The Washington times., 1919-08-19
Text Of Presidents Speech AT Opening Of Conference

The text Of President wilson's
opening address to the members OF
The Senate Foreign Relations Com
mittoe follows:
Mr.. Chairman:
am sincerely glad that the COM
mittee should have responded in this
way 10 my intimation that l would
like to be OF service to it. l welcome
the opportunity for frank and full
interchange OF views.
l hope, too, that this conference will
serve TO expedite your consideration
of the treaty of peace. l beg that you
will pardon and indulge me If again
urge that practically the whole task
OF bringing the country back to nor
NAL conditions of life and industry
waits upon the decision of the Senate
with regard to the terms of the peace
Asks Early Action.
1 venture thus again to urge my
advice that the action OF the Senate
with regard to the treaty be taken at
the earliest practicable moment be-
cause the problems with which we
are face to face in the rcadjustment
OF our national life are of the most
pressing and critical character, will
require for their proper solution the
most intimate and disinterested CO.
operation Of all parties and all in
terests, and cannot be postponed
without manifest peril to our people
and 10 all the national advantages we
hold most dear. May l mention a few
OF the matters which cannot be han
died with intelligence until the coun-
try knows the character of the peace
it is to have? l do so only by a very
few samples.
The copper mines Of Montana, Ari-
zona, and Alaska, for example, are be-
ing kept open and in operation only
at a great cost and loss, in part, upon
borrowed money; the zinc mines Of
Missouri, Tennessee, and Wisconsin
are being operated at about one-half
their capacity; the lead Of Idaho, Illi-
nois, and Missouri reaches only a por-
tion OF its former market; there is an
immediate need for cotton betting, and
also for lubricating oil which cannot
be met-all because the channels Of
trade are barred by war when there Is
no war. The same is true of raw cot
ton, Of which the central empires
alone formerly purchased nearly four
million bales. And these are only ex-
amples. There is hardly a single raw
material, a single important foOdstuf,
goods which is not in the same case.
Our full, normal profitable production
waits on peace.
Holds Up Military Plans.
Our military plans of course wait
upon it. We cannot intclliEently or
wisely decide how large a naval or
military force we shall maintain or
what our policy with regard to mill
tary training is to be until we have
peace not only, but also until we
know how peace is to be sustained,
whether by the arms of single ma
tions or by the concert OF all the
great peoples. And there is more
than that difficulty involved. The
vast surplus properties OF the army
include not food and clothing mere
ly, whose sale will affect normal pro-
duction, but great manufacturing es-
also which should be re-
stored to their former uses, great
stores of machine tools, and all sorts
Of merchandise which must lie Idle
until peace and military policy are
definitely determined. BY the same
token there can be no properly stu
died national budget until then.
Trade Future in Danger.
The nations that ratify the treaty.
such as Great Britain. Belgium, and