I do not advocate the elimination of regional considerations, but it has become apparent that without centralized executive action the management of this great business, like the management of any other great business, will flounder in incapacity and languish under a division of council.  A plain and unmistakable reassertion of this principle of unified control, which I have always been advised was the intention of the Congress to apply, is necessary to increase the efficiency of our merchant fleet.

COAL

The perennial conflict in the coal industry is still going on to the great detriment of the wage earners, the owners, and especially to the public.  With deposits of coal in this country capable of supplying its needs for hundreds of years, inability to manage and control this great resource for the benefit of all concerned is very close to a national economic failure.  It has been the subject of repeated investigation and reiterated recommendation.  Yet the industry seems never to have accepted modern methods of adjusting differences between employers and employees.  The industry could serve the public much better and become subject to a much more effective method of control if regional consolidations and more freedom in the formation of marketing associations, under the supervision of the Department of Commerce, were permitted.

At the present time the National Government has little or no authority to deal with this vital necessity of the life of the country.  It has permitted itself to remain so powerless that its only attitude must be humble supplication.  Authority should be lodged with the President and the Departments of Commerce and Labor, giving them power to deal with an emergency.  They should be able to appoint temporary boards with authority to call for witnesses and documents, conciliate differences, encourage arbitration, and in case of threatened scarcity exercise control over distribution.  Making the facts public under these circumstances through a statement from an authoritative source would be of great public benefit.  The report of the last coal commission should be brought forward, reconsidered, and acted upon.

PROHIBITION

Under the orderly processes of our fundamental institutions the Constitution was lately amended providing for national prohibition.  The Congress passed an act for its enforcement, and similar acts have been provided by most of the States.  It is the law of the land.  It is the duty of all who come under its, jurisdiction to observe the spirit of that law, and it is the duty of the Department of Justice and the Treasury Department to enforce it.  Action to prevent smuggling, illegal transportation in interstate commerce, abuse in the use of permits, and existence of sources of supply for illegal traffic is almost entirely imposed upon the Federal Government.