The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1916-08-11
THANKS TO DEMOCRATS
NURAl CREDITS LAW ADDED TO
EXCELLENT LIST.
Republican Claim to All Political vir.
tue and Ability Is Shown to Be
Altogether Foolish.

President Wilson was warranted in
his signing Of the rural credits bill.
The measure Is not perfect. 1t may
not work as well as it is hoped. But
It is a piece Of constructive legislation
which is designed to supply something
long and VIGOROUSLY lacking in our
financial system-something in respect
of which most other countries have
been far in advance of the United
States. This has been frankly admit
ted by our most competent authorities.
All political parties have been de-
claring for years past that American
farmers ought to be able to get loans
on easier terms.
1t remained for n Democratic ad-
ministration to write this important
law on the statute books. Taken with
the federal reserve act, the establish
ment of a federal trade commission,
the repeal Of free tolls at Panama,
and the passage of several important
bills Of the class of the ~wOrkingmen's
compensation act and the child labor
law-the two lGtter yet TO be achieved
it makes up a record of legislation
which no Republican administration
of recent years came anywhere near
matching. OF itself it constitutes a
powerful claim of President Wilson
upon the approval of the nation.
We know what Republicans will
say of these Democratic laws. So far
as they are good, it will be asserted
that they are Of Republican inspira-
ton. This Is especially alleged of
the reform of the currency. 1t was be-
u by the Republicans. And, as the
Philadelphia Press ingeniously said
some time ago, the Democrats are not
going to be allowed to hide their
sins" behind the new banking law, the
impetus towards which and the mate
rial upon which 1t was based came
from Republican sources. Admit all
this, and still the fact stands out that
1t was the Incompetent Democratic
party which did for the country what
the supremacy efficient" Republican
party was totally unable to do.
This is q wholesome thing to bear
In mind just at present, for 1t Is evil
dent that the Republicans will be
tempted to go into the campaign with
their old calm assertion that they pos
sess q monopoly of the political virtue
and the political ability OF this coun-
try. Mr.. Hughes himself, In some
things he has said, appears to lean
that way. Now IF he begins making
speeches along that line-affirmlng that
the country needs great things done
for 1t which only the Republicans have
the skill and power to do-he will be
confronted with the Democratic record
we have referred to. With that he
will have to deal fairly, If he wishes
to retain the respect of his country
men. If he elects to attack the fed
eral reserve law, or the rural credits
bill, let him do 10 squarely, and with
reasons given. But 1t will not do for
him or any other Republican orator
or editor to argue that the enactments
are good, but that the party respon-
sible for them is incurably bad. Above
all, it win not do to go up and down
the land with the pretense that the Re-
publican party Is alone "ht to rule :"
that II Is a thousand times wiser and
more effective and purer than Its
rival.