The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1922-04-12

had passed through a great war, a
war won not by any party ~organiza-
ton, whether Republican or Demo-
cratic, but by the courage and quail
ity OF u soldiers and the enormous
patriotic energy of the American peo-
pie. 1t was a time when everybody
was profoundly moved-it was a
time of excitement.
The American people were determ-
med to win the war-they were ready
to make any sacrifice in money to
secure success. Although they are
the most generous people on earth
and did not question in that war time
any appropriations or expenditures,
they had a right to expect that the
money they freely gave with both
hands should not be spent needlessIy
or ~recklessly.
Then the war ended and the ex-
element died down and in cold blood
we began to look about US. The
tragedy was over, the lights were
out, the music was hushed, and the
country was left to contemplate what
l O. A0BR~ACA IA gAe CakAA VI ICSALA-
ing peace. 1t is an old saying that
those 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, be-
ing rejected by the country, left it to
the Republican party when it. came
to pay the piper.
:. l had been in Washington, of
course, through all those months of
{ the war. / thought I knew something
of the expenditures, something of the
extravaganza. but until the burden
fell upon US ! had no conception of
the extent Of the waste or of the
4 amount Of debt and wreckage with
. which we were obliged to deal. The
sum of $500, 000, 900 had gone to
the shipping board, and We had to
take over that financial wreck. We
0 are making an endeavor to save from
that wreck enough to secure the fu-
ture Of our American merchant ma
: rine, the difficulty of which car hard
4 ly be overestimated. We had spent
o $3.50 100000 on aircraft and we had
not a single combat plane in France
$ when the war closed. We had beer
9 using for our air service such planes
/. as we could get from England anC
o France. We had spent on artillery
n $5S2 100000. and. we fought the wal
with French guns. When the wa
closed we had just begun to get ma
chine gnns Of our own, on which
many months had been wasted in ex
perimenting and delays.
We had bought supplies for tn
war department with reckless profu
sion and had on our hands an i'm
mense surplus of every kind of ma
terEal-copper, wool, food, clothing
q and equipment of all kinds. If
had time to give you the details j
would present a picture which yol
would find it difficult even to be
lieve. All these results of rockies
buying had to be disposed of.
mention only these as illustrations o
> the problems which confronted US o.
y the 4th of March last.
re Figures are usually dull, but l ar
SOAtS W SANC JOu a lew Al6uIGos WuNC
=: l think you will find both striking
and picturesque. We gained control o
Congress by the elections of 1915
and on the 4th Of March, 1919, W
- had possession of both House an
l. Senate. With the war still going OF
he on the eve of victory as all men knew
the American people had gone to tn
4. polls and changed a Democratic ma
L. jority of 500 900 in the country TO
y Republican majority Of 1,200,00l
- Such q change Of party under sue
n conditions had never happened bs
fore and was really almost unimas
- Unable, and yet the American peOpI
ID had voted in such q way as to max
s. a net gain throughout the countr
.. for the Republican party Of 1,700
e. 600. They were ~psssionately thrille
L. by the coming victory, but were ST
calm enough to get Rid Of the Dem
. cratic party as a necessary conditiC
of peace and safety. The new Col
gress was hampered in its work, b
cause it received no help from heat
of departments or from the admit
istratiOn, which was still in Dem
cratic control.
lie = = 6 $ = s & :
Then we passed also for the ben
: fit of our agricultural interests Il
{ war finance and agricultural 10;
act. This was an extension of Il
finance commission established du
: ing the war, which had been
marked success, in order to aid e
o farmers by credits given on good S
curity. We passed the federal hig
way act the maternity act, viii
provided for government aid to t
tstates in all efforts for the benei
of mothers and infants. Legislati
carrying appropriations was pass
for the shipping board in our e
deavor to save what could be saw
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