Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1918-05-23

appeals to the intelligent honeSC
citizen for his greatest efficiency; and
it seals bona fde promise, and
anchors living hope, for every per-
son who works. That four years of
achievement will forever be promi-
emit in opon the pages of history and
any candidate Of Our party should
glory in the platform which enumer-
ates its details and ma!.es it the shib-
boleth Of party faith. ! would refuse
20 stand upon a platform which
aoclogized for Woodrow Wilson or
any Of his record. Iwould decline
an Office if there were any conditions
to its acceptance which might com
nit me to any policy that did not
mean, in deed and in truth, faith
full adherence to the principles and
ideals which | supported under the
Presidents leadership We have had
recently a concrete example OF the
vision andforesight of our great lead
or. Long before this war he appeal
ed to Congress to pass shipping
bill. 1t was defeated by filibuster
and by the opposition of handful
of democrats in the Senate. Had 1T
been passed, the government would
have entered this war with shipping
ORGANIZATION and a merchant marine
and the people would have been saved
xun
speed entails, and we would be now
much nearer the goal of the nation
al purpose than we are. This is not
the time to go into details, but ill
ustrations could be multiplied to
show that in so far as the Congress
has fallen short of the Presidents
program. the country has had reason
to regret it.
1t is gratifying to US to have 1ur-
nished from our ranks the man upon
whom every people who love DEM
ocracy and want to live under re-
publican form Of government, are
now relying. In Asia, Africa, Eu-
rope. the Americas and Islands of the
Seas. there are few, if any, lovers of
human liberty, or dreamers OF organ
lied democracy, who do not pray for
the health and the success of Amer
ica's imam of the hour" and exponent
of democracy and justice whom the
democratic party gave to the coun-
try for President and whom most OF
the civilized nations have adopted as
leader. Even his love for peace and
his dignified forbearance during that
most exasperating period Of lnterna-
tional tension from 1914 to 1917,
were unavailing to save us from part
icipating in this world war. When
many demanded that the Lusitania
incident should be the signal for that
breach of international relations
which subsequent events proved would
have been the beginning war, he
stood firm for peace He risked his
party's success and his own political
\ fortunes to keep us out of war. Not
until the Central Powers had thrown
aside solemn treaties and broken IN
| ternational law; not then till the
world acknowledged that the drive in
Europe was the preconcerted fore
runner of an invasion of America;
and not even then until solemn
promise to our government was vio-
lated by a murderous assault upon the
lives of American citizens, did the
President consent to war. Well did
we say in 1916: "He kept us out of
war Well may we say now: He
kept us out of the German trap"
tie now occupies the unique dis
tinction of being not only COM
nlander in chief of our Army and
Navy, but the counselor, leader and
arbitrator of the people of all nations
now united and determined to crush
one-man power, and enthused with
the purpose to free the world from
the necessity of burdening the people
with the cost of maintaining ex-
cessive military establishments. The
world can trust an American Presi-
dent with almost any kind of pow
er necessary to win war, because
our institutions and the Unborn love
of liberty in every true American,
will automatically and instantly re-
store the peace status whenever the
war shall end We gave powers to
Lincoln and Mckinley during wars,
but during the war only" was writ
ten into every one by common con-
sent. The greatest power we can
give Wilson is the unmistakable evil
dence that our support of this war is
of tho heart and not merely with the
lips. This country and the approach
ing election is the object of intense
among the Junker nations as well as
amid the tents Of the Armies of Lib
erty. "Are we in dead earnest?" is