Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1916-11-02
Can American People Afford
to Put in Peril the Present.
Day Peace and Prosperity ?

Who can doubt that if Mr.. Hughes
is made president, Mr.. Roosevelt will
be the dominating influence and will
direct our foreign and domestic poll
cies. Mr.. Roosevelt is clearly the
1eader-in-chief of the Republican party
He it is upon whom the national COM
mittee calls for aid and sends on
stumping tours when the country has
sinking spells from the effects of Mr..
Hughes trite generalities and ancient
platitudes; and he il is who makes the
most definite and vigorous presenta-
ton of the Republican side of the case.
Every explicit utterance of Mr.. Roose-
welt, and every implicit utterance of
Mr.. Hughes shows that if elected
America will be forced into war with
some nation. These gentlemen are not
candid or courageous enough to tell us
before the election what nation will be
our antagonist. This is one of those
delightful" CANDLES Or leaps in the
dark that American voters are asked
to take in order that Mr.. Roosevelt
and Mr.. Hughes may experiment upon
them with dual headed kilkenny
type of government for the next four
years.
For the past two years we have been
facing the gravest kind of perils. The
situations have been delicate and diff
cult-beyond the grasp of the mind of
any man who has not been in the
higher councils of the government and
familiar with their every phase and
aspect 1t is obvious that a whole
icate foreign negotiations, or handle
complex international relations except
through their chief spokesman, the
chief executive. For this very reason
the constitution has wisely put the
conduct of foreign affairs in the hands
Of the president of the United States.
The president has it in his power to
plunge the country, at any moment,
into war with all of its unspeakable
horrors and fatal consequences. A
single misstep, or rash act, Or blum
der on his part is all that is neces-
sary. It does not require courage or
craftsmanship to provoke war. Any
wild man, or blunderer, in the presi-
Dental chair can precipitate such
calamity and the people would be pow
erless to avert it, except at a cost
which might be more disastrous than
war itself. But it does take states
manship and courage of the highest
order to maintain the honor and the
rights of the nation and yet keep it out
of war, in these perilous times when
civilization has lost it's equilibrium
and nations their power of reckoning.
Of transcedent importance to the
American people is the continuance in
the Office of president of a man of
courage, poise, experience and states
manship. We do not gamble upon the
future, we do not trif1e with destiny,
we do not imperil honorable peace if
we keep eat it's head the great man
who has guided this nations destinies
during the past three years. If it had
not been for President Wilson's cour-
age and calmness, intelligence and
judgment, exalted patriotism, passion
ate love of humanity and justice, and
stern insistence upon the maintenance
of American rights and American hon
or through the most brilliant and in
tellectual contest in the history of dip
lOmacy, at least one hundred thousand
of the best of Americas youth would
no in,
lions of war debt would be pressing
upon the backs of the masses of the
American people, prosperity would
have been destroyed, and gloom and
mourning would be stalking in the
land.
None know better than the women
of this great land what a calamity war
is, and what an unSpeakable crime un-
respects, greater sufferers from war
than men, but none are more willing
than women to make supreme sacri-
fees for their country if war becomes
necessary, and none have a greater
right than women to demand that
every uOuOIdUlo u0duS Shall De ou1-
ployed to peacefully settle interna-
tional controversies, before a resort to
war.
Are the thinking men and women of
America, who are not blind followers
of parties but who love honorable
peace and prosperity, going to turn out
of Office our great president, who has
gone through the fiery furnace for
them these past three years and has
rendered such noble service to his own
country and to the cause of humanity
| and put in his place man without any
| experience whatever in the complex
and perilous problems which confront
us, and who has not offered a single
convincing reason for the dismissal OF
faithful, loyal and truly great public
servant? Is that the way to reward
| great men? Has the president had a
square deal, or even a decent deal, by
the men who seem lost to every sense
of magnanimity and fairness in their
criticisms? They have not uttered a
| generous or just word about him.
1 L.