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VOL. XXXIX MANNING, S. C., WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 1919. Early Re First Presidential Ever Sent by ( Washington, May : 20.-President Wilson, in his message to Congress today, recommended repeal of the war-time prohibition law--so far as it applies to wine and beer only, an nounced definitely that the railroad systems and telegraph and telephone lines would be returned to private ownership; urged a revision of war taxes, particularlyito abolish the man ufacturers' and retail sales exercises; and outlined generally a program re specting labor. President's Message. The President's message in full follows: "Gentlemen of the Congress: I deeply regret my inability to be pres ent at the opening of the extraordi nary session of the Congress. It still I seems to be my duty to take part in the counsels of the peace conference I and contribute what I can to the solu tion of the innumerable questions to 1 whose settlement it has had to ad dress itself. For they are questions which affect the peace of the whole world, and from them, therefore, the United States cannot stand apart. I 1 deemed it my duty to call the Con- i gress together at this time because it1 was not wise to postpone longer the 1 provisions which must be made for the o support of the government. Many of the appropriations which are abso lutely necessary for the maintenance of the government and the fulfillment . of its varied bbligations for the fis cal year of 1919-1920 have not yet been made; the end or the persent: i fiscal year is at hand; ind action upon) these appropriations can no longer be prudently delayed. It is necessary, therefore, that I should immediately c call your attention to this critical need. It is hardly necessary for me. to urge that it may receive your prompt attention. Full Explanation Later. "I shall take the liberty of address ing you on my return on the subjects which have most engrossed our at tention and the attention of the world during these last anxious months since the armistice of last November was f signed, the international settlements which must form the subject matter 1 of the present treaties of peace and i of our national action in the immedi- I ate future. It would be premature to discuss them or to express a judg ment about .them before they are brought to their complete formulation by the agreements which are now be ing sought at the table of the confer- i ence. I shall hope to lay them before you in their many aspects so soon as 1 arranged. Silent on D~omestic Legislation. "I hesitate to venture any opinion or press any recommendlation with re gard, to domestic legislation while ab-i sent from the United States and out of daily touch with intimate sources, of information and counsel. I am conscious that I need, after so long an absence from Washington, to seek the advice of those wvho have moved t in constant contact wvith domestic problems and who have known themt close at hand from day to (lay; and I trust that it will very soon be posi I ble for me to do so. But there are I .several questions pressing for consid-r cration to wvhich I feel that I may, and l indeedl must, even now (direct your at-t tention, if only in general terms. In speaking of them ! shall, dare say, be I little more .than speaking your own thoughts. I hope that I shall speak your own judgment also. Questions of Labor. "The question which stands at the front of all others in every country y amidst the present great awakening r is the question of labor; and perhaps I can speak of it with as great advan- e tage while engrossed in the considera- j tion of interests which natuially most affect my thoughts, because they y are the interests of our own people. "By the question of labor I do not i mean the question of efficient indus- e trial prodIuction, the question of how .r .labor is to be obtained and made I effective in the great process of sus- e taining populations and winning sue- e ceas amidst commercial an.d indus- t trial rivalries. I mean that much ,. turn of M Prohibiti Message :able to Congress Treater and more vital question, hoy are the men and women who do th laily labor of the world to obtai1 progressive improvement in the con litions of their labor, to be made hap pier, and to be served better by th communities and the industries whit their labor sustains and advances Flow are they to be given their righ advantages as citizens and humai beings ? Industrial Peace. "We cannot go any further in ou present direction. We have alread gone too far. We cannot live ou Light'life as a nation or achieve ou proper success as an industrial' con nunity if capital and labor are t( :ord inue to be antagonistic instead o eing partners; if they are to continu to distrust one another and cortriv how they can get the better of on mother. Or, what perhaps amount .o the same thing, calculate by wha