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Show it is, in our humble judgment, a very small measure, and of itself harmless. The querulous, carping 'T told you so" criticisms of Colonel Roosevelt and his kind react on those that utter them. It is his indulgence in such criticism that is responsible for Colonel Roosevelt's Roose-velt's amazing loss of prestige and influence within the last few j months. He has weakened himself much, but the president, the government, not al all. And for the most part Republican leaders, Republican news-papers, the rank and file of Republicans, are standing loyally by the government and doing their utmost to strengthen it for the winning of the war, as all sane and patriotic men must do. As for reasonable and constructive criticism it is to be welcomed. wel-comed. President Wilson himself has invited it. It would be a j national calamity, indeed, if the voice of such criticism could be hushed. Not once but several times in Britain and France alike by the necessary reforms it has forced has such criticism saved the day for the cause of the United States and its associates in the war. An intelligent public is not so easily fooled. The ordinary man can detect more easily than Senator Stone might think the difference between partisan clap-trap and fearless, well-considered criticism that has in iew a definite patriotic purpose. Neither the government nor the Democratic party is to be hurt by criticism that is malicious and without foundation. And neither will be hurt by honest and sensible criticism upon refusal to heed and profit by it. The flames of the nethermost hell are not hot enough for the man who attempts to play politics with this war. And that goes two ways ; it applies to Democratic politicians equally with Republican Repub-lican politicians. And there is no other way of playing politics with the war that is quite so despicable and quite so dangerous as to try to divide the country along the lines of party or race or creed ; to seek personal or factional or partisan advantage by imputing im-puting disloyalty to men individually or in mass, or to do it merely because their contemner doesn't like them. The World-Herald, as a newspaper both Democratic and independent, inde-pendent, is frank to say and proud to say that it can detect no essential difference between the two great parties so far as pa-j triotism is concerned. It regards the Republican party, Republi-1 can leaders and Republican newspapers as on the whole equally! loyal with the Democratic party, Democratic leaders and Demo-' cratic newspapers. There are individual differences, in kind and! in degree, but patriotism, we reverently thank God, bears no party j label. And the lack of fundamental patriotism is sometimes j noticeable in those that draw invidious comparisons and pharasiac-ally pharasiac-ally proclaim their own loyalty as the purest. We will never win this war as an angrily and hatefully divided divid-ed people. It is as a united peopleunited because tolerant, forbearing for-bearing and just with one another that we must win it. Speeches Speech-es like that of Senator Stone and others that doubtless will follow it speeches that tend to make good Americans lose sight of the face that our war is on Germany and not on one another, that tend to embitter and inflame us among ourselves such speeches had far better never be delivered. World-Herald. SENATOR STONE SHOULD NEVER HAVE SPOKEN. There are partisans and partisans. The spectacle of Senator William Joel Stone solemnly rebuking partisanship is one to make the traditional graven image laugh. And the country, just now, is no more in a mood for laughing lightly than is a man with a cracked lip. There is perhaps a measure of truth in what Senator Stone said recently about Republicans playing politics with the war. But |