I am not familiar enough with the exact workings and practice of the Federal Reserve System so that comments that I might make relative to the amount of brokers' loans and so on would be of very much value.

I do know in a general way that the amount of securities in this country has increased very largely in recent years.

And those two things together would necessarily be a reason for doing more business of that kind that is transacted by brokers and would naturally result in a larger sum of money being used for that purpose.

I think I have had occasion before to comment on the fact that we never get the Army and Navy appropriation bills through without stories of that kind.

Congress is disposed to be very liberal in providing for national defense.

My budget estimates for the present year are creeping up towards $100,000,000 more for national defense for the War Department and the Navy Department than they were for the appropriations two or three years ago.

I think it is safe to say that both the Army and the Navy are in better shape than they ever were before in time of peace.

I think the country can rest fairly easy under the knowledge that the Bureau of Operations of the Navy and the General Staff of the Army are composed of very competent men.

I don't know of any special Christmas pardons that are likely to come along.

I am having sent to me quite a number of jackknives.

I don't recall that I ever made any suggestion that after I finished my term of office I was going to engage in the occupation of whittling.

I am issuing pardons all the time, so that so far as pardons are concerned every day is Christmas over here.