orm and degree of coercion they cm Manage to extort on the one han< vork enough to make enterprise pro stable, on the other justice and fai ;reatment enough to make life toler ible. The bad road has turned out : lind alley. It is no thoroughfar o real prosperity. We must fin mother, leading in another directio: ind to a very different destinatior [t must lead not merely to accom nodation and partnership based upo ( real community of interest and par icipation in control. There is now in fact a real con nunity of interest between capita mnd labor, but it has never been mad wvident in action. It can be mad >perative and manifest only in a nev >rganization of industry. The geniu >f our brriness men and the soun( aractical sense of our workers car -ertainly work such a partnershil ut when once the; realize just ex tctly what it is that they seek ant sincerely adopt a common purpos vith regard to it. Chiefly With the States. Labor legislation lies, of course thiefly with the states; but the nev spirit and method of organizatio vhich must be effected are not to b >rought about by legislation so muel is by the common counsel and volun ary cooperation of capitalist o nanager and workmen. Legislatio an go only a very little way in con nanding what shall be done. Th >rganization of industry is a matte )f corporate and individual intiat ve and of practical business ar -angement. Those who really desir ( new relationship between capita md labor can readily find a way t >ring it about; andl perhaps federa egislation can help mnore than stat egislation could. Industrial Diemocracy. The object of all reformrs in this es; ential matter must be the genuin lemocratization of industry, base< ipon a full recognition of the righ f those wvho work, in whatever rank 0 participate in some organic way i> very dlecision which directly affect:~ heir welfare or the part they are t< >day in industry. Some positive legis ation is practicable. The Congres: mas already shown the w.ay to on< 'eform, which should( be vierid- wide y establishing the eight-hour damy a he standard (lay in every field of la or over which it ecan exercise control t has sought to nind the way t<> pre 'era. child labor and will, I hope am elieve, presently find it. It has ser~v dI the whole country by' leading the vay in dleveloIping the moean of pre erying andl safeguhardling life an< enlth in dangerous ind.ustries. It <.ar ow help in the diflicult task of givinj new form aLnd spirit to inidustria rganization by co'nciliation and ad. ustment which have been brouagh1 nto existence by the difficulties anm nistaken policies of the present man gement of industry, and by setting tp and developing new federal agen. ies of advice and information whict ray serve as a clearing house for the est experiments andI the best thought n this great matter, upon whiet very thinking man must be awart hat the future development of so iety directly ltopendde Ajuenmci ol fires and cn Law U international council and suggestion are presently to b2 created in connec tion with the league of nations in'this very field, but it is national action and the enlightened policy of individ uals, corporations and societies with in each nation that must bring about actual reforms. The members of the committees on labor in the two houses - will hardly need suggestions from me - as to what means they shall seek to make the federal government the t agert of the whole nation in pointing out andl, if need be, guiding the pro t vess of reorganization and reform. Returning Soldiers. "I am sure that it is not necessary for me to remind you that there is r one immediate and very practical question of labor that we should meet in the most liberal spirit. We r must see to it that our returning sol - diers are assisted in (very practica ble way to find the places for which r they are fitted in the daily work of the country. This can be done by devna. aing and maintaining upon an ad,- ate scale the admirable organi nation created by the Department of Labor for placing men seeking work, and it can also be done, in at least one I very great field, by creating new op - portunities for individual enterprise. r The Secretary of the Interior has pointed out the way by which re turning soldiers may be helped to find and tae upk land in the hitherto un i developed regions of the country, a which the federal government. has al ready prepared, or can readily pre - pare, for cultivation, and also on i many of the cut-over or neglected areas which lie within the limits of the older States, and I once more take - the liberty of recommending very 11 urgently that his plans shall receive the immediate and substantial sup port of the Congress. Stimulating (ondilions. a "Peculiar and very stimulating con I ditions await our commerce and in d dustrial enterprise in the immediate ' future. Unusual opportunities will - presently present themselves to our merchaasts and