Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-05-10
NOT THE PEOPLE BUT THE PRESIDENT

NOT 1.-THE PEOPLE" BUT THE PRESIDENT
According to Washington advices the
! president proposes to put the Lusitania
/! incident up 10 the American people"
| direct.
Il will be a good hearing if denial
of that policy comes from the White
| House for il is utterly beyond posi-
| bility 10 put it up to the people The
| job is the presidents. To secure ex-
preston from the American people"
sufficiently definite to be taken as a
command is outside possibility. There
! is only one way to deal with it. That
!. is for the president to take his stand
| upon this matter and for the Amer
! lean people" 10 stand by him as one
man.
| 1t Is difficult position in which
J the president and his party find them
selves He will De damned II he does
and damned II he doesn't But it is a
situation for a big man to accept and
TO deal with without evasion or finch
| ing and for great people TO forget
party lines and party prejudices and
hope OF party advantage and stay with
him as the president OF the United
States and the representative of all
its people. Il has come TO point
where il is not a party question but
one OF simple Americanism and COM
mon citizenship brought TO bear upon
national incident of grave import
And in such circumstances this should
be an undivided people in support of
the chief executive of the United
States. Il is up to the administration
and the administration is up to the
people,
ton. The renewal of advertisement.
of warning indicates that there will be
no change in the war policy which
draws a dead lire about the shores o.:
England Other vessels crowded with
passengers and carrying Americans are
in immediate danger. II is a time for
prompt action.
What can We do? That is up to the
state department. California probao-
" voiced the sentiment of more than
| herself when her legislature advised
the president 10 go as far as he
| likes
! Leaving out OF consideration the ac-
ton OF the state department towards
| Germany as regards the Lusitania we
| can see that no passenger ship lsav-
| ing our shores carries a cargo Of war
supplies as an invitation 10 the slaugh-
policy of a nation crowded TO the wall.
/ The fact that the Lusitania was
| fraighted with ammunition and sup
| plies contra band will be the chief de-
Tense made for the torpedoing OF a
| passenger ship and the wiping out OF
! the passenger list We can surely cut
| off tina. defense by putting ar en-
! barge on all such shipments that en-
! danger lives of those not engaged in
| war or the commerce OF war There is
a vast difference between a blocka de
runner and passenger ship which
either from hope of gain or a sense
Of duty tries TO convey munitions under
| the cover Of a passenger list secured
thru false promises Of safety. We can
| stop that az once.
| The civilized world is covering It's
| face in horror at the spectacle o.
| wholesale slaughter off the Irish coast,
| Of women and children butchereo like
rats in trap. No argument Of in
rerna tional law or Justification by ne
| cessity will obliterate that picture But
| neither would threats or even dec
larstion OF war take the warheads off
the torpedoes.
| At the bottom Of all the savagery
and complication is war itself Inter
national law fails in war time II is
as hard 70 make and enforce rules fox
murder now as II was in the Garden
of Eden. Desperation plays its game
under It's own rules.
| But We can and should control oul
own wharves and the manitests Of yes
sells which take on cargo there.