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Show IS THERE A CONSPIRACY IN WASHINGTON? Coming from a Republican paper which is looked upon as strongly partisan, par-tisan, the following from this morning's morn-ing's Salt Lake Tribune is extraordinary extraordi-nary : "Defeated in the election, the Interests Inter-ests back of Colonel Roosevelt are trying try-ing to make him a war dictator without with-out going through the formality of obtaining ob-taining the votes of tho people. The superior war cabinet Is nothing more nor less than a device to take away the constitutional powers of the president presi-dent and give them to three men who shall be dominated or intimidated, directly di-rectly or Indirectly, by the Roosevelt llque. "Every day makes it clearer that the National Security league, or perhaps ve should say those "who are the con-rolling con-rolling factors In it, have conspired vlth certain senators and others to re-'uce re-'uce the commander-in-chief of the rmy and navy, elected by the people, 3 the position of a clerk. "Before the war cabinet bill was in-roduced in-roduced Colonel Roosevelt .knew all about It, but the president did not. The Roosevelt clique had formulated a scheme by which they hoped to set aside the will of the people expressed at the national election and give the Roosevelt dynasty presidential powers for the conduct of the war. It is their plan and hope to let "Me and my four sons" take the center of the war stage in the full glare of the spotlight and thrust the commander-in-chief back tage or off stage. "Lot no one delude himself that the plot was not mapped out with tho utmost ut-most care several weeks ago. Some day we shall hear of a Potsdam conference con-ference at which all the dotalls were discussed and all the pledges made. "We have no desire to defend inefficiency inef-ficiency in the war department or anywhere any-where else. We have advocated tho dismissal of tho secretary of the war or his transfor to another field. "But what the country desires is not a fight. It wants harmony at Washington. Washing-ton. It does not care if some mistakes mis-takes have been made because it knows that In such a great undertaking undertak-ing mistakes are inevitable. It does not care for (he ambitions of Roosevelt, Roose-velt, ttj partisan prejudices of Senator Sena-tor Stone or the folly which led Chamberlain Cham-berlain into the Roosevelt trap. It is not even sensitive about the pride of the president What it wants no-w is results. "We shall never obtain results by allowing Roosevelt to set himself up in Washington as an anti-president. Already his egotism and boasting have created a nausea all over the land. Ho has dragged in the dubious Panama canal grab to brag about It and to set it up as an example of how he would get results if given a chance. The people, however, elected the president presi-dent to get results and they do not want Roosevelt or anybody else to be given presidential power by the senate. sen-ate. In the first place the senate has no authority to confer such power. The authority rests with the people of the United States and when they want tho commander-in-chief of the army and navy to bo reduced to a nonentity non-entity they will change their constitution. constitu-tion. It is not for the senate to attempt at-tempt to change the constitution in the midst of war." Where the-Tribune gets its information informa-tion as to Roosevelt's conspiracy we do not know. On the surface, the movement In Washington is nothing more than an effort to bring preparedness prepar-edness under eontrol of a board of three or four men. Roosevelt, of course, is Impatient and ho wants things done his way or he is rebellious. His strenuoslty in the past has brought results and a little of it today might help this country, but, as the Tribune says, the country is not in the mood of insulting the president presi-dent by taking from him his authority as head of the nation. But Is not tho Trlbuno drawing too dark a picture of Rooseveltian intrusion intru-sion in Washington? If tho former president is there to use his influence to promote the welfare of the nation, even though he Is laboring under a false conception of -what is -wrong, he should not be subjected to the charge of deliberately planning to exalt himself him-self by tearing down worthy men and bringing on a condition of distrust. We must admit though, with no small degree of regret, that there are politicians high in the affairs of the nation who would wreck our hopes of successfully waging war in protection of this country, if, by so doing, they might advance their political fortunos. They are scheming, professional politicians poli-ticians with no conscience, and should be marked for defeat whenever they seek re-election. |