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Show 1 THE CITIZEN ,n I f es vri i S Cox, if elected president, will not be a lawbreaker, even for the sake of the liquor interests which have always been his backers. drltwo consecutive moments, men so gullible that they will believe Lnything the lips of hate may utter against organized society. iT;'Can Parley Christensen claim any of these immunities? Is he ocfyftijout intellect or education or is he weakly gullible? If he has 'ihejmind and the education commonly ascribed to him, if he be as jhrewd as he always has claimed to be, he can enter no plea in jxtenuation. He must accept the full guilt of the charge that he JSUSWji one of the first defenders of the I. W. W. in this country and Viinust bask in the sinister light shed upon 'him by the convention er t ilespoilers and destroyers. .r And yet he is not alone among thinking men in his evil eminence, s tlnitjjghbrow reformers were willing to consort with the criminals of "surttie! I. W. W. at Chicago for the sake of gaining a little more vogue TgW! their pet theories. That they might advance the interests of the l:inSle tax or some other innovation rejected by both of the old parties on?:hese reformers were willing to coddle the craven crew who, when ng he. war was raging, put phosphorus bombs in the fields of ripened ererrain, who threw emory dust on the wheels that were turning out juns to defend the lives of American boys on the fields of France, 30, )vho loafed and rioted, robbed and destroyed from one end of the rt mojj 0 the other so that they might tear down the fairest republic kec n all history and set up their empire of theft and lust and blood. After a consultation with the presidential candidate, Mr. Roosevelt, the vice presidential candidate, announces that the league issue is, in his opinion, of the highest importance and that he will make it the chief issue in his campaign speeches, but there is not a word to indicate just what weight Mr. Cox will give to the issue. PerMr. Cox will look toward haps his idea is to let George do it. the dawn and not the sunset he will talk of taxes and budgets and perhaps of cabbages and kings, while young Mr. Roosevelt tells what he is going to do about this League of Nations thing when he duties as vice president. takes up his No doubt Mr. Cox thought well of himself when he described Senator Hardings front porch as a listening post, but are we not warranted in calling Mr. Coxs headquarters a prompters box where each player in the clever drama receives his cue. And in the prompters box appears that Prince Hamlet of politicians, giving advise to his players : Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounce it to you, trippingly on the tongue : but if you mouth it, as many of your players do, I had as lief the town-crispoke my lines. Nor do not saw the air too much with your hand, thus, but use all gently; for in the very torrent, tempest, and, as I may say, the whirlwind of passion, you must uch c; 1f acquire and beget a temperance that may give it smoothness. resid We may be sure that we are to enjoy a clever campaign. The j sted t Entertainment is already afforded the audience of 100,000,000 Democrats have begun to play politics with the finesse to which )ffenSpeySons who are watching intently the opening of the great national Mr. Cox has been accustomed in the wily political game as it is drama staged for them every four years. Governor Cox, by right played in Ohio. Now that he treads a larger stage in ennobling sock in tlp jhg Democratic nomination, occupies, for the moment, the center and buskin he will not ruin his chances by any swashbuckling, barnn of the stage and is making the introductory speeches necessary to storming methods.. He will cautiously adjust himself to the drama corrreveal himself as of heroic mould. Glamis thou art and Cawdor, and even to the scenic atmosphere. He will play his part so that our W), and shalt be king hereafter. his backers will be proud of him. One begins to see just the character the Democratic candidate world-compelli- ng !g 111 er -- .1 : rs, i ttwill assume that SENATOR SMOOTS FORESIGHT of a wonderfully clever politician whose wit and mojudgment have been sharpened by many campaigns, all of which n0 rhe?saw and part of which he was. And like the proficient politician M C(r ',i to shed his past and to put on the new man. n p hejbegins by trying . He must wash away the dust and grime of other campaigns and A nfrappear in shining armor for the decisive battle, polit. i js tiia little matter of the Lusitania editorial to be i jjiere brushed aside. Not much reaches us by wire on the subject, but we glean enough to know that one of the Cox newspapers justified the German atrocity. All of us will remember that a man was judged in .1915 by his opinion of the Lusitania sinking. If he justified it some-uthing was the matter, not only with his Americanism, but his human-a- S k'ity. Mayhap, we have broader vision now and do not think that the imc slaying of 114 American men, women and children, passengers on a du1' peace ful liner, a crime against the nation and against humanity. But iiatw. evidently the Democratic candidate is not confident that there has miiU'been a radical change of opinion and he attempts to shift the blame by jie cjjtorial on the subject was written by one of his hlstating employes. This plea in confession and avoidance ought not to Had not his papers leaned to the side of sympathy with Ger-a- n fhnan submarine warfare the editorial would not have been written, to (No doubt, the editorial was in line with the policy of the paper and goverfor that policy Mr. Cox was responsible. om But whether the question is to figure seriously in the campaign ampi'ori not the redoubtable protagonist of the Democratic cause must er of needs take notice of it at this time and get it behind him as grace-iini- u fully and firmly as possible. ; j Nor must he allow the audience to get the idea that he is as wet as some of his critics say. He must preserve a golden mean. He , W . would not have the country imagine that he is accustomed to the es; arole of barkeep for the liquor interests. Therefore, he has one of la his letters published to show that as president he will enforce the ; dt mis-famole- ad. S nc-ir.- : 1 That is not so commonplace a statement as may appear, for nt tfc there are presidents who not only ignore the laws but the const. traif tiition also. Everybody, therefore, will be glad to hear that Mr. I tayvs. e:-:c- ( - . t U that the League of Nations plank in the Republican platform more nearly represents the views of Senator Smoot. than of any other senator who took part in framing the party declaration of principles. As Senator Smoot remarked soon after the compromise had been agreed upon, It does not repudiate the League of Nations nor does it pledge the party to any specific action for the future. It leaves the party untrammeled to meet new conditions It is probable while binding it to save the country from those perils which Senator Smoot discerned in the covenant as soon as it was presented to the senate by President Wilson. It is to be presumed that the most zealous advocates of the league will concede today that Senator Smoot acted wisely and bravely at a time when the people of Utah were swept off their feet by generous but mistaken impulses. They believed with an abiding faith that their president had brought home a covenant which insured permanent peace throughout the world and they displayed a commendable enthusiasm for a noble cause. It was many months before they realized that Senator Smoot had seen through the shams of the covenant with unerring vision. Meantime he was subjected to a veritable whirlwind of embittered criticism from men who have since recanted and come over to his side. It required high patriotism for the Republican senators to brave the storms of misunderstanding and denunciation. It was inevitable that the Democrats should raise the cry of partisanship and thus ' obscure the issue. None had bigger odds to face that did Senator Smoot and none met them with more unflinching courage and determination. Those evil days have vanished and a saner view prevails everywhere. We may be sure that in the long run the American people will decide the question wisely and justly and with their unfailing idealism. |