Norwich bulletin., 1920-07-23
HARDING WOULD SIGN PEACE FIRST

l the wage -earners of America that mounting wages and decreased produc-
 tion can lead only to industrial and eco | nomie ruin.
 Salvation of Industry.
 | Let us return for moment to the
 necessity for understanding which con | cerns ourselves at home I decline to
 recognize any conflict of interest among the participants in industry. The destruc- l ton of one is the ruin of the other, the suspicion or rebellion of one unavoidably | involves the other. In conflict is disas- ter, in understanding there is triumph 1 There is no issue relating to the foun-
 dation on which industry is builded, be-
 cause industry is bigger than any ele- | ment in it's modern making. But the in 1 sistent call is for labor management and capital to reach understanding.
 Employers Should Understand.
 The human element comes first, and ] want the employers in industry to un- | derstand the aspirations the convictions the yearnings of the millions of Amerf-
 can wage-earners, and I want the wage 1 earners to understand the problems, the anxieties the obligations of management and capital and all of them must un- derstand their relationship to the people 1 and their obligation to the republic. Out l of this understanding will come the l unanimous committal to economic justice and in economic justice lies that social 1 justice which is the highest essential to human happiness.
 Unsettled and Fevered Conditions.
 The menacing tendency of the present day is not chargeable wholly to the un- settled and fevered conditions caused by l +;,o l ular government lies in the temptation
 to appeal to grouped citizenship for po- l Iitical advantage. There is no greater 1 peril The constitution contemplates nc 1 class and recognizes no group. It broad
 ly includes all the people, with specific [ recognition for none. and the highest | consecration We can make today is a committal of the republican party to l that saving constitutionalism which con- 1 templates all America as one people. and holds just government free from inf1u- i ence on the one hand and unmoved by 1 intimidation on the other.
 l Freedom of Speech and Press
 l It would be the blindness of folly tc l ignore the activities in our own coun. try which are aimed to destroy our econ l omic system, and to commit us to the
 colossal tragedy which has both destroy
 ed all freedom and made Russia impo- l tent. This movement is not to be halted 1 in throttled liberties. We must moi 1 abridge the freedom of speech, the free 1 dom of press, or the freedom of assem- ! ply. because there is no promise in re pression. These liberties are as sacred
 as the freedom of religious belief as in vioiable as the rights of life and the pur- ! suit of happiness. We do hold to the right to crush sedition. to stiffe 8 menac 1 ing contempt for law, to stamp out g peril to the safety of the republic or its 1 people, when emergency calls because i security and the majesty of the law are
 the first essentials of liberty He whc l threatens destruction of the government | by force or flaunts his contempt for law | ful authority, ceases to be loyal citizeT
 and forfeits his rights to the freedom oI l the republic.
 Rights Freedom Imposes.
 l Let it be said 10 all of America tha 1 our plan of popular government contem plates such orderly changes as the crys
 tallized intelligence of inc majority O | our people think best There can be nt
 modification of this underlying rule, bu no majority shall abridge the rights o 1 a minority. Men have a right to question | cur system in fullest freedom but the, must always remember that the rights c I freedom ompose the obligations whici maintain it. Our policy is not of repres sion, but we make appeal today to Amer ican intelligence and patriotism whe1 the republic is menaced from within. jus as we trusted American patriotism wher our rights were threatened from with out
 Railway Rehabilitation
 1 The importance of the railway reha is o,lAy-ff seems uncalled for. We are so confiden that much of the present-day insufficient Icy and inefficiency of transportation ar due to the whitening hand of government operation that We emphasize anew ou opposition to government ownership w want to expedite the reparation ant make sure the mistake is not repeated It is little use to recite the story o development, exploitation, governmen experiment and it's neglect, governmen operation and it's failures The made , quacy of trackage and terminal faciIj , ties, the insuficiency of operation-al bear the blighting stamp of governmen ? tai incapacity during federal operation
 The work of reha mobilization under the re
 storation of private ownership deserve our best encouragement Billions ar needed in new equipment not alone | , meet the growing demand for servic. . put to restore the extraordinary depre citation due to the strained service C , war. With restricted earnings and wit
 speculative profits removed. railway at . tivities have come to the realm of cor v servative and constructive service. an ! the government which impaired nu. P play it's part in restoration Manifestl r. the returns must be so gauged that nec s essary capital may be enlisted, and W
 must foster as well as restrain
 We have no more pressing problem.
 state of inadequate transportation faci
 ities, mainly Grhargeable to the failure l. governmental experiment. is losing mi T lions to agriculture, it is hindering il 0 dustry, it is menacing the America e people with fuel shortage little le r 1 than a peril. It emphasizes the presen $ day problem and suggests that spirit n encouragement and assistance whi, '- commits all America to relieve such Z : emergency.
 " Water Transportation.
 n Water transportation is inseparab n linked with adequacy of facilities and ' n favor American eminence on the seq = the practical development of inland W
 terways the upbuiIding and coordinati le of all to make them equal to and req, ,f for every call of developing and wide ,e ing American commerce. 1 like that I ,t committal to thoughts of America fiji i- which pledges the Panama canal l., American creation, to the free use l. American shipping. It will add to t