Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-04-02

! most liberal financial credits, in order
| that our resources may so far as pos
sible be added to theirs. 1t will Involve
| the organization and mobilization OF al
| the material resources of the country
! to supply the materials of war and
serve the incidental needs of the ma
+, ton in the most abundant and yet the
most economical and efficient way pos
sibIe. 1t will involve the immediate
/ full equipment of the navy in all re-
spects. but particularly in supplying II
with the best means of dealing Win
| the enemyS submarines. 1t Will IN
volve the immediate addition to the
armed forces of the United States al
ready provided for by lazy in case OF
war at least five hundred thousand men,
who should, in my opinion, be chosen
upon the principle of universal liability
to service. and also the authorization OF
subsequent additional increments OF
equal force SO soon as they may be
needed and can be handled in training
1t will involve also, of course, the
granting of adequate credits to the gov
| eminent, sustained, l hope. SO far as
they can equitably be sustained by the
present generation by well conceived
taxation.
Financial Protection Needed.
l say sustained so far as may be equita-
BILE by taxation because it seems to me
that it would be most unwise to base
the credits which will now be neces-
sary entirely on money borrowed. 1t
is our duty, l most respectfully urge,
to protect our people SO far as we may
against the very serious hardships and
evils which would be likely to arise
out of the imitation which would be
produced by vast loans.
In carrying out the measures by
which these things are to be accom-
plished we should keep constantly in
mind the wisdom OF interfering as lit
tie as possible in our own preparation
and in the equipment of our own mill
tary forces with the duty-for it Will
be very practical duty-of supplying
the nations already at war with Ger
many with the materials which they
can obtain only from us or by our as
sistance. They are in the field and we
should help then-fh every way to be
effective there.
l shall take the liberty of suggest
ing, through the several executive de-
partments of the Government, for the
consideration of your committees.
measures for the accomplishment of the
several objects l have mentioned. |
hope that it will be your pleasure to
deal with them as having been framed
after very careful thought by the
branch of the Government upon which
the responsibility of conducting the
war and safeguarding the nation will
most directly fall
While we do these things, these deep
ly momentous things, let us be very
clear. and make very clear to all the
world what our motives and our objects
are. My own thought has not been
driven from its habitual and normal
course by the unhappy events of the
last two months, and l do not believe
that the thought of the nation has been
altered or clouded by them. | have eX-
actly the same things in mind now that
l had in mind when 1 addressed the
Senate on the twenty second of jan
uary last; the same that 1 had in mind
when 1 addressed the Congress on the
third of February and on the twenty
sixth of February. Our object now, as
then, is to vindicate the principles of
peace and justice in the life of the
world as against selfish and autocratic
power and to set up amongst the really
free and self-governed peoples of the
world such a concert of purpose and OF
action as will henceforth insure the OBJ
servance of those principles.
Neutrality is no longer feasible or de-
sirable where the peace Of the world is
involved and the freedom Of it's peoples,
and the menace to that peace and free
dom lies m the existence Of autocratic
governments backed by organized force.
which is controlled wholly by their will,