The Goldfield news and weekly tribune. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1911-1947, 1918-11-09
AN UNNECESSARY NATIONAL DILEMMA

The country has spoken, and while the vote is not yet re-
ported in full, there is every indication that the verdict is
against a one-party government in time of war and that the
republicans will control at least one, if not both houses of the
congress that will come into being on the 4th of next March.
In casting their vote yesterday the people had plainly a
choice between two evils, and evidently they chose that which
they considered the lesser of the two. President Wilson, in
his appeal to the people for a congress of his own party, very
unwisely, as we believe, made the plain statement that to do
otherwise would mean d%isapproval of his administration. If
the presidents position was correct, the people had either to
face a reputation of a president who had still more than two
years to serve or the surrender of many fixed opinions on
questions of domestic as well as international poicy-a sur
render that might vitality affect these policies through all the
future of the Nation, whose destiny would thus be placed be-
yond recall in the presidents hands. While thousands of
them no doubt yielded to the presidents wish, there were mil
lions who refused.
No president has ever before forced upon the people the
necessity for such a choice. It true that in the parliamentary
governments of Europe failure to support an administration is
equivalent to a recall, but the recall is immediate. An ad-
verse vote on any administration measure means a "repudia-
ton and a new election, and under this theory Wilson
should have resigned many times and long ago. When one
of these governments asks a vote of confidence and the vote
is adverse, there is an immediate change in the personnel of
the government.
This does not necessarily mean humiliation, but it means
that parliamentary government in those countries is always
responsive, and Immediately responsive, to the will of the
people.
President Wilson put it plainly that his appeal was for
a vote of confidence and that failure to elect a majority of his
own party might seriously impair his influence and was al
most certain to be misunderstood by our allies" Under Mr..
Wilson'S own theory and under the terms of his own partisan
appeal, we shall now have-and for more than two years-at
the head of our government in one of the most critical periods
of its history a r~epudiated president.
AS the Tribune has viewed it, this appeal, and especially
in the form the president gave to it, was as unnecessary as it
was dangerous and unwise. Under the presidents new con-
struction of congressional elections, many former presidents
have been repudiated, but the people did not so view it, and
their respect for these presidents was not impaired. Under
Wilson's new theory at least three presidents have been re-
pudiated in the present geenration. Cleveland was repudiat-
ed at the very time of his first election, and again two years
later and four years later. Notwithstanding this he was sub
sequently and for the third time renominated by his party
and reelected and two years later again "repudiated" in the
middle of his term. Under this theory Benjamin Harrison
was repudiated in the middle of his term. Chester A. Arthur
was repudiated in the middle of his term.
Up to the hour of the presidents unwarranted end I'M
pr~ecedented appeal there was little if any danger in the cleo
ton of a congress politically opposed to him, and certainly no
risk of the election of a congress opposed to the war; that is
the chief concern and has been for more than a year the only
concern of the people.
Instead of Americans opposing Americans, let's now turn