe, only if they rise to the clear heights of his own justice and mercy"