Mexico Missouri message., 1917-12-20

sand beg that the members OF the
house of representatives will permit
me to express the opinion that 1t will
be impossible to deal In any but a very
wasteful and extravagant fashion with
the enormous appropriations Of the
public moneys which must continue to
be made. II the war Is to be properly
sustained, unless the house will con.
sent to return to Its former practice
of initiating and preparing all appro-
prlatlon bills through n single commit.
tee, In order that responsibility may
be centered, expenditures standardized
and made uniform and waste and tlu.
plicatlon as much as possible avoided.
additional legislation may also he.
come necessary before the present con.
gress again adjourns In order 10 effect
the most efficient coordination and op.
GRAFTON Of the railway and other trans.
portation systems OF the country; hu,
to that ! shall, II circumstances should
demand, call the attention of the con.
gress upon another occasion.
Concentrate on Winning War.
"If I have overlooked anything that
ought to be done for the more effective
conduct of the war, your own counsels
will supply the omission. What am
perfectly clear about is that in the
present session Of the congress our
whole attention and energy should he
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 It 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.
manlty 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 ter.
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 to
permit their triumph. They are strik.
ing at the very existence of democracy
and liberty.
Cause 'Is Just and Holy.
at is because it is for us a war Of
high, disinterested purpose, in which
all the free peoples of the world are
banded together for the vlndlcation Of
right, 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 Its 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.
II have spoken plainly, because thIa
seems to me the time when it 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
lea has been held in honor among the
nations and for which 1t 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, devoutly believe, only If they
rise to the clear heights of his OVID |
justice and mercy"