Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-07-18
SENATOR HALE'S PLEA
Continued from Page One)
the war Senator Hale's speech was as
follows:
Senator Hale's Speech


The time will soon be here when
this great food control bill will be
voted on in the Senate. Senator's have
gone very exhaustively into all sides of
the question. l shall not attempt at
this time to go into the merits of the
bill. l believe and hope that some sort
of food control bill will be passed
whether in its present form, which
seems to me to be too comprehensive. or
in some such form as the Gore amend
ment. which | much prefer and which
limits the bill to food and fuel. is yet
to be determined
The country I believe wants the bill,
The President asks for it, the war war
rants it and it will probably become a
law. l do, however. have one sugges-
ton to make and l hope that this Con-
gress will see fit to adopt it.
ON Friday of last week the senior
senator from New York, Mr.. Wads-
worth, stated that it was exceedingly
unfortunate that the Senate and House
of Representatives had so little oppor-
tunity to be Informed about what the
Council for National Defense and the
Advisory Board were doing. Further
that he thought it would be helpful
thing if these two bodies would from
time to time upon appropriate occa-
sions, through methods that are proper
and feasible, inform senators individu-
ally or collectively of what was being
accomplished by them. l believe that
the senator from New York is right l
believe that there should be the very
closest touch between these men who
are to have so much to do with run
ming this country during the period of
the war and the Congress which alone
can give them their powers and which
alone can appropriate the money neces-
sary to enable them to carry out those
powers.
But | would go farther than the
senator from New York | would pro-
vide for a committee to be made up
from both branches of Congress whose
business it would be to keep in touch
with these boards and committees and
controllers, who would find out for our
benefit what they were doing and how
these great appropriations were being
used and who would give us the nee
essary information about future APP
preparations to be asked of US.
The powers that we are granting
under this very bill are enormous.
They may or may not prove beneficial
to the country if not by the same token
that we gave them we can take them
away. And should we not be kept fully
advised in case we may want to do so ?
Entitled to information
I'VE and we alone give these pow
ers. We and we alone appropriate the
money. We are elected to do so by
the people of this country Granted
that the war demands a Capitalization
of power that we have never before
reeded or dreamed of, surely we are
not required SO far to ernasculate the
powers given MS under the constitu-
ton that we may not be able to ex-
plain to the people who elected us the
why's and wherefores of the legislation
we have enacted or account to them
for their moneys that we have appro-
priated. There is now a resolution be-
fore the Senate introduced by the jul
nior senator from Massa chusetts pro-
viding for committee on the conduct
of the war.
Il am very much in hopes that the
senator from Massachusetts will intro
duce the subject matter of that res
olution in the form of an amendment
to this bill. If he does not do so l
shall offer a similar amendment my
self. / should like to see it apply as
soon as this bill becomes a law. |
can conceive of no opposition to it. We
il. Congress are entitled to the infor-
nation the committee would get. The
advisory board would welcome it. I
have talked with one of its members
and have been assured of this 1t has
been suggested that the President is
opposed TO such committee. do
rot believe that this can be the case. |
do not believe that the chief executive
to whom we have delegated such great.
powers would wish to de-
prive coordinate branch of the gov
eminent. the Congress of the United
States. of the necessary means to en-
able it effectively to legislate"