The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1922-11-23
President s Message
(By Associated Press Leased Wire

(By Associated Press Leased Wire.)
Washington, D. C.-The text of
President. Hardings address follows:
Members of Congress:
Late last February, reported to you
relative to the American merchant
marine and recommended legislation
which the executive branch of the
government deemed essential to pro-
mote our merchant marine and with
it our national welfare. Other prob
lens were pressing and other ques-
lions were pending, and for one rea-
son or another which need not be re-
cited, the suggested legislation has
not progressed beyond favorable
recommendation by the House COM
mittee. The committee has given the
question a full and painstaking in
quiry and study and 1 hope that it's
favorable report steadily will be given
the force OF law a,ta r&
It will be helpful in clearing, the
atmosphere if we start with the frank
recognition of divided opinion and de-
termined opposition. 1t is no new
experience. Like proposals have di-
vided the Congress on various previ-
Gus occasions. Perhaps a more reso-
lutte hostility never was manifested
before and / am very sure the need
for decisive action~+decisiEe, favorable
action never was 50 urgent before.
Not Theory but Fact.
We are not now dealing with policy
founded on theory, we have a problem
which is one of grim actuality. We
are facing insistent conditions out of
which will come either additional and
staggering government losses and ma
tional impotence on the seas or else
the unfurling of thee flag on great
American merchant marine common
surate with our commercial import
ance, to service as carrier of our car
goes in peace and meet the necessities
of our defense in war.
There is no thought here and now
to magnify the relation of merchant
marine to our national defense. 1t is
enough to recall that we entered the
world war almost wholly dependent
on, our Allies for transportation by
sea We expended approximately three
billions, extravagantly, wastefully and
impractically. Out of our eagerness
to make up for the omissions of peace
and to meet the war emergency we
builded and otherwise acquired the
vast merchant fleet which the govern
ment owns today. -.i~...
In the simplest way I can say it, our
immediate problem is not to build and
support merchant shipping which
hold to be one of the highest and
most worthy aspirations of any great
people; our problem is to deal with
what we now possess. Our problem
is to relieve the public treasury of
the drain it is already meeting. Let
us omit particulars about the frenzied
wartime building. Possibly we did
fully as well as could have been done
in the anxious circumstances. Let
us pass for the moment the vital re-
lationship between a merchant ma
rine and a commercially aspiring
nation. Aye, let us suppose for a mo-
ment the absurdity that with one
So, 000,000,0O0 experience and with the
incalculable costs in lives and treas
ure which may be chargeable to our
inability promptly to apply our pot
ency-which God forefend happening
again-let us momentarily ignore all
of these and turn to note the mere
business problem, the practical ques-
ton of dollars and cents with which
we are confronted.
Show Enormous Loss.
The war construction and the later
completion of war contracts, where
completion was believed to be the
greater economy to- the public treas
ury, left US approximately 1920, 600
gross tonnage of ships. The figures
are nearer 12,5OO,00O tons now owing