producers in foreign R markets and large fields for profitable investment will be opened to our free capital. But it is not only of that that I am thinking; it is not chiefly of that that I am thinking. Many i great industries prostrated by the war wait to be rehabilitated, in many parts 1 of the world where what will be lack - ing' is not brains or willing hands or r organizing capacity or experienced 1 skill, but machinery and raw mate - rials and capital. I believe that our business men, our merchants, our r manufacturers and our capitalists will have the vision to see that prosperity in one part of the world ministers to prosperity everywhere. That there is i in a very true sense a solidarity of interest throughout the world of en Ij terprire, and that our (dealings wvith !the countries that have needl of our products andl our money wvill teach them to deem us more thaun ever friends whose necessities we seek in the right way to serve'. H~elpful Rtivals. SIOur new merchant ships, which have in sonme quarter-s been feared as dlestructive rivals, may prove helpful rivals raither, and common servants, very m~uch neededl andl very welcome. Our great ship yard!s, new and old, will be so openedi to the use of the world that they will pr-ove immensely ,serviceable to every maritime people in restpring; much more rapidlly than wvould otherwise have been possible, the tonnage wantonly dlestroyedl in the war. I have only to suggest that Itheer are many points at which we can facilitate A merican ente-rprise in foreign trade by opportune legislation and make it easy for A me-rican mer chants to go where they will be wvel comned as friends rather 'than as dlreaded antagonists. A merica has a great and honorable service to per form in bringing the commercial and indlustrial undertakings of the world back to thefr old scope and swing again and putting a solid structure of credlit under them. .4!l our legisla tion should be friendly to such plans andl purpose. Our credit and enter prise alike will be quickened by time ly andl helpful legislation with regard to taxation. I hope that the Congress wIll find It possible to ulndertake an early reconsideration of federal taxes In order to rnake omr sysem oxnu.- 1 Railroads rged in P tion more simple andl easy of admin s-i tration and the taxes themselves as I little burdensome as they can be ma le and yet suflicient to support the t<, .- t ernment and meet all its obligatiotrs. The figures to which those obligaticns < have arisen are very great indeed, bit i they are not so great as to make it i difficult for the nation to meet the:.i, t and meet them perhaps in a single t generation by taxes which will neither crush nor discourage. These are nat so great as they seem, not so great :.s the immense sums we have had to 1 borrow, added to the immense sums i we have had to raise by taxation, would seem to indicate; for a very large proportion of those sums were raised in order that they might be loaned to the government with which we were associated in the war, and those loans will, of course, constitute assets, not liabilities, and will not have to be taken care of by our taxpayers. Matter of Taxation. The main thing we shall have to care for is that our taxation shall rest as lightly as possible on the pro- I ductive resources of the country, that < its rates shall be stable, and that it < shall be constant in its revenue yield-, ing power. We have found the ma in I sources from which it must be dra:n. 1 I take it far granted that its main- I stays- will henceforth be the income tax, the excess profits tax, and the l estate tax. All these can so be ad justed to yield costant and adequate i returns and yet not constitute a too grievous burden on the taxpayer. A revision of the income tax has already been provided for by the act of 1918, but. I think you will find that further changes can be made to advantage both in the rates of the tax and in the method of its collection. The ex cess profits tax need not long be 1 maintained at the rates which were i necessary while the enormous ex- I penses of the war had to be borne; < but it should be made the basis of a permanent system which will reach undue profits without discouraging the enterprise and activity of our business men. The tax on inherit- 4 ances ought, no doubt, to be recon sidered in its relation to the fiscal system of the several States, but it certainly ought to remain a perman ent part of the fiscal system of the federal government also. Hardly Justifiable. Many of the minor taxes provided for in the revenue legislation of 1917 t and 1918, though no doubt made ne- i cessary by the pressing necessities of the war-time, can hardly find suf ficient justification under the easier circumstances of peace, and can now 1 happily be got rid of. Among these 1 I hope you will agree, are the exer- 1 rises upon various manufacturers and t the taxes upon retail