The New York herald., 1921-12-07
President Harding's Message.

or remarkable interest throughout,
has four high peaks of Importance.
These are his recommendations as to
national control Of strikes and other
forms of industrial war, establish
ment of organized and cooperative
selling and distributing agencies for
the farmers, support Of American
shipping without discriminating du-
ties against foreign bottoms, and n
provision for an elastic tariff system
capable of meeting special emergen-
cies or abnormal conditions without
the uncertainties, disadvantages and
dangers of the so-called American
valuation scheme.
The Presidents stand as to the
control of both parties to industrial
warfare is so Just in its conception
and so clear In its logic that the
American public can be counted for
It whether the present Congress shall
be or not. When he says there should
be no question as to the right OF
labor to organize, to bargain collec-
lively and to act together in other
ways, he says no more Of 1t than he
says of organized capital and no more
than is legal fact as to organized
capital. When he says organized Ia
Dor as such should not be permit
ted to conduct itself to the injury Of
the general public again he says no
more of it than he says Of organized
capital and also no more than is 4
legal fact as to organized capital.
And there is nobody that will fail
to recognize the simplicity and force
of his parallel between the world now
seeking for its self-protection suit
able procedure to adjust differences
among nations without recourse to
war and the country also seeking
for it's self-protection to adjust diff
/ ferences between organized labor and
organized capital without resort 20
those forms OF warfare which we
recognize under the name of strikes,
lockouts, boycotts and the like"
In the matter of the agricultural
problem it is plain to see that the
Presidents heart is fervently with
the nations tillers of the SOIL who
labor through the year to feed the
nation, only to find after the harvest
that it is worth little or nothing to
those who produced it by the sweat
of their brow.
When Mr.. HARDING bespeaks for the
farmers Of the United States MI
tionally encouraged cooperative mar
keting programme he suggests
something which THE New York
HERALD feels is as sure to come as
the rising suns of the days after
this. The sooner it comes the better
for the farms, the cities and the coun
try, because the whole hangs upon the
existence and welfare of the agricul
tural industry and the sturdy sors
of America who must continue In
that industry If the nation is to con
tinue in the path which thus far has
been its destiny.
AS frankly outspoken as he is tc
Congress about agriculture and labor
President HARDING is still more
open, even bold, with his declara
) ton as to the Jones act, directing
the Executive to give notice for the
termination of existing commercial
treaties, so as to enable this country
to set up differential import charges
, against any goods brought to us in
! other than American bottoms. Ht
J tells Congress that he has not com
Piled with the legislative command
of Congress, as President WILSON also
did not comply with it, because to &c
so would "involve us in chaos oi
trade relationships" and make Out
industrial and commercial troubles
worse than they already are.
But the Harding Administration
is working out plan which, though
yet too crude to offer it," promises t.
save the American merchant marine
Whether this is to be subsidy, anC
If so in what form, the Presiden
does not intimate. But he does prom
ise to submit it at an early date anC
does give assurance that its funda
mental principles are so sound tina
it will commend itself to Congress b,
. its own economic merits.
, But among all these noteworth!
recommendation and suggestions thu
, most striking note is the President
, treatment OF the tariff problem
. American industry and American
employment need protection from
devastation by a food of imports
that may be irresistible whether be
cause of pauper labor costs in som'
foreign exporting countries or be
cause Of debased currency values II
others
But nobody in Congress has We
; succeeded in working out consti
7 tutional tariff scheme which will
reasonably equalize the cheapes
. labor cost article abroad with tn
, high labor cost article here at home
and vet not exclude entirely th