The weekly Alaska citizen., 1919-03-03

such policy toward the unsettled conditions that it can guide them thru to an economic peace.
 At the same time that this unsettled con- dition is present at home there will be the keen competition of the nations to consider also. This very fact should serve to bring about a cooperative spirit at home, that America may not lose out in this greater con- petition among nations. It should be the force that will weld America into a united whole to face the rest of the world This com petition will call for ships, for new factories, news industries, and the delegation recom- mends that all private building be allowed to take place again without delay. During the war this was curtailed, except as it concerned strictly wartime industries, because of the lack of materials and shipping facilities Now that the need for this is passed all such ac- tivities should be allowed to take their natural course in preparation for the future.
 The delegation recommends that all ships now under course of construction should be finished at the earliest possible date that they may be put into action as part of Uncle Sam's merchant marine This will furnish employment for many workers, as well as strengthen the merchant marine To take care of the unemployment that is the more or less natural result of the discharge of the army, and the cessation of wartime activities, the message suggests that every possible agency of employment be used to find work for the men.
 It is conceded that the situation as con- cerns unemployment is rather serious at pres ent. It is not as bad as it might be however, and if the nation will keep cool head and sit tight during the readjustment, there is no doubt but that the situation will not result seriously. When there is only a certain amount of work to be done, and the num- Der of workers is greatly augmented, as it is in the case of the great numbers of women workers that have entered all fields of en- ployment, changes must be made in working conditions to accommodate them. There must be shorter hours, at the same rate of pay for one thing, and this is doubtless one of the many changes that may be made.
 Taking it all in all, the period of re- construction that is facing the nation is most momentous The forces of the whole coun- try will need to be mobilized to carry the na- tion thru it successfully. The government must have all its affairs in the best possible shape for it, and must formulate reconstruc- tive policy or policies that will make for the progress and advancement of the nation. It will be a critical time for all the world, and the United States must not be found wanting
 It must take the place offered it where it can be of the most service to mankind and itself as well, that it may stand for the true dem- ocracy, the broad-1ninded progress of all the peoples of the earth. The delegation now in Paris has an opportunity to see the con- ditions here at little different angle, and it is seeing the conditions of unrest that are prevalent abroad. The recommendation that it makes should be taken for what they are worth, and should be given consideration by congress, for nothing should stand in the way of the best interests of the country.