Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-08-26
ELECT A REPUBLICAN HOUSE
This Would Render Harmless the "Disloyar'
Democrats Whom the President Opposes

Democrats Whom the President Opposes
WE ALWAYS regret the waste Of
w energy when we see a man taking
roundabout course to secure the ends
that he might secure by following the
shortest route.
This is one of the reasons for our
regret that the President has seen fit to
write letters disappearing the reelection
of various Democratic Senators and Rep
resentatives. His purpose is to secure
Congress which will sustain the Admin
istration in it's prosecution of the war
We know that thus far Congress has
stood behind him. Indeed it has been at
times so subservient to his will that it
has been charged with abdicating its
functions. Yet there have been a group
of Democrats who have done their best to
prevent the entrance of the country into
the war and to prevent the efficient con-
duct of the war now that we are commit
ted to it. The President, however, has
not yet condemned the chairmen of COM
mttees who are seeking reelection,
although some of the House chairmen are
the most persistent Instructors.
Take, for example, the case of Mr.
Dent, of Alabama, who presides over the
Committee on Military Affairs. He has
been fighting the plans of the War De-
partment to be empowered to call the
youths between the ages of eighteen and
twenty-one to the army. Julius Kahn, of
California, the ranking Republican men,
Der of the committee, has been leading
the fight for the Administration program
and when doubtful amendments were
suggested on the floor of the House the
members looked to him for guidance and
acted as he suggested
Chairman Kitchin, of the Ways and
Means Committee, is equally objection
able, for he has been doing his best
to produce a revenue bill which will
fail to meet the approval of the Treasury
Department. The sound advice of Sec
retary McAdoo has been ignored by him,
while he has attempted to inject the old
fashioned Bryanistic Populism into the
measure.
The reelection of these two men is
thus far unopposed by Mr.. Wilson. But
they will retain their chairmanships so
long as the Democrats control the House.
The simplest way to shear them of
power to hamper the Administration is
not to defeat them, but to elect Repub-
lican House. Then by the operation of
the rule Of seniority Mr.. Kahn would
automatically become chairman of the
Military Affairs Committee and Mr..
Fordney, of Michigan, would preside
over the Committee on Ways and Means.
Mr.. Fordney is a sound economist and
can be trusted to cooperate with Secre-
tary McAdoo in devising revenue meas
ures which would raise the funds needed
without unduly burdening any class of
business. And Mr.. Kahn is committed to
the proposition that the way to win the
war is to raise as big an army as possi-
BILE as quickly as possible by drafting
into it all the military material that is
needed, beginning with youths eighteen
years old, which is admittedly the mini
mum for military service, and ending
with the men of forty-fve, which under
ordinary circumstances is the maximum
age at which efficient service can be
rendered.
Every reason which Mr.. Wilson has
offered for the defeat of individual Demo-
Gratis applies with equal force to the de-
feat of the Democratic majority through
the supremacy of which in the House the
obstructing committee chairmen are en-
abled to interfere with and delay the war
work of all kinds. 1t is impossible to
escape the logic of the situation.
But whether Mr.. Wilson takes this
course or not, the country is likely to do
it, for the prospects for the election of
Republican House improve every time
Mr.. Dent obtrudes his narrow views
about the draft and every time Mr.
Kitchin seeks to penalize certain kinds
of business. The Democratic majority is
very slim and the defeat of half dozen
Democrats would give a working ma
jority to the Republicans.