Daily Kennebec journal., 1925-03-13

ueSIe anu Il more competing demand
TO revisit the scenes of my boyhood
and early manhood.
How surprisingly wonderful Is this
love for ones homeland that calls to
one over rivers and mountains, over
continents and oceans. and calls with
an insistance that will not be denied!
And no matter how rich or how poor,
no matter how proud or how humble
the wanderer from his native land
may be. he turns with affectionate
retrospection to that far-off spot that
he calls Home. He may have come
from a country that was not kind to
him. he may have come from land
that brought him little in the way of
opportunity and creature comforts.
but back there is the home of his
boyhood, the scenes Of his earliest
endeavors and earliest successes and
failures; back there, perhaps. are
father and mother and sister and
brother. and the friends of his youth,
and no matter what its condition, it
is his native land. And If those
aliens from such inhospitable shores,
those wanderers from lands of trou-
bic and deprivation. hold In continu-
ing affectionate remembrance the
place of their birth, what can meas
ure the wealth of devotion which we
owe to this great country Of ours
with its manifold blessings? And
what can measure the depth of devo-
tion and love which we owe to this,
our own dear State, with it's sur
passing beauty. with it's creditable
past and promising future? Maine
has had many eulogistS but has never
needed an apologist. She no longer
stands alone in the proud isolation
r 1,n h; ;I,s lpx lat,
the way for the Nation. am proud
of Maine, in her springtime, when
the ducks fly north. when the mud
lies deep, when the tang of the preg-
nant earth is in the air and the TRAIL
ing arbutus hides its modest. frag-
rant beauty beneath the melting
snowbank. I am proud OF Maine,
when her cool summer breezes tempt
| the city dweller from the heated
pavements into the glorious outdoor
of the most wonderful State Of the
most wonderful country the world
possesses. l am proud of Maine in
her autumn days. when the landscape
is glorious and gorgeous in natures
most vivid colors, painted in patterns
that would defy the genius of a
Raphael. I am proud OF Maine. in
her winter. when rivulet. brook, river
anu ldh0 are DOuilu al AttlcIb VI ACcs
when the rugged coast trembles be-
| meath the onslaught Of the mighty
ocean and when hamlet and village
and town and city lie buried beneath
the pure mantle Of the drifting
snow and her bleak winter plays
it's important part in the re-
| production of the most sturdy.
dependable hardy citizenry. the pro-
| duct of the State that today Is the
most American Of all the states of
the Union. May She live forever!
May She ever be prosperous! May
| She ever continue law abiding and
God fearing! May She maintain
| that high standard of Americanism
| that has characterized Her entire
! history! God bless the Common
wealth OF Maine! prolonged ap-
plause)
Now Mr.. President and Your Ex-
| cellency, that l have re-stated my
| faith in, my devotion to. and my al :
lection for the state of my birth,
will proceed with the discussion OF
my subject. "The Nations Business,
which has to do not only with the
| State of Maine, but with all the other
great states of the Union. and which
! has to do with the business admin
istration of a New England Presi-
! dent. product of the same conditions
! of hardy living and rugged climate
| that have contributed to the Maine
product Of rugged manhood and
womanhood. (Applauseo
With your permission, Mr.. Presi..
dent. will resolve this meeting OIL
the Maine Legislature into meet
ing Of the shareholders and stock
holders Of the greatest business or
ganizat ton in the world. that great
orga nization that does business under
| the firm name of the United states
of America. You all have an inter-
est in some property, some industry,
some business, but there is no inter-
est of yours which is so important as
your interest and your share In this
great Republic.
propose to discuss with you TO-
day what has been accomplished 0n-
der the National Budget system, anu
I expect to hold your interest pc
cause what the President OF .ne
United States is able to accomplish
in the way Of retrenchment through
tho Bureau of the Budget, will de-
termine in large measure what your
Federal taxes will be in the years
! immediately facing us, will deter
mine whether q Nation relieved from
q great burden of taxation Will enter
,1non q new and widening area OF
happiness and prosperity or whetner
| a ioyal and deserving people. facing
continuing extraordinary demands
,,pon their substance and the products
of their toll demands that cripple
initiative and endanger prosperity
shall be forced to toll and nope
q gainst hope for a prosperity ana re-
lief long deferred.
We went into the World War with
a gross debt Of one and one-quarter
billions Of dollars and we came OUT
of the World War on November IL,
1919. with a debt of nineteen ana
one half billions Of dollars. which,
on August 31st. 1919-in less than a
year--had increased to twenty-slx
and one-half billions. We came out
of the World War with a swollen
expense account and a habit OF
thinking and spending in billions.
and unfortunately this extravagant
habit of thinking and spending was
N~t confined to the Federal govern
ment but characterized the opera,
| tions Of states and counties ana
n,unicipalities and towns: yes. and
characterized the operations of busi-
nesses and homes and individuals.
It was necessary in the interest OF
the welfare of this great country
thar there be an example of retrench-
! ment, and I propose to show you
that the Federal Government has set
| that example. We faced after tue
war {. season of unrest. Many ur-
gent problems clamored Tor solution
and one of the chief Of these was the
rising cost of Government. On the
one rand we had acquired a greatly
expanded public service. On the
other. we faced the necessity for i'm