Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1918-12-13

I take UHEIELEutE Va AaNA@a j
zen Of our armed forces on land anu
sea have consciously fought for the
/ ideals which they knew TO be the
/ ideals Of their country Z; / have sough1
to express those ideals; they have nc
cepted my statements Of them as the
substance Of their own thought ana
purpose. as the associated govern
ments have accepted them / w II 10
them to see 1t, so far as in me hes
that no false or mistaken lnterpreta-
ton is put upon them and no possible
effort omitted to realize them.
It Is now my duty to Play my ful
part In making good what they offered
In their life's blood to obtai0. l can
think of no call to service which coulo
transcend this.
Praises War Agencies.
Never before have there been agen-
cies In existence in this country which
knew so much of the field Of supply
Of labor and Of industry as the wal
industries board, the war trade board,
the labor department, the food admin
istration and the fuel administration
have known since their labors became
thoroughly systematized; and they
have not been Isolated agencies; they
have been directed by men who rep
resented the permanent departments
of the government and so have been
the centers of unified and cooperative
action. It has been the policy OF the
executive, therefore. since the arms
tice was assured (Which Is In effect a
complete submission Of the enemy to
put the knowledge of these bodies at
the disposal of the business men OF
the country and to offer their intelli-
gent mediation at every point and In
every matter where it was desired. 1t
Is surprising how fast the process OF
return to a peace footing has moved
in the three weeks since the fighting
stopped. It promises to outrun any In
quiry that may be instituted and any
aid that may be offered. 1t will not be
easy to direct it any better thar 1t
will direct itself. The American busi-
ness man Is Of quick initiative.
The ordinary and normal processes
of private initiative will not, however,
provide immediate employment for all
Of the men of our returning armies.
Those who are of trained capacity,
those who are skilled workmen, those
who have acquired familiarity with es-
: tablished businesses, those who are
ready and willing to go to the farms,
: all those whose aptitudes are known
err will be sought out by employees Will
: find no difficulty, it Is safe to say, IN
finding place and employment, But
| there will be others who will be al
= q loss where to gain a livelihood un'
less pains are taken to guide them
f and put them in the way OF work
There will be q large floating re
siduum of labor which should be left
: wholly to shift for itself. 1t seems t
: me important, therefore, that the de
h velopment Of public works Of ever.
t sort should be created, for unsklilet
labor in particular, and that pan'
should be made for such developments
of our unused lands and our natural re
/ sources as we have hitherto lacke'
= stimulation to undertake.
l. Cites Practical Plans.
I particularly direct your attention
y to the practical plans which the sec
IL retary of the interior has developed II
u his annual report and before your com
Is mittees for the reclamation Of ariC
swamp and cut-over lands which might
s. IL the states were willing and able t
Is cooperate, redeem some 100000
acres of land for cultivation. Their
are said to be 100000 or 20,OOO,OO
acres of land in the West
is present arid, for whose reclamation W,
n ter Is available, If properly conserve'
There are about CSC, 100000 acres fro
which the forests have been cut b'
re- which have never yet been cleared fl
as- the pillow, and which lie waste and de
&C. olate. These lie scattered all over Il
TO Union. And there are nearly 80,0Ot
Ill OOU acres Oh idnu tHut nc uhuSi o"o"l
of or subject to periodical overflow
lev too wet for anything but grain
)ut which 1t Is perfectly 1easlDie to IRA
1t and protect and redeem.
The congress can at once dire
I'VE thousands Of the returning soldie
to the reclamation of the arid Ian
md which 1t has already undertaken,
it will but enlarge the plans and
ase appropriations which 1t has intru
ed to the department of the
~ terror. It Is possible in dealt
mir with Il unused land to effect a gre
,r,v rural and agricultural developm'
nm. which will afford the best sort of
in. p~ortunity to men who want to h
themselves, and the secretary Of
moo interior has thought the posi-
!, IN methods out in q way which is wort
,oy- of your most friendly attention.
zen Problem Economic One.
cen So far as our domestic affairs
dis concerned the problem Of u ret
ures to peace is a problem of econol
the and Industrial REIMBURSEMENT. T
tend problem Is less serious for us Il
arly It may turn out to be for the
that tons which have suffered the di:
has rangements and the losses of
lera- longer than we. Our people, m,