sales. They are I unequal in the incidence on different s indlustries and on different individ- I uals. Thbeir collection is d iflicult and expensive. Those wvhich are levied upon articles sold at retail at-e large- I ly evaded by the readjustment of re-i tail pr-ices. On the other- hand, I should assume that it is expedient to ' maintain a considerable range of in- 1 (irect taxes; and the fact that al-c coholic liquors will presently no longer- affor-d a source of recvenue byt taxation mnakes it the mor-e necessary It that the field should be carefully re studlied in order that equivalentr sources of revenue may be foundq which it will be legitimate, and ntot burdensome, to dlraw~ upon. But you have at hand in the Treasury D~epa rt ment many expets who c-an advise you utpon the matter's much better than I ('an. I can only suggest the li;nes of at permtanenrt and wvorkable system, andl the placing of the taxes where they w"ill least hamper the life of the people. Import Dutties. I" "Thete is, unfortunately, no occa. Ip sion for utndertaking in the immedli- 1( ate future any general revbsion of our it system of import dluties. No serious is danger of foreign competition now TI threatens American industries. Our dI country has emerged from the war l lees disturbed andl less weakened than l any of the European countr-ies wvhich t} are our competitors in manufacture, at Their industrial establishments have ha been subjected to greater sttain than n ours, their labor forces to a more it serious disory.anization, and this is r< elearlv not t~hc tirne to sek an or and resident's zedl advantage. TIhe work of merec econstruction will, I am afraid, tax c he capacity and the resources of a heir people for years to come. So far f rom tehre being any langer or need f accentuated foreign competition, it s likely that the conditions of the lext few years will greatly facilitate he marketing of American manufac ures abroad. Least of all should we lepart from the policy adopted in the l'iff Act of 191:3, of permitting the -ree entry into the United States of ,he raw materials needed to supple rent and enrich our own abundant mapplies. "Nevertheless, there are parts of mur tariff system which need prompt e ittention. The experience of the war t lave made it plain that in some cases a 00 great reliance on foreign supply I s dangerous, and that in determining t -ertain parts of our tariff policy do 1, unestic considlerat ions must be borne n mind which the political as well c is economic. Among the industries to it vhich special consideration should be riven is that of the manufactured or lyestuffs and related chemicals. Our omplete dependance upon German a upplies before the war made the in- g ereuption of trade a cause of excep- 1 ional economic disturbance. The close c elation between the manufacturer of c lyestuffs, on the one hand, and of ex hlmves and poisonous gas on the r >ther, moreover,, has given the indus- i ry an exceptional significance and ralue. Although the United States will t dladly unhesitatingly join in the pro- f tram of international disarmament, it t wvill, nevertheless, be a policy of ob-. nious prudence to make certain of the successful maintenance of many strong and well equipped chemical )lants. The erman chemical indus :ry, with which we will be brought nto competition, was, and may well t >e again, a thoroughly knit monopoly,; 'apable of exercising a competition of peculiarly insidious and dangerous id. Means of Protection. t "The United States should, more- t >ver, have the means of properly pro- 0 ecting itself whenefer our trade is i liscriminated against by foreign na- K ions, in order that we may be as ured of that equality of treatment ,hich we hope to accord and to pro- f note the world over. Our tariff laws t is they now stand provide no weapon >f retaliation in case other govern nents should enact legislation unequal a its bent ing on our products of other t -ountries. Though we are as far as lossible from desiring to enter upo'i nly course of retaliation, we must. rankly face the fact that hostile egislation by other nations is not yet wpond the range of possibility and hat it may have to be met by counter e egislation. This subject has, fortun- t tely, been exhaustively investigated . y the United States Tariff Comimis ion. A trecent reportt of that cotmmtis ion hits shownt very clearly that we Ia nck, and that we ought to have, the r nst ruments necessary for the assutr nee of equal and e'quit able treatment. he ittention of the Congress has een call( d to th is matter- ('n pasta ecasions, and the past measuresv vhich at-c nowv re'commendecd by thet ifit commission arec substantially he same that have been suggested by revious admnist art ins. I recomn 1end that this phase of the tar-itfr utest ion receive theeayatnin f the Congress. etl''LLtjl Womian Suffrage. "Will you not permit me, turning rom these matters, to speak ce I totre iind very ear-nestly of the pro (osed( amendment to the Constitution 'Itich would extend the suiftrage to 5 omen and which passedl the Ilouse f Reprresentatives at the last sessioni fthe Ciong-ess ? It seems to mec that v very consideration of jtstice and of oblic advantage calls for the imme.