The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-08-15
t. 0. P. IS TERMED
 A GREAT BEARER
 OF PROGRESS
Credit Is Taken For All Achievements Since
 March, 1921

WASdINOION, Aug. 14.-RreSl dent Coolidge, in accepting the republi can nomination for the presidency her, 5today, spoke as follows:
 Mr. Chairman, Members of the Com
 mittee, Ladies and Gentlemen:
 You bring formal notice, Mir. Chair man, of a nomination for President o ssthe United States. It is the produc =of experience. Very early in theil -search for a sound method of self-gov ernment the American people discovered &that- the only practical way to secure irresponsible political action wns by tht zformation of parties. which they sadopted because reason pronounced il =the most promising, and continued be cause practice found it the most sue cessful.
 Underneath and upholding political parties was. and is, the enduring prin eiple that a true citizen of a real re. public can not exist as a segregated sinattached fragment of selfishness, but must live as a constituent part of the whole of society, in which he can SC. cure his own welfare only as he secures the welfare of his fellow men.
 Party means political cooperation not as an end in itself, but means, an instrument of government. If founded zupon a great moral principle and di- greeted with scrupulous regard for its integrity, it can not fail to sweep on sward, advancing always steadily and surely, a mighty constructive force, a sgloricus bearer of progress.
 That is what the republican
 party always has been and is to-
 day. In full faith that such it will
 continue to be deeply conscious
 of the high honor it confers and
 the responsibility it imposes,
 accept it's nomination for President
 of the United States.
 In the history of our country is re- .corded the public services rendered by Sour party for more than three score years. That is secure. I pass on to zthe recent past and the present.
 Conditions in 1921.
 It is easy to forget, but the impress 5sion which the condition of our coun- -try in March, 1921, made upon the speople was 50 deep, so vivid, so alarm %ing, that it will not soon pass away. Over two years after the armistice Eve were still technically in a state of swar. We had no diplomatic relations with Turkey, Greece, Russia, Colombia, Tor Mexico, and the Far East was caus- ling grave apprehensions. In raising Tand expending for war a vast amount of smoney a reckless extravaganza had xcome to characterize the administration <of public affairs and was all too prev Talent in private life. An enormous debt Shad been contracted, then standing at sabout $24000, 100000, of which more @than $7,000,000,000 was in short-time obligations without any provision for payment. Government bonds were far =below par. The high wartime taxes still burdened the people. '.
 Decentralization and liquidation
 remained to be completed. Huge
 accounts with the railroads were
 still unsettled. Transportation
 was crippled. Over $11 ,OOO, 100000
 of unliquidated debts were due to
 us from foreign countries. The
 whole people were suffering from
 a tremendous deflatfOn. Our
 banks were filled with frozen as- sets, and everywhere acute finan-
 cial distress existed. Interest was high. Capital was scarce. Ap-
 prOximateIy $5 ,OOO, ,OOO people were
 without employment. No adequate
 provision had been made for the
 relief of disabled veterans and their
 dependents. There was an ava
 Ianche of war-wOrn peoples and
 suddenly cheapened merchandise
 impending upon us from foreign
 lands. The great powers were
 still engaged in burdening their
 people by building competitive arm \ aments.
 This staggering array indicates some =of the major problems of this admins parhonC in .fipno period have there been more remark able and constructive accomplishments than since March, 1921. We have rati- fled separate treaties of worldwide importance with Germany, Austria, Hungary, Colombia, and Mexico. For ty-two other treaties have been ap- proved by the senate, and six treaties are now awaiting it's action. Friendly intercourse has been resumed with Tur- key and Greece, and we have estab- lished our rights and insured peace in the Far Beast and the Pacific ocean. Our foreign relations have been han dled with a technical skill and broad statesmanship which has seldom, if ever, been surpassed.
 Budget System.
 In the domain of finances a budget system was promptly enacted and put into operation, resulting in tremendous savings. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1921, our expenditures were $5, ,53S, 100000, and our surplus was $S6,000,000. For the year just closed our expenditures were $3,497,- AOO0, 900, and our surplus exceeded $500, 100000. This was a reduction in the annual cost of government of $2,- 041, 100000. The public debt now stands at about $21 ,250,000,O00, which is a reduction in three years of about S2, ,750,0 100000 and means an annual saving in interest of more than $120,- 100000 The $7,000,00O,000 of short time obligations have all been quietly refunded or paid. The internal-revenue taxes have been reduced twice, and many of them repealed, so that during the present fiscal year the tax receipts will show a saving to the people of ap- proximately $6,000,000 day compared with 1921. One government bond has sold well over 105.
 More than 40 per cent of the amount of debts due from foreign countries has been liquidated, and will provide funds for the retirement of about S13,000,- 000, GOO of the principal of our national debt in the course of 62 years These settlements are not only stupendous financial transactions, but demonstra- tions of the most profound nature of in- ternatiOnal good faith and the dominion over international relations of moral power. The finances of this nation have been managed with genius and a success unmatched since the days of Hamilton.
 The army and navy have been to
 low peace-time basis, and surplus