Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-09-30
HUGHES SILENCE
IN CRISIS SCORED
Vance Mccormick. Chairman of Demo-
cratic Committee, Asks Some
Pertinent Questions.

New York, Sept. 30-Vance McCor-
mick, chairman of the democratic ma
/ tlOnal committee, today gave out the
| following statement:
Mr.. Hughes attempt to explain his
! silence, when a word from him would
| have been welcomed, concerning means
| for averting the threatened railway
strike. stamps him with an utter lack
i of frankness. He did not suggest to
| his republican advisers in the senate
| that they fight to the last ditch the law
| that he now assails because, as he says,
| he does not believe in filibustering lie
| protests also that the administration,
| through the Legislative channels of
congress, met the crisis with such bus
inesslike dispatch that he, a thousand
miles removed, could not have been
: expected to offer any suggestions.
The protest of the republican can
didate that if congress, through its ma
jOrity, determined to pass the bill.
there was no reason whatever that it's
action should be merely delayed by
| filibustering, is illuminating, as de-
veloping another of Mr.. Hughes in
constituencies. Just about the time
the senate was confronted with the
strike crisis, the democrats, in ODE
dience to the mandates of their party
platform, were trying to pass through
the senate the corrupt practices act,
which seeks to cover an evil that is a
disgrace to the nation
When by a vote of more than two
to one the senate voted to proceed with
the consideration OF this bill, which al
ready had been passed by the house
and favOTably reported by a senate
committee, the passage of this meri-
tOriOus legislation by the senate was
Nt.g-AV- 4 1 i
Hughes would say, Merely delayed
by a republican threat of filibuster
The mere delay in this instance, was
highly important in view OF the pend
ing presidential election and it is sig
nificant that the republicans were re-
sponsible for the mere delay
MIR. Hughes knew that congress,
through its majority, had determined
to pass the bill (the corrupt practices
act) and he knew, moreover, that the
manifest desire of the majority of the
senate was being INSTRUCTED by the
republican threat of a flibuster, a leg Z
islative device in which the leader of
the republican party does not believe
"A word from Mr.. Hughes during the .
tendency OF this bill would have suf-
feed to have stopped the flibuster and
enabled the majority to pass the cor
supt practices act, but no word came
from Mr.. Hughes. He was as silent
about the threatened filibuster against
the corrupt practices act as he is now
blatant in offering his objection to fill
clustering as his excuse for not defeat
ing the eight-hour law. If he remain
ed silent on the eight-hOur law be-
cause he does not believe in filibuster-
ing. why didn't he speak out and con-
denim the threatened flibuster by
which the corrupt practices act was de-
feated?
Mr.. Hughes protests that he could
not have been expected to offer any
suggestions for averting the threatened
strike, because he was a thousand
miles away, is too humorous to merit
Does he not know that
the telegraph wires and the Morse code
afford means of almost instantaneous
communication that placed him reIa-
lively Is near to Washington as TO
New York and is it not fact that on
this tour he was in frequent 4yjmmu-
nicatiOn with his campaign managers
n New York?
The one excuse offered by the re-
publican candidate in extenuating of
his failure TO advise with his repub-
lean friends in the senate about the
eight hour law is palpabIy inconsistent
and the other is humorously ridicu-
GUS"