- a inte adoption of that amendment and s submission forthwith to the Leg- e, latures of the ' several States. r hroughout all the world this long- " elayedl extension of the suffrage is I oked for; in the Unitedl States, o *nger, I believe, than anywhere else, ie necessity for it, and thte immense n ivantage of it to the -national lifea as been urged and dlebatedl by wo - en and men who saw the needl of o and urged the policy of it when it tI ~quired steadfastt courage to be so uch beforehand with the common9 iined Message onvictions; and 1, for one, covet for ur country the destinction of being mong the first to act in a great re orm. Return of Wires. "The telegraph and telephone lines ill, of course, be returned to their wners so soon as the retransfer can e effected without administrative onfusion, so soon, that is, as the hange can be made with least possi le inconvenience to the public and to he owners themselves. The railroads rill be handed over to their owners at he end of the calendar year; if I were 1 immediate contact with the admin strative questions which must gov rn the transfer of the telegraph and elephone lines, I could name the ex ct date for their return also. Until am in direct contact with the prac ical questions involved I can only uggest that in the case of the tele -raphs and telephones, as in the case f the railways, it is clearly desirable i the public interest that some legis itioih should be considered which may end to make of these indispensable astrumentalities of our modern llfe uniform and coordinated system rhich will afford those who use them s complete and certain means of ommunication with all parts of the Duntry, as has so long been afforded y the postal system of the govern tent, and at rates as uniform and in elligible. Expert advices is, of course vailable in this very practical mat er, and the pubilc interest is mani est. Neither the telegraph nor the elephone service of the country can e said to be in any sense a national ystem. There are many confusions nd inconsistencies of rates. Th. - ntific means by which communic.,;:,;r y such, instrumentalities could be endered more thorough and satisfac ory has not been made full use of. in exhaustive study of the whole uestion of electrical communication nd of the means by which the central uthority of the nation can be used ounify and improve it, if under aken, by the appropriate committees f the Congress would certainly result, adirectly, even if not directly, in a reat public benefit. Wines and Beers. "The demobilization of the military orces of the country has progressed o such a point that it seems to me ntirely safe now to remove the h:t pon the manufacture and sale of vines and beers, but I am advised hat without further legislation I have ot the legal authority to remove the resent restrictions. I therefore rec mmend that the act approved No ember 21, 1918, entitled, An act to nable the Secretary of Agriculture o carry out, (luring the fiscal year nding June 30, 1919, the purpose of he act entitled "An act to provide urther for the' national security and efense by stimulating agriculture nd fatcilitating the dlistribution of gricultural products," and for other urposes, amendled or repealedl in so ar as it applies to wines nnd beers. "I sincerely trust that I shall very non be at my post in Washington gain to report upon the matters 'hich made my presence at the peace able apparently impe'rative, and to ut myself at the service of the Con ress in ev'ery matter of adlministra ion or counsel that may Feem to d~e inndl executive act ion or aidvice. "Woodrow Wilson. "20 Mlay, 1919." The~ eI Lea',a- hem its l weting. for the 'sununer, on Mionda v fit rmon 'vt~h 17 memnoers pro:, 'tt. in is the e'ldtom ot 'hi l'.m. Im. lay mneelni is :he 'at ''til h (ptembler I <<t .ng lItt w~it h the - wer nmonths, ,ur ever rot 14 presi.M ppoint ed eomm~it tees to do specia; -rk so the league is. not idh fm t iese three months, but is silentlyv ndl earnestly working for the betterc tent and beauty of our town. The chairman of the enterta:tinmet. >mmittece being abset. th p ;resident 'ported a profit of 03t.35 from the 1tertainment jri'.en by thie WotTord lee Club under the auspices cof the ague. Mrs. ,Jno. 11cerriot, chairman the Charity comm ittee reported 'veral charity eases being helped andl uch workc ahead of this cormmittee a present. The president renorte-1 wvine had $25.00 sen-t to thei JTewich elief Fund. A fter reports from the *her various conmmittltes, and from ec delegate sent to the Federation Women's Clubs, held in Rock Trill, eo meeting adjourned until Septem