The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1922-01-19
TEN MONTHS
OF PROGRESS
Sen. James L. Watson Emphasizes
Strong Feature Of Republican
Administration

Washington, Jan. 1S.-In a signed
article featured in the New York
Times of January first, Senator James
e. Watson, of Indiana, one of the
spokesman of the administration on
the floor of the Senate, gave a review
of the first ten months of the Republi-
can administration. Senator Watson's
article was exhaustive and showed
conciusively that these ten months
have produced more constructive leg
islation and more constructive admin
istration than ny previous year in the
history Of the United States govern
ment.
| The article reviewed the splendid
record of the United States Congress
during its special session, the work
of the executive branches of the gov
eminent, and laid especial stress up
on the constructive administrative
plans initiated by President Harding,
as, for example, the calling of the con-
ference tor the limitation of arma-
ments, in connection with foreign af-
fairs. and the conference to consider
the problem of unemployment in this
country, and, later, that more recent
ly called to consider agricultural pro-
blems,
Only Uniformed Critieise
Senator Watson's article stressed a
point which has not received due Cm-
phasis at the hands of the public
that of which he styles the negative
achievements" of the administration.
In writing upon this point Senator
Watson said:
emo administration in all our ma
tienal history has come to power con-
fronted with problems of such COM
plexity and difficulty as those which
were inherited by President Harding
and a Republican Congress. Those
who declare that little has been ac-
complished speak with small know
ledge Of the facts and little compre-
hension OF the size of the job inherited
by the Republican party at the end OF
the Wilson era.
I'VE had passed through a period of
public expenditures on a scale tina;
staggers the imagination. In its train
was left q national debt establishing
an interest charge greater in itself
than the total of our annual national
outlay before the World War. The
public service had become habituated
during the wal era to an extravaganza
more easily established than %uprooted.
Not only had there been ar enormous
increase in the cost of ordinary civil
administration through swollen public
p~ayrolls, but the public service had
become thoroughly saturated with the
spirit of reckless spending. We had
become accustomed to speak of a MIL
lion dollars as W. were once wont, in
the discussion of public expenditure,
to talk of a thousand. =
Negative Good Very Great
Let us consider for a moment the
achievements of the administration on
the negative side. When a house is
on fire the flames must first be extin-
guished before reconstruction can be
begun or even planned. This admin
istration has performed a service OF
inestimabie, even if fully ~unrealized,
value in hating some OF the major
tendencies of the previous admins
tration. There has been no thought
and no talk OF the surrender OF the
rights, interests and ideals of this ma
ton to any scheme of alien super
sovereignty since March 4, 1921.
! There have been no further steps to-
ward the specialization of industry
There has been no suggestion from
high places that private payrolls
should be destroyed in order that pub
lie payrolls may be heightened. There
have been no new departures in gov
: eminent infringement upon the just
: domain Of legitimate private enter
prise. There have been no White
House pronouncements expressive OF
a theory that government is the ma
tural and proper enemy of business.
The length of the steps we have
taken since March A, 1921, may not
have been as long as many of us would
like, but they have been in the right
direction; away from the quicksands
of socialistic 'idealism' and toward
:he old solid rock of traditional com
nonsense A~mericanssm, with Its deep
/ grounded belief in the right and duty
of the individual to work out his own
salvation. We are forging away from
the tendency which not long ago grip
ped this nation to make the American
people inmates rather than citizens ol
the republic"