The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-12-03

and Federal authorities; or we can go 1 to the opposite extreme and estaDhsn complete Government control, accom- panied, if necessary, by actual Govern ment ownership, or we can adopt Ah intermediate course of modified prt- vate control, under more unified and affirmative public regulation ana such alterations of the law as will per init wasteful competition to be aVoideo and a considerable degree Of unifica- ton of administration to be effecteo'' as, for example, by regional corpora tions under which the railways of oe- finable areas would be in effect com bined in single systems.
 Change In Railroad Needs.
 The one conclusion that I am ready to state with confidence Is that IL would be a disservice alike to tne country and to the owners of the rall- roads to return to the old conditions unmodif1ed Those are conditions or restraint without development. Tnere is nothing affirmative or helpful about them. What the country chiefly needs i is that all it's means of transportation should be developed, its railways, its waterways, its highways and It's coun- tryside roads. Some new element Of policy, therefore, is absolutely neccs- sary-necessary for the service of the public, necessary for the release Of | credit to those who are administering l the railways, necessary for the pro- lection of their security holders. The old policy may be changed much or little, but surely it cannot wisely be | left as it was. I hope that the Con- gress will have a complete and i'm partial study of the whole problem in- stituted at once and prosecuted as rapidly as possible. I stand ready and anxious to release the roads from the present control and I must do so at a very early date if by waiting until the statutory limit of time Is reached I shall be merely prolonging the period of doubt and uncertainty which is hurtful to every interest concerned. I welcome this occasion to an- nounce to the Congress my purpose to join in Paris the representatives of ! the governments with which we have been associated in the war against the Central ErJ pires for the purpose of discussing with them the main fea-
 
 the great inconvenience that will at tend my leaving the country. particu | larly at this time, but the conclusion that it was my paramount duty to go has been forced upon me by consider ations which hope will seem as con- elusive to you as they have seemed to me.
 | Promises tO Keen in Touch
 The Allied governments have ac- cepted the bases of peace which I outlined to the Congress on the eighth
 of January last, as the Central Elm pires also have, and very reasonably desiZe my personal counsel in their interpretation and application, and it is highly desirable that 1 should give 1t in order that the sincere desire of our government to contribute without selfish purpose of any kind to settle ments that will be of common benefit
 to all the nations concerned may be made fully manifest The peace set | dement's which are now to be agreed upon are of transcendent importance
 both to us and to the rest of the
 world, and I know of no business or interest which should take precedence of them. The gallant men of our
 armed forces on land and sea have
 consciously fought for the ideals
 which they knew to be the ideals of , their country; I have sought to ex- press those ideals; they have accepted | my statements of them as the sub- , stance of their own thought and pur-
 pose, as the associated governments
 have accepted them; owe 1t to them to see to 1t, so far as in me lies, that f no false or mistaken interpretation is put upon them, and no possible effort
 omitted to realize them. It is now my duty to play my full, part in mak- l ing good what they offered their life's
 blood to obtain. I can think of nc = call to service which could transcend e this.
 Explains Cable Seizure,
 e I shall be in close touch with you a and with affairs on this side of the A water, and you will know all that e do. At my request the French and @ Englsh governments have absolutely e removed the censorship of cable new,
 which until within a fortnight the, - mad maintained and there is now nc - censorship whatever exercised at thi f end except upon attempted trade com n munications with enemy countries I @ has been necessary to keep an oper n wire constantly available betwee1 l. Paris and the Deparament of Stat }, and another between France and th, Department of War In order tba # this might be done with the least DOS
 slole interference with the other use, e or the cables, have temporarily take, IS over the control of both cables in Dr It der that they may be used as a. sinrl l. system. did so at the advice of tn 70 most experienced cable officials an, J. hope that the results will justify m, Id hope that the news of the next fe1 .e months may pass with the utmos - freedom and with the least possibI . delay from aaoI, ei5o .p 4L. =,