The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-09-04

credit in the little span of time meas
ured from March, 1918. And it is on
the democratic party's splendid record
that appeal is made for its retention
in power. And yet the republican
campaigners harangue their audiences,
to large extent at least, with the
alleged shortcomings of the Sins"
When Roosevelt was President, he
had an opportunity of doing some
thing large for the national defense,
but he allowed army and navy affairs
to "rock along" During his admins
tration the naval board prepared a
building programme that called for
a three years continuing 'appropria-
ton and urged its adoption, but shat
report was pigeon-holed and Roose-
welt evidently made no effort to Gun
pigeon-hole" it. During his admins
tration, too, Americans engaged in
industrial development in Mexico were
murdered and American-owned prop
erty was injured and, in some cases,
destroyed; yet if President Roosevelt
did anything more than protest the
public never heard of it. Still, accord
ing to men like Hughes and Roose-
welt who assail the present admins
tration, the democrats are utterly in
competent to run the government;
only the republicans know how.
Now that Charles w. Fairbanks,
Mr.. Hughes running mate, has been
notified, he is released for the stump.
While the cartoonists and pert para
graphers put him in the iceberg class,
he is a very good speaker, but his
cause being weak and campaign argu-
ments in behalf of standpatism being
as scarce as hens teeth, he will start
out with abuse of the democrats.
Never were constructive ideas so
scarce among republican orators as
they are today.
E LIHU ROOT, in an address be-
IL fore the American Bar associa-
ton in Chicago, said:
The same states that are unwil1-
ing to give the national judiciary
jurisdiction to enforce the protec-
ton of aliens promised in national
treaties or to permit a national
force of citizen soldiery to be COM
manded by officers appointed by
the national executive, instead of
militia officers appointed by the
governors of the states, will urge
Congress to pass sumptuary laws ,
controlling the private life and
conducting affairs in local COM
munities and will hand over to the
national government strictly local
regulations for the sake of an ap-
preparation.
Wv Si thdo SOHASi GU uHuCI
special motives and for special
purposes do not revert. They are
continued. And if the process goes
on our local governments will grow
weaker and the central govern
ment stronger in control of local
affairs until local government is
dominated from Washington by the
of OF nj % nritiaC indif-
ferent to local customs and needs.
When that time comes the free
dom of adjustment which pre-
serves both national power and
local liberty in our system will be
destroyed and the breaking up of
the union will inevitably follow.
1t is significant and somewhat as
founding to hear "standpat" repub-
lican give utter
Speech ance to such ex-
by Elihu Root cellent d e m O.
cratic doctine It
is taken for granted that Root does
not agree with Mr.. Justice Hughes in
his advocacy Of federal amendment
for equal suffrage; that he would
frown upon federal prohibition
and that he would have
opposed an act Of Congress authoriz-
ing the enforcement in the several
states by federal authorities of feder-
al child labor statutes.
We may not agree that a departure
from democratic teaching will result
in the inevitable dissolution of the
union. But there seems to be no ques-
ton but that the state least governed
by federal law is best governed.
Mr.. Root, no longer, it is possible,
a tentative candidate for the presi-
dency, should gracefully follow the
best of his logic, and enroll himself
in the ranks Of democracy.
THE first Monday in September,
i known as Labor Day, is one Of
the most widely observed legal hol-
days in the United States. There are
no national holidays by congressional
enactment. The days commonly known
as sue hi h e
Labor Day Widely Fourth of July,
Observed Holiday Christmas and
fow Otharc-arn