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Show WILSON RAKED FORE AND AFT BY IfiOfiTOf j Borah Criticises Indianap- olis Speech, Policy in Mexico and Demo cratic Legislation. WILLIAMS DEFENDS CHIEF EXECUTIVE Declares Occupant of the White House Will Be Renominated and Re-elected. ' WASHINGTON, Jan. 13. la a stir ring debate today tbe senate heard sharp Bepublican attacks upon President Presi-dent Wilson's recent Indianapolis speech, criticism of the administra- ' tion's policy toward Mexico and denunciation de-nunciation of Democratic legislation, followed by warm defense of the president pres-ident by Democratic leaders and a prediction pre-diction of his renominatiou and re- 1 election. I Political discussion was precipitated 1 over Senator Cummins 's resolution requesting re-questing information from the president as to what the government proposed to do with Mexican customs collected during the American occupation of Vera Cruz. The resolution did not get a i vote. :t In the course of the discussiou Sen ator John Sharp Williams of Mississippi Missis-sippi declared with emphasisthat President Pres-ident Wilson would be "renominated ' and re-elected; " Senator Borah of Idaho was referred to as a Republican presidential possibility and Senator Cummius of Iowa voiced the wish that President Wilson could be confined to "the exercise of his constitutional i . powers." ' Borah's Broadside. . Senator Borah delivered a general broadside against the administration which reached a climax in an attack on the chief executive's speech at Indianapolis In-dianapolis last week, with particular reference to the president's warning to ( "men who should dare to break the solidarity of the Democratic team for anv purpose or from any motive. M The Idaho senator denounced this statement, comparing it with "the sole and central principle upon which any corrupt political machine was ever organized or-ganized or put into existence." He declared de-clared it was like the utterances of "Tom Taggart of Indiana, to his followers, fol-lowers, Su per cent of whom pleaded guilty yesterday to the crime of political po-litical corruption," and "the orders issued by Murphy to his satellites in Tammany hall to" follow the dictate of the captain regardless of the dictates of j conscience or judgment." Resents Attack. ; "It is a remarkable speech," Senator Borah continued. "Its purpose and purport cannot be. mistaken or misunderstood. misunder-stood. It is a most virulent attack upon one of the great political parties ;; of this country by tbe chief magistrate of the nation, a party in whose tradi- j'.. tions millions of his "countrymen take great pride and in whose policies thev devoutly and patrioticallv believe. It not only challenges the wisdom of its : leaders, but it assails the intelligence and patriotism of the rank and file. All this is 'done at a time when our country coun-try has sore need of united wisdom and ; patriotism, when the Americans, regard- ,l ?art'' have shown patience and forbearance and have long tendered support in order that a situation most delicate because of foreign complications I might not be aggravated. The people peo-ple were not prepared for such a speech at such a time. Accepts Challenge. I , "Mr- P"?sident, we accept the challenge. chal-lenge. While opposing no legislation which we deem to be wise and for the public good, w e will hold ourselves perfectly per-fectly tree to oppose in all proper wavs fud. 'I-6 fafl extent of ur ability that which we deem to be unwise. Un-i Un-i derstandmg that our chief magistrate i prefers the leadership of a party to a chief magistracy of an entire people, we shall not need to be reminded oi that fact again." I Senator Borah appealed for an extra session of congress next spring in which to pass rural credits legislation, which he insisted was vastly more important im-portant than the ship purchase bill. The federal reserve act he characterized charac-terized as a "sort of antedcluvian mastodon, mas-todon, too dead for a menagerie and too much alive for the operating table designed de-signed for the treasury, but seemingly in its way to the Smithsonian institution." institu-tion." Referring to the outlook after 1916, the senator said that the cry of the campaign "would not be for new ideas, but for bread; not for more rhetoric, but for more soup." Of the administration 's proposal to acquire the Nicaraguan canal route, he said, "having built one canal and given it to England, we now waut to build another and give it to Germany. " When Senator Borah, arraigned the administration's Mexican policy, Senator Sen-ator Robinson asked what he would do with Mexico if charged with executive responsibility, or "when you get to be president " Senator Borah replied: "Jf I were president I would say to the Mexican people, 'Wo want you to settle your own internal affairs and we will never interfere for the purpose of acquiring territory.' Secondly, I would say to them, 'You will respect American lives and property or the United States will see to it that they are protected.' " View of Cummins. Senator Cummins in discussing the resolution as to projected disposition of Vera Cruz customs, denied the right of the president "to say to what government, govern-ment, to what bondholders or obligation obliga-tion holders money collected by the military forces of the United States should go." Senator Stone wanted the Cummins resolution referred to the foreign relations rela-tions committee and in the debate that followed Senator Cummins attacked the president's alleged efforts tq control legislation, declaring that "it would be a great service to the people of the country if the chief executive could be confined to the exercise of his constitutional consti-tutional powers. Senator Williams declared the president pres-ident would be re-elected because "the American people have found him not only able to take the place of men about whom they were quarreling, but good enough to stand in his own stead." . 1 |
