The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-04
SPEEDY DISPOSAL
 OF .SHOAESPLANT
 IS PART OF PLEA.
Committee Should @ Be Named To Negotiate
 Lease, He Says
(By Associated Press. ]

T4
 (By Associated Press.) & WASHINGTON, Dec. 3.-The full text of President Coolidge's message to congress follows:
 The present state of the Union, upon which it is customary for the Presi- dent to report to the congress under the provisions of the Constitution, is . such that it may be regarded with encouragement and satisfaction by ev- cry American Our country is almost unique in its ability to discharge fully and promptly all fits obligations at home and abroad, and provide for all its inhabitants an increase in mate rial resources, in intellectual vigor and in moral power. The nation holds a position unsurpassed in all former hu- man experience. This does not mean that we do not have any problems. It is elmentary that the increasing breadth of our experience necessarily increases the problems of our national life. But it does mean that if wS will but apply ouselves industriously and honestly, we have ample powers with which to meet our problems and provide for their speedy solution. I do not profess that we can secure an era of perfection in human existence, but we can provide an era of peace and prosperity, at tended with freedom and justice and made more and more satisfying by the ministrations of the charities and hu- manities of life.
 Our domestic problems arc for
 the most part economic. We have
 our enormous debt to pay, and VIC
 arc paying it. We have the high
 cost of government to diminish, and
 we are diminishing it. We have
 . heavy burden of taxation to re. : duce, and we arc reducing 1t. But
 while remarkable progress has been made in. these directions, the work
 is yet far from accomplished. We
 still owe over $21, ,OOO, 900 900, the
 cost of the national government is
 still smout $S,500 ,OO0 900, and tho
 national taxes still amount to
 about $27 for each ono our inc
 habitants. There yet exists this
 enormous field for the application
 of economy.
 In my opinion the government can do more to remedy the economic ills or the people by system of rigid economy in public expenditure than can be ac- complished through any other action; The costs of our national and local governments combined now stand at sum close to $1O0 for each inhabltant of the land. A little less than one third of this is represented by na- tional expenditure, and a little more than two-thirds by local expenditure. It is an ominous fact that only the ma tional government is> reducing its debt. Others are increasing theirs at about $1,000 100000 each year. The depres- sion that overlook business. the disaster experienced in agriculture, the lack of employment and the terrific shrink age in all values which our country experienced in a most acute form in 1920, resulted in no small measure from the prohibitive taxes which were then levied on all productive effort. The establishment of a system of drastic economy in public expenditure, which has enabled us to pay off about one fifth of the national debt since 1919, and almost cut in two the national tax burden since 1921, has been one of the main causes in reestablishing a pros- perity which has come to include within its benefits almost every one of our inhabitants. Economy reaches every where, It carries blessing to every body.
 Exposes Fallaty
 The fallacy of the claim that the costs of government are borne by the rich and those who make direct con- tribution to the national treasury can not be too often exposed. No system has been devised. do not think any system could be devised, under which any person living in this country could escape being affected by the cost of our government It has a direct effect both upon the rate and the purchasing power of wages. It is felt in the price of those prime necessities of ex- istence, food, clothing, fuel and shell ter. It would appear to be elementary that the more the government expends the more it must require every producer to contribute out of his production to the public treasury, and the less he will have for his own benefit. The continuing costs or public admlnlstra- tion can be met in only one way by the work of the people. The higher they become, the more the people must work for the government. The less they are, the more the people can work for themselves. -...- ...
 The present estimated margin be.
 tween public receipts and expendi-
 lures for this fiscal year is very
 small. Perhaps the most important
 work that this session of the con-
 gress can do is to continue policy
 of economy and further reduce the
 cost of government, in order that
 we may have reduction of taxes
 for the next fiscal year. Nothing
 is more likely to produce that pub
 lie confidence which is the fore
 runner and the mainstay of pros.
 perity. encourage and enlarge busi-
 ness opportunity with ample oppOr-
 tunity for employment at good
 wages, provide larger market for
 agricultural products, and put our
 country in a stronger position to
 he able to meet the world cOmpeti'
 tion in trade, than 8 continuing
 noIicy of economy. Of course. nec- '. essary costs must be met, proper
 functions of the government per
 formed, and constant investments
 for canital account and reproduce
 tive effort must be carried on Dy
 our various departments. But the
 people must know that their gov
 ernment is placing upon them no
 unnecessary burden.
 Taxes
 Everyone desire reduction of taxes, and there is great predonderance of sentiment in favor of taxation reform. When I approved the present law, l stated publicly that I did so in spite of certain provisions which I believed