Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1918-12-03

 1918. 1919 and 1920. As much of tho burden of the taxation must be lifted from business as sound methods of financing tffe govern s1ent will permit and those who codnct the grcat 1 essential industries of the country must be told as exactly as possible what obligations to the government 1 they will be expected to meet in the years immediately ahead of them. It would be of serious conseuuencc to 1 the country to delay removing all un- certainties in this matter a single Uas ! longer than the right processes of debate justify. It is idle to talk of successful and confident business re construction before those unccrtain- ties are resolved.
 If the war had continued it would ] have been necessary to raise at lols' eight billion by taxation payable in 1 the year 1919 but the war has ended and 1 agree with the secretary of the treasury that it will be safe to reduce the amount to six billions. An i'm mediate rapid decline in the expenses of the government is not to be look. ed for Contracts made for war sup plies will, indeed. be rapidly cancelled and l liquidated but their immediate l liquidation will make heavy drains on the treasury for the months just ahead of us.
 l The maintenance of our forces on the other side of the sea is still necessary. A considerable proportion of those which are brought home will be transported and demobilized at heavy expense for months to come. The interest on our war debt must of course be paid and provision made off the retirement of the obligations of | the government which represent it. But these demands will of course fall much below what a continuation of military perations would have entail l ed and six billions would suffice to supply sound foundation for the fin ancial operations of the year.
 1 l entirely concur with the secretary of the treasury in recommending that l the two billions needed in addition to ] the four billions provided by existing l law be obtained from the profits l which have and shall acrue from war | contracts and distinctively war busi- ! ness, but that these taxes be confined l to the war profits accruing in 1918, or 1 in 1919 from business originating in 1 war contracts. 1 urge your acceptance ] of his recommendation that provision be made now, not subsequently, that 1 the taxes to be paid in 1920 should be reduced from six to four billions. Any arrangements less definite than these ! would add elements of doubt and con- { fusion to the critical period of indus trial readjustmcnt through which the country must now immediately pass. <. and which nQ true friend of the na- j tion's esential business interests af- i ford to be responsible for creation or prolonging, clearly determined con- /; ditions, clearly and simply charted, are indispensable to the economic revival and rapid industrial develop ment which may confidently be ex- 1 pected in, we act now and sweep all interrogation points away.
 I take it for granted that the con- gross will carry out the naval pro- gram which was undertaken before We entered the war. The secretary Of the navy has submitted to your com mittees for authorization that part of the program which covers the build ing plans of the next three years. These plans have been prepared along l policy which the congress established, not under the exceptional conditions of the war, but with the intention to adhering to a definite method of de. velopment for the navy. l earnestly recommend the uninterrupted pursuit of that policy. It would clearly be unwise for us to attempt to adjust our progress to a future world policp as yet undetermined.
 The question which causes mo the greatest concern is the question of the policy to be adopted towards the railroads. l frankly turn to your counsel upon it. It have no confident judgment of my own. do not sec how any thoughtful men can have who knows anything of the complexity of the problems. It is problem which must be studied, studied immed- lately and studied without bias or prejudice
 Nothing can be gained by becoming partisans of any particular plan of settlement.
 It was necessary that the admins tration of the railways should be taken over by the government so long as the law lasted. It would have been impossible otherwise to establish and carry through under a single direct ion the necessary priorities of ship ments. It would have been impos' sible otherwise to combine maximum
 production of the factories, mines and farms with the maximum possible car supply to take the products to
 the ports and markets; impossible tt route troop shipments and frelgh'
 shiments without regard to the ad
 vantage or disadvantage of the road:
 employed; impossible to subordinate
 when necessary, all questions of con
 yenience to the public necessity; i'm
 possible to give the necessary flnan
 cial support to the roads from th'