s why the republic of Rome went out of existence and the empire
of Rome came into existence was because of the returned soldiers. They
looked to their general to take care of them on their return, and
their general found that the way to take care of them was to give
them, as they said in those days, "bread and circuses," and so they
reached over into Egypt, got the great wheat supply of that country,
and provided the great circuses that are historical for the amusement
of those people.

The Emperor of Germany 10 years ago was asked why he was unwilling to
agree to a demobilization of his forces or to a reduction of his army
and he said because it would demoralize the industries of Germany.
They could not reabsorb so many men without reducing wages and
throwing upon the country so many unemployed that it would make
against the welfare of the land. We will have that problem to deal
with.

The firm, strong position taken by the President in his note published
yesterday indicates that he is ready to fight this thing out to a
finish and that he will show to those on the other side that America
has a determination to win, and that it is not a determination that
fades quickly. If the Emperor of Germany has ever had a good look at a
photograph of Woodrow Wilson, he has seen a prolongation of a chin
that must have confirmed him in the belief that America does not take
up a fight unless it puts it through; and we are to reach a military
determination by whipping them until they say they have had enough.

Now, when this thing is over, our men will begin to come back into the
United States. But not all at once. We won't have three or four
million men to deal with in a single month. We will have them slowly
returning to us through a year or a year and a half. As those men come
filtering in through our ports we ought to be able to meet every man
at every port with the statement that he does not have to lie idle one
single day. We ought to be able to say to the man, "Here is something
that you can do at once. If your old position is not vacant, if you
can not go home to the old place and take up the work that you were
in, then the Government of the United States, in its wisdom, has
provided something which you can do at wages upon which you can live
well."

And what should that be? The greatest problem that any country has, to
my mind, is its own self-support. We have come to be independent in
our resources, to be strong, and be