The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1918-02-28
PARrIsANsHIP GONE MAD.

Is there no sense of responsibility
whatever on the part of the United
States Senators engaged In attack,
ing the President and Secretary Of
war? Is there no kind OF military
information which they are unWill-
ing to reveal If they think that they
can score a point IN criticism OF tne
conduct t. Of ass saH M tha
that they are ready to give aid and
comfort to Germany in order to carry
out their programme of political as
sault?
These questions were first raised
by Senator Chamberlain shocklne
assertion that the military establish.
down" that it had almost stopped
functioning; but the offense Of Sen
ator Chamberlain was little worse
than the offense of Senator Weeks
who in his speech Friday declared
that there only are 81 per cent OF
the American troops in France that
Secretary Baker on Oct: l, had ex-
pected to have there by Feb. 10.
To quote the exact language OF the
Senator from Massachusetts,:
con Oct. j, ! had cOnVersatlon
with the Secretary of War, who told
me the number Of troops we had IN
Europe or en- route, and what the de-
partment plans were, and what ne
believed the department could 90 ln
the future. The number OF troops
in Europe is exactly s. per cent s OF
there on Feb. Is if Secretary Bakers
anticipations had been fulfilled
~ do not say this in criticism OF
Secretary Baker,. continued Senator
Weeks. But why did he say it at
all? Even If it were truei what does
it prove? Only that the United
States, Great Britain and france
TRANSPORT as many American troops
as the Secretary Of War had hoped
at that time to throw, into the lines
on the western front by Feb 10, TO
strengthen the British and French
against the expected German drive.
We have troops. They are train.
ed and equipped. The government
shipping is available. Yet Senator
Weeks in revealing confidential
conversation with the Secretary OF
War uses the information In a way
that cannot fail to be Of enormous
benefit to Germany In effect 1t IN
dorses every claim that the German
government, in it's attempt to heart
en- the German people. has made as
to the effectiveness OF the German
SuUIldIlACo.
What the Senator from Massachu-
setts is trying to prove Just what
the German government is trying to
prove. His thesis is the thesis of the
General Staff, Of the ReventloWs ana
Tirpitzes, of all the Pan-German
newspapers and of all the agencies
that are trying to convince the Ger
man people that they need not-be
alarmed by the military activities OF
the Tinted States
In copy of Simplicissimus that
reached The World office few DAYS
ago there was cartoon showing
President Wilson driving huge
steam roller which had reached the
shores of the Atlantic and could go
mo- further. There could have been
no more eloquent text to support this
cartoon than Senator Weeks speech.
Nothing would bring more satisfac-
ton to the German military party
at this time than assurances that
every man, woman and child in Ger
many believed that the United States
had been able to send to France on
.ly 81 per cent of the troops that this
government had planned to send: !.
The Weeks speech Is partisanship
gone mad. Utterances of that KIND
on the part of Senator'S, ii persisted
in, are certain to become more men
acing to the nation than all the &C
tivities of all the. German spies in
the United States.-N e W Yor K
World.