Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1922-02-17
Friday, February II, 1922.
"cARRY ON"

any party in this country mas ever
been called upon to face, and we have
q right to be proud Of our record. We
ere entitled to stand by it ourselves
without fear or misgiving. and to ask
sl rejecting men and women to join
with us. Let us stand together.
shoulder to shoulder. close up the
ranks, pay no heed to outcries OF our
political opponents, go forward in the
old Republican way and carry on"
In the above words Senator Lodge
closed his address before the Repub-
llcan State Committee at Boston,
this week His recital Of accomplish
ments demonstrated the truth Of this
assertion. Those who think of this
as "a do-nothing" congress will find
profit TO their understanding in care
fully considering that recital Of work
done. They will perhaps do better to
make n recital of their own from a
review Of facts reported in the public
press during the past year. But IL
they wish to do full Justice to Con-
gress. be they Democrats or Repub-
leans, they should take into consid
Grafton that never before did Con-
gross have thrust upon 1t so big and
dlsagreeable an undertaking.
In the period OF excitement of war
both Democrats and Republicans
throughout the country were not in
critical mood. Anything that prom
iscd assistance in ending the war was
quickly approved. This WAS . state
OF mind far removed from that which
inevitably comes in the cold gray
dawn OF the morning after when the
task Is getting money with whish to
settle the bills OF the debauch of the
night before. The latter is the state
Of mind in which the country now
finds itself. In the words of Senator
Lodge:
1t Is an old saying that they who
call the tune must pay the piper, but
IN this case, so far as the Government
was concerned. the Democrats called
the tune and being rejected by the
country, left IL to the Republican
party when it came in to pay the
piper"
In his graphic. forceful way he told
OF the three and n half billion that
went TO the Shipping Board when the
Republicans had TO take over the a
hundred and fifty millions spent on
aircraft and not combat plane flew
In France; s5s2, 900, 900 spent on artil-
lcry and our artillery men using
French guns. and all the huge and
lavish expenditures in other ways, all
this TO be accounted for. No one may
criticize the spirit animating these
efforts. however much they dsap-
prove OF the judgment used. Respect
ing the latter much allowance should
lie made on account of the emergency
nature of the work to be done. Peo-
pie will make this allowance in their
minds but they should not overlook
the magnitude OF the task of cleaning
up the welter of waste. salvaging the
scrap and raking up the scatterings.
In the heat and burden OF the day of
readjustmcnt.
Does anyone, in his heart, think he
knows Just how to go about raising
tie revenue. believes he has a method
Of imposing taxes which would be
fair all around and very satisfactory
20 the victims? II so he belongs in
some psychopathic ward under close
observation. If not he must recognize
the difficulties which Congress had to
meet in deciding upon measure
which will reduce the taxes for the
calendar year by sS35.0C0,000. He
will acknowledge that the Republican
Congress OF 1919 in cutting a billion
and a half from the estimate OF the
Wilson administration deserved pub
lie support in the undertaking.
Since the present Congress has been
in. Senator Lodge tells US. it has re-
duced appropriations asked for by the
departments from 337,oOo,oOO to
si.42s. 100000. Since the armistice
SCOTS employees have been dismissed
from the civil pay rolls. The budget
act vetoed by President Wilson was
passed. an emergency tariff bill was
passed. also a veterans bureau act
vas passed. consolidating all the
agencies dealing with the ex-service
men and bringing order out Of chaos
and providing for the disabled
promptly and effectively. Congress
has provided temporary restriction on
the food of immigration, added twen-
ty-five millions to the farm loan,
passed an act regulating the meat
packers. the war finance and agricul-
tural loan act. the Federal highway
act. appropriations to put the Ship
ping Board in shape to salvage itself.
and the laws relating to cables and
exports and hundreds Of other i'm
portant matters. And all the time II
has been compelled 10 consider the
fact that the war imposed on this
country = permanent appropriation
Of . billion dollars to pay the interest
on the debt incurred by the United