The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-11
WILSON SPEAKS ID
 VETERANS 0F 1898
Wants Political Battle With
 Less Personal Passion
CLASS COMPETITION
Would Put an End to War Within the Country" - Enthusiastically Cheered by Veterans - He
 and Miles Review Parade

Atlantic City, N. J., September 10.-
 Political battle with less personal pas
 sion and an end to the war within
 the country by competition of classes" were the ideals which Governor Wood
 row Wilson set forth tonight in a
 speech before the United Spanish war
 veterans who enthusiastically cheered
 him.
 "The trouble with this country said
 the governor. "is that it has been blind
 ly at war within itself by a competi-
 tion of interests, when this should
 have been union of interests. The
 way not to cure it is to set one class
 against another. The way to cure it
 is to see that classes understand one
 another, that they all known that there
 is such a thing as common interest
 which touches them all alike
 q belong to a political party. For
 the time being I represent a political party, but l respect a political party
 merely as the means of banding men
 together for a service which when they
 have gone to the uttermost, they have
 forgotten parties in common service. Not all men think alike. and there
 fore men must group themselves ac- cording to their conviction and their thoughts. but the impulse back of every one of them must be the same. if it is
 indeed the impulse of patriotic con Less Personal Passion q wish that party battles could be
 fought with less personal passion and
 more passion for the common good. l
 am not interested in fighting persons,
 but I am interested in fighting things.
 am interested in fighting bad tenden- cies bad systems. things that lower all
 the levels of our political and economic
 morality. and I could wish that these
 things were visible and tangible so that
 they were of such sort that you had
 only to hold them up to let the whole national see how ugly they are and how undesirable. For we must get this
 vision because we are true with our politics, the same vision that the sol
 dier gets; that 1t doesn't make any diff ference what he has, the point Is that there is something that binds him to his fellows which he cannot break without committing treason. The thing he cannot break is the bond of common sympathy and of common understand ing that he is engaged in a cause and that only the cause can make him great"
 Governor Wilson and General Nelson A Miles reviewed the parade of the veterans in the afternoon. Nearly S00J
 veterans were in line. Some of them were overcome by heat and dropped out.
 The governor will leave early tomor- row for Jersey City where he will re-
 view the Hudson County Democratic club.
 Smith Is Eliminated John Lewis Smith of Washington was eliminated from the race for con.maDde~- l iE-chief at a session tonight of the United 1 Spanish war veterans when it was an nounced that illness in his family would prevent his acceptance. c. Albert Gasser of Patterson. N. J.. and oscar T. Taylor of Pittsburg were the only nominees for this office Commander -in-Chief simmons declining 10 stand for reelection. The 1 election will be held tomorrow.
 | Greetings from President Taft were re- ceived by the yeterans- tonigh. .n the fol- lowing message addressed to Chairman 1 English
 "Please accept for yourself and your l comrades in encampment my warmest 1 thanks for your kind message of greet l ings. deeply appreciate and cordially reciprocate the good wishes to which you give expression You took par. in wai for younr country which. though short. in- volved the lives and showed the courage of many Americans and which was most Tnomentous in It's consequences 10 the country in giving 1t authority and irnpoc- ing on 1t duty as world Lower. IL | was epoch-creating and those who took part in 1t made history and are entitled
 tq the gratitude Of their counrrymen.