Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1918-01-23
POLITICS AND WAR MANAGEMENT

The Oregonan has suddenly discovered that Senator
Chamberlain is great man; that ne is worthy to be
placed in the class and named IN the same breath
with Theodore Roosevelt and Ellhu Root.
This discovery to the Oregonan only after years
Of sneerng and cog at the senator and his pretenOns
to craftsmanship and it may be regarded significant
that it followed closely the that Chamberlain had
openly attacked the national administration in cham
pagne banquet speech where the oudest applause
from Teddy and Ehu The natural Inference therefore,
is that the editor of the Oregonan being little better
partisan than patriot is glad to encourage Senator
Chamberlain, anybody else, to villify and abuse
democratic president and his advisers
This latest incident and the peculiar national char
acterstic it exempifes amount to little after all and is
merely the American way of playing politics. 1t can be
harmful only in the event that the German rulers take
it seriously which they apt to do because they never
seem to be able to properly interpret the American
disposition. They may think hopeessly torn by
political dissension that army is joke and pub
lie officials lot of bthering idiots just the Oregonian
and Senator Chamberlain are saying The kaiser and MS
serious minded advisers may not realize that Amer
can political row is the biggest farce in the world and
may be encouraged to fight longer and harder in the
hope Of ultimate victory. Were not for this fact the
mpotent mouthngs of the Oregonian and other repub
can newspapers and sundry p. politicians, because
they are on the outside looking n would only provide
pleasing diversion from the serious work and thoughts
of war;
Roosevelt wants to be the central figure in this great
est worlds drama and pats his intimate friend Chamber
lain the back and encourages him to go ahead with his
scheme for War cabinet with possibly Roosevelt and
Chamberlain as the central figures and all the republican
politicians applaud the scheme for taking the control of
the war out of the hands of the democratic adminstra
ton Hence Chamberlain for the time beingas long as
he can be Of serviceis great in the eyes OF the
Oregonian and many other intensely bitter republican
newspaper organs These editors however, doomed
to dsapponnent because is not customary for national
administrations in crises like this to slip down from the
places of power and turn the eins of government over
to the other fellows During the SpanishAmeican war
for example (snce most of remember that one) the
democrats who able to get even army commissions
were as scarce as hens teeth There great deal of
criticism but the Mckinley administration pursued the
even tenor of its way while the contractors supplied the
bows with "embalmed beef obsolete black gun-powder
and ancient fowng pieces and sickness and death swept
through their unsantary, miasmatic camps. The
Oregonian as we distinctly recall not in favor OF
non-partisan war cabinet at that time.
Frankly speaking the republican politicians and news
papers are proving very poor sports in carrying criticism
of the to the point that it gives comfort to
the enemy Parsanship is permissible but It should be-
subordnaed to patriotism 1t is tough luck, of course,
that the grand old party happened to be out OF power
when the big thing happenedbut isn't the government,
with its free institutions and broad democracy worth
more than the welfare of any political party? The epub
can who thinks will keep his mouth shut and follow
implicitly the leadership of American president until
the kaiser is done for The real patriot putting the
soft pedal on his political prejudcesand great major
ity of the people of all parties is patriotic.
Also it pertinent at this time to note the fact that the
democratic senators who backing Chamberlain in his
fight against President Wilson the the Oregonan
has fayed members of the pro-German party