The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-04-13

|
 Congress cannot justify mere gift from
 the federal purse to the several states, Ito be prorated among counties for road
 betterment Such course will invite
 abuses which it were better to guard against in the beginning.
 SHOULD AMEND LAWS | The laws governing federal aid should | be amended and strengthened. The fed
 eral agency of administration should be
 elevated to the importance and vested
 with authority comparable to the work
 before it And Congress ought to pres
 cribe conditions to federal appropriations which will necessitate consistent pro
 gramme of uniformity which will justify
 the federal outlay.
 know of nothing more shocking than
 the millions of public funds wasted in improved highways, wasted because there
 is no policy of maintenance. The neglect
 is not universal, but it is very near it. There is nothing the Congress can do
 more effectively to end this shocking
 waste than change all federal aid on
 provisions for maintenance. Highways,
 no matter how generous the outlay for | construction, can not be maintained with l out patriot and constant repair Such
 conditions insisted upon in the grant Of
 federal aid will safeguard the public l which pays and guard the federal gov- | ernment against political abuses, which
 tend to defeat the very purposes for | which we authorize federal expenditure.
 WATER TRANSPORTATION
 Linked with rail and highway Is the problem of water inland,
 coastwise and trans-oceanic. 1t is not
 possible, on this occasion, to suggest to
 Congress the additional legislation need I full to meet the aspirations of our people
 for a. merchant marine In the emerg-
 ency of war we have constructed a ton-
 mage equalling our largest expectations. ! If war cost must be discontinued to
 the actual value of peace and the large
 difference charged to the war emergency,
 and the pressing task is to turn our as- 1 sets in tonnage to an agency of com
 merce.
 1 It is not necessary to say it to Con- gress, but I have thought this to be a l befitting occasion to give notice that the 1 United States means to establish and
 maintain great merchant rnarine,
 DIFFERENCES REMOVED Our differences as to opinion as 10
 policy of upbuilding have been removed
 by the outstanding fact of our having builded. If the intelligent and efficient administration under the existing laws makes established service impossible, the
 executive will promptly report to you. Manifestly, if our laws governing Amer1- can activities on the seas are such as to give advantage to those who compete
 with us for the carrying of our own
 cargoes and those which ought natur- ally come in American bottoms through
 trade exchanges, then the spirit of
 American fair paly will assert itself to give American carriers their equality of | opportunity. This republic can never realize it's righteous aspirations in com
 merce, can never be worthy the tradi- | tions of the early days of the expand- ing republic until the million tons Of shipping which we now possess are CO | ordinated with our inland transportation and our shipping has government en- couragement, not government operation, | in carrying our cargoes under our. flag l over regularly operated routs to every market in the world agreeable to Ameri- can exchanges. It will strengthen Amerl- can genius and management to have 1t understood that ours is an abiding de- | termination, because carrying is second only to production in establishing and maintaining the flow of commerce to which we rightfully aspire.
 RADIO AND CABLES
 | It is proper to invite your attention to | the importance of the question of radio communication and cables. To meet strategic, commercial and political needs, active encouragement should be given 10 the extension of American-owned and l tween the United States and its possess sions there should be ample comrnunica- l tion facilities providing direct facilities | at reasonable prices. Friendly co-opera- tion should be extended to international efforts aimed at encouraging improve ment of international communication Ia cilities and designed to further exchange of messages. Private monopolies tending | to prevent the development of needed fa- toiIi SIa he
 ment-owned facilities, wherever possible without, unduly interfering with pri- vate enterprise or government needs, should be made available for general uses. Particularly desirable is the pro vision of ample cable and radio services at reasonable rates for the transmission of press matter so that the American reader may receive a wide range or news and foreign reader receive full ac- counts of American activities. The daily | press of all countries may well be put | in position to contribute to international understandings by the publication of in teresting foreign news.
 REGULATION NEEDED
 | Practical experience demonstrates the need for effective regulation of both do- mestic and international trade operation | if this newer means of intercommunica- tion is to be fully utilized. Especially needful is the provision of ample radio facilities for these services where radio only can be used, such as communication with ships at sea, with aircraft and with out-of-the-way places. International com munication by cable and ardio requires co-operation between the powers con cerned. whatever the degree of control deemed advisable within the United States. government licensing of cable landings and of radio stations transmit ting and receiving international traffic seems necessary for the protection or American interests for the securing Of satisfactory reciprocal privileges.
 Aviation is inseparable from either the army or the navy, and the government must. in the interests of national oe- fense. encourage its development for mil itary and civil purposes The encour- agement of the civil development of aero nautics is especially desirable, and of maintenance of an industry. now almost entirely borne by the government through appropriations of the military, naval and postal and air services The air maf service is an important initial step m the direction of commercial aviation WILL BE HAMMERED
 It has become a pressing duty of the federal government to provide for the regulation of air navigation: otherwise independent and conflicting Legislation will be- enacted by the various states which will hamper the development oh aviation. }
 The national advisory committee for aeronautics, in a special report on the subject, has recommended the establish- ment of a bureau of aeronautics in the department of commerce for the federal regulation of air navigation. which rec