Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-07-31
Sectionalisn. and Partisanship

One very depressing thing about
the situation at Washington is the
atmosphere of partisanship and Sec
tonalism that prevails there. In con-
versation with close friend, one of
the leading members of the Cabinet
said that it was impossible for him
to get the President to assent to the
appointment of q Republican for any
position. This Cabinet official rec
ognized the sentiment that exists in
Washington as to the recognition of
one political party only and sought to
remedy it. But he was unable to
convince the President that such a
change should be made. Yet the
White House is very free in it's call
upon the country to forget partisan
ship and for Republicans to stand
behind it loyalty in the great
struggle. But there seems to be a
complete failure to recognize that
any reciprocal sentiment is de-
manded on the part of the Chief Ex-
ecutive.
The favoritism for the Southern
States has been so manifest and has
increased so consistently, that at
last the criticism of 1t is becoming
open and loud. There is no DISPOSE
ton on the part of anyone at Wash
ington to raise any question which
would handicap the officials of the
Government at this time. On the
contrary, there is the desire to help
in any way possible. But matters
there have reached such a pitch that
they cannot longer be borne in sill
ence. That would mean their con-
tinuation in the present channel, and
that is what must not happen.
There must be radical changes of
policy and atmosphere.
There is plainly in evidence the
intent of putting the financial bur-
den of the war upon the Northern
States and people. The war reve-
nue. taxes do that very thing, and
through no accident. Now there
comes the purpose to spend as much
as possible of that money in the
Southern States through the estab-
lishment of army camps there. These
are to be located in the South, al
though the army is to be trained for
service in a climate more like that
of the North. Furthermore, such
camps are already established in the
North aud could be put into COM
mission without expense, while those
of the South must be built up from
the foundation.
There has just been exhibited, too,
an apparent juggling of the census
figures, in order to make the burdens
of the army draft fall heavier on
Northern communities than on
Southern. AS Senator Lodge declared
or the Senate floor, From the as
tonishing population figures it is ap-
parent that Northern States and
cities have been padded in order to
make their army draft heavier, while
those of the Southern States have
been reduced" Even without this
Juggling the North would have borne
more than its share of the soldier
burden, as the failure to consider
the alien question in the matter of
estimating population greatly in
creased the chances of every North
ern American citizen to be called to
the colors.
In the list of exports subject to
embargo, cotton, the great staple
product of the South, was not in
cluded. Yet 1t is a product that en-
ters into the manufacture of ex-
plosives and is something that cer-
tainly should be kept from reaching
the enemy. The Washington eX-
planation of why this was not put
under embargo is that it would de-
press the price of cotton and so af-
feet the South. All of these matters
are part and parcel of the same pol
icy, the guarding of the interests OF
the South at the expense of the rest
of the country. Such policy should
be brought to an end and at once
Philadelphia Press.