The weekly soliphone. (Paragould, Greene County, Ark.) 1907-1918, 1915-03-05
THE SHIP PURCHASE BILL.

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Much adverse criticism of Senator
/ Clarke for the position he has taken
on the ship purchase bill, behind
which President Wilson has thrown
THE force of executive authority, has
been made. Senator Clarke is accus-
I ed of deserving his party and lining
up with the republicans. In meas
ure this is true, but is the ship pur-
chase bill a party question? If so
who made it party question? In
recent speeches in the senate Sena-
! tor Vardaman of Mississippi has
quoted extracts from the party plat
! forms of recent years declaring the
party against ship subsidies. Sena-
tor Vardaman, like Senator Clarke,
saws that it it is a matter of consci-
! ence with him and that no man nor
set of men have the right to control
his conscience. He says the bill is
anti.democratic according to the
platform declarations of the party
in past national conventions and he
contends that no man, not even the
president, has the right to declare
what is and what is not democratic,
such declaration being authoritative
only by the party assembled in ma
tional convention at which the party
voice is heard as being directly ex-
pressive of the will of the people
through their representatives in the
convention. The party platform MAX
ers have declared that ship subsidy
is anti-democratic and neither the
senate caucus nor the president has
right to declare that it is demo-
cratic in the face of past platform
declarations. We think Senator
Vardaman is right in this contention.
Aside from the eXigencies of the
situation in the worlds commerce,
which call for greater activity upon
the part of ocean carrying trade of
the United States, there is the ques-
ton of neutrality on the part of the
limited States in the Old World mix
up. The plan to buy the interned
ships of the belligerent powers an
chored upon our own shores and put
them into commission under the
United States flag seems plausible if
If can be done without violating our
neutrality. The fear that it cannot
be done without offending some of
the powers and inviting reprisal
causes many senators to hesitate.
And. even if it could be done sue
cessfully we have the still greater
nroblem of mined waters in the war
zone making it unsafe for our ships
to sail the seas in that region. AL
ready ships sailing under the stars
and stripes carrying cargoes of
American products have been de-
stroyed and Germany has issued a
warning to the neutral powers of the
world that she will not be RESPONSE
BILE for any disaster to the ocean car
rying trade that may result. In our
eagerness to push our commercial in
terest can we afford, at this time
to take chances of inviting disaster
to our ships that may involve US in
the war? The seven dissenting dem
ocratic senator's, one of whom is Sen
ator Clarke, do not believe we can
In this opinion we do not believe that
! Senator Clarke is violating party
pledges, party usage or party princi-
pie. 1t may be that Senator Clarke
and his colleagues are wrong and
that the president is right, but we
have plying contempt for the small
mind that would charge Senator
Clarke with party disloyalty because
| he is not in accord with majority
of his democratic colleagues in the
senate on this particular question.
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