The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-04-27
PENROSE OFFERS
NATIONAL POLICY
Senator Suggests Military and
Industrial Preparedness
Against Future Wars.
URGES END OF CONTROL
OvertaxatiOn and RiOtOus Elk.
penditurc Must stop, He
Tells Upholsterers.

Senator Boies Penroee, ranking Re-
publican member OF the Senate Finance
Committee. told the guests at the Peace
and Reconstruction dinner Of the Up
holstery Association OF America In the
Astor last night In round Republican
terms what he considered to be the task
OF this country In general and of the
corning Congress In particular. The
thirgs that he advocated are these:
Adequate military preparedness. be-
cause he does not believe that any COW
enant or any League of Nations can
provide us life insurance against
war particularly In view of tine events
a. Paris during the last few days.
An industrial preparedness as thor
oush going as our military preparedness
has been lax. He said that the great
struggle among the nations will be in
the Industrial field ana that IL America
Is to assume international leadership she
must mobilize her industries
Tie return OF business to its owners
including the railroads and the telephone
and telegraph system and the abolition
OF the arbitrary boards with their OPP
preesive meddling in business affairs
Economy and retrenchment to avoid
the greatest evil Of the day." overtax-
alton. proper funding of the national
debt and adequate investigation, now
that the war is over, Of the "riotous''
expenditures of the last Congress, which,
he declared, would bankrupt all the
tressuries Of the world.
Senator Penrose reached the heart OF
his audience quickly by showing his IA
miliarity with the textile business and
the relation the tariff bears to textile
prosperity. Tracing the history OF its
fall and rise under the Dingley and
Payne-Aldrich bills, he declared:
Demands Tariff Wall.
TT will be the urgent duty of the
next Congress TO protect our industries
by q proper tariff wall. We must have
Industrial preparedness just as we must
have military preparedness. After peace
comes-and God knows II is a long time
In. coming.-we will not be engaged in
the bloody battles of the field. but in the
equally bitter battle of nations in the
Industrial arena. The survivors will be
the leaders Of the nations. II the United
States wants to lead It must prepare
now.
Other countries are preparing. They
are throwing aside their old doctrines of
froe trade and sacrificing hitherto ac-
cepted economic theories to the one end
country. belt Britain, France or Italy
We read Of subsidies to trade and the
thro" ing aside of the old English doc
trfne OF free trade to be replaced by
tariff favors for the British colonies
They even talk Of the Government own
ersh!p of industry.
The war has been won, in my opin-
lon. not by tho statesmen at the head
OF the Governmet. by the leaders. or by
the executive 1t has been won by the
splendid way in which the great Amer
lean people sanctioned. 1t is a long
way from ''watchful waiting" and too
proud to fight" and peace without VIC
tory to trying the Kaiser for murder
and participating in the Paris Peace
Conference.
1T is now time that the autocratic
boards and commissions at Washington
10 which you business men have SUBJ
United during the war, be abolished
The pernicious policy OF price fixing
and interference should be abandoned
as quickly as possible.
Every faddist and theorist and
idealist had his day in Washington dur
ing the war and because of the war.
Now let US return business to Its own
ers- Let US restore TO our national life
the great stimuli that have made us
sreat--initiative and the enterprise of
the individual. Hand back the rail-
roads and decide a way in which they
can earn sufficient revenue to provide
Tor expansion and for the proper car
riage of passengers and freight.
We have had our lesson in Govern
ment ownership. The railroads abso-
Iuteiy broke down. Passengers were
carried like cattle, and freight was not
carried at all ''''
The system Ia beinp onana.oa l.,
way to pile up a deficit threatening ,ha
bankruptcy Of the nation.
Restore the Big Lines.
Restore the telegraph and te,sn,oro
systems. which the Government. na'.a
should have acquired. They were seized
or dirtum from the White House
Wltnout any hearing. and so far as