Evening journal., 1918-11-01

citizen, so that | am not quite certain
how feel now that am stepping back
Into the waters OF politics; but there
come times in the history OF our cOun-
try when il matters not how much you
have brldled your tongue in the past,
you must speak out, because you are
bursting with thought, with lndlgna-
tion, and with desire to tell your
fellow-citizens how you feel at the pres
ent situation.
Now the question before you is what
you are going to do at the next cleo
tlon. ! want 10 discuss that, not as a
partisan. not as a Republican, but as an
American citizen. Early in my life,
had judicial training and l always at
tempt, although / do not know that
always succeed. but l attempt anyway.
TO consider matters from the standpoint
OF fairness and with some degree Of ju-
dicial poiseC want to discuss
with you what sort Of a Congress we
should return on Tuesday next, with
] respect TO the situation that this world
war has brought TO us and which we
could not avoid. The next Congress is
/ going TO cover the period OF two
years. II comes into office on the ith OF
\ March, 1919, and remains In Office until
the ith Of March, 1921.
Must Win the War.
1T probably will be i'm session a great
deal Of that time What has il TO do?
Il has been suggested that the first
! thing for IL TO do is to win the war and
/ bring us a condition in which we can
achieve the purpose for which so much
| has been sacrificed. But as the situa-
/ ton is now developing. that Congress
| Will not have much TO do with winning
| the war, because II Is nearly won al
! ready. / think 10 a very conservative
statement TO say that all our enemies
will be under our control and viii have
| given up the war by December, 1919,
| when the first regular session OF the
! Congress, which we are TO elect on Tues
/ day, win come on. Il may be there will
/ be an extra session by the 4th Of next
/ March but even by that time we shall
! probably have had an armistice and II
we have what we ought to have, an un-
| conditional surrender OF Germany and
| Austria and Turkey and Bulgaria.
/ Therefore. what will be the first thing
/ for this Congress. which we are to elect
on next Tuesday. to consider? Il will
| be the permanent terms Of peace, which
will make this war the basis for the ac-
complishment Of that for which it has
| been fought.
Now viii a Republican Congress or
a Democratic Congress help win this
war more to the satisfaction Of the
American people, assuming that 1t viii
! have something to do with the war;
/ Republicans have been represented in
/ this present Congress by a minority IN
each house. You can only tell what a
/ Republican majority will do in
I the next Congress by what a Re
I publican minority has done AMI still
| Is doing in the present Congress. With
out that Republican minority and what
I it has done, we could not have won the
war as we have won it. Now, why?
"The war has been won by the presence
In France Of upwards Of 100000
brave. gallant. courageous and trained
American soldiers. l am not OF those
who seek 20 take over 20 ourselves all
the credit for the victory that we have
won. We all know how France and
/ Belgium and England. and Italy have
| fought. suffered and bled and died and
I held the fort until we could get there
but IL was necessary that we should
/ be there as Il is necessary TO have great
reserves in the army to strike the en-
envy, after the fight has been bravely
started. in order to win the victory.
That is the part that american troops
have played and made the winning Of
the war possible. How did we get those
/ troops over there? We raised them by
the selective draft. II we had not had
the selectlve draft we never could have
had the great army that we have-ap-
proximately 100000 men in France
now and the prospect Of having 100000
there by the first Of next July.
1.-The President at first opposed that Sc
lective draft bill. Mr.. Baker, the Secretary
Of War, opposed that bill But they were
both converted. However, they never
could have passed it except for the vote
OF the Republican minority in each
house. The Democratic leaders Of the
Democratic majority opposed il; Champ
Clark, Kitchin. chairman Of the Ways
and Means Committee, and Democratic
leader in the House; and Dent, the
Democratic Military Committed Chair
man. all opposed with yigor the passage
of the draft bill Champ Clark used the
unfortunate phrase that he regarded the
term conscript in the same light as he
did the term convict. Had that Demo-
cratic majority been allowed to have its
way. we should have had no draft at all.
Therefore. Il was a Republican minor
ity. whose presence was essential in
that Congress, to reach the successful
stage in which we now find ourselves.
another thingwas necessary. The draft
hill was not enough We needed an
other 100000 Of men in France. That
they are not going TO be needed when
thew get over there, let us all hope, but
the consciousness Of their coming,
and the knowledge Of the fighting quall-
ties of the men we had sent, put the
fear Of God into the hearts OF every
one of the Central Powers. That
amendment TO the draft bill was recon-
mended by the loyal and wide-aWake
Republican minority. 1t was suggested
TO the President and he turned it down,
/ as did Secretary Of War Baker. The Re
publican minority insisted that it was
necessary. and in July or earlier,
tbev introduced bills providing for
mat additional draft. Secretary OF
War Baker reported to the Sem
ate Military Committee that 1t was
not necessary. The Republicans pressed
Z lbe hill The Secretary Of War said:
/ Don't press this bill and ] will get up
measure Of the same kind and present
nm II was done and the bill was passed,
1--WE months after it had been proposed
70 this administration by the Republi-
can minority.
lRepublicans Proud of Record.
Now, that is the record OF the Re
nnblican minority. Il voted for every
P' 'st 80, ord for everv increase Of