Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-09-11
llMR. HAYS ASKED
| L WORDS ARE HIS
Quoted as Saying Democrats
| Would Condone Germany to
Hold Power.
DRAWS PRESIDENTS IRE
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
Copyright, 1918, by New York Even
ing Pest, incorporated.

President Wilson issued q little
statement today, which, though it is
in the form of question, yields much
affirmative Information. His state
ment was q telegram which he in
|structed Secretary Tumulty to send
to Will Hays. chairman Of the repub-
lican national committee, asking the
istration Of a readiness to compro-
misc with Germany for selfish politi.
cal motives.
The President has said nothing in
REPUTATION of statements made by the
republican leaders concerning do
mestio politics-it is their prerogative
to go before the country and say the
democratic administration is incom-
petent or short-sighted or a million
other things, and it is the prerogative
of the nation to say on election day
whether the indictment is valid. But
Mr.. Wilson will not permit q republ1-
can leader or any one else to spread
the impression that he would COM
promise with Germany to advance
his own political fortunes or per-
petuate the democratic party in pow
things to be said without letting the
country know what is back of them.
Text Of the Telegram.
Here is the text Of the telegram sent
by Mr.. Tumulty at the request Of the
President:
Hon Will Hays. Indianapolis, Ind:
ION Thursday, September S, 1913,
the Topeka Capital, published at To-
peka, Kansas, quotes you as having
made the following statement to the
w no met with you In Chicago on Sep
TENDER 2: The democratic leaders
at Washington would not stop at
anything that they believed would
insure the reelection Of a demo-
cratic Congress this fall and a demo-
They would even end the war
with any kind of compromise If
that would insure the continuance
of the democratic party in power.
"I shall be obliged if you will let
me know if this is a correct state
ment of your remarks.
of the democratic party in power.
Awaits omcial Message.
Mr.. Hays happened to be in Wash
ington today, SO when newspaper men
called on him for his reply he pre-
ferred not to answer until the official
copy of the message was forwarded
back from Indianapolis, which ought
to be today some time If the govern
ment operation of telegraph lines Is
efficient. In the meantime Mr. Hays
authorized the correspondents to say:
II have not received the telegram
from Mr.. Tumulty. ! will be very
pleased, indeed, to receive it and shall
be very glad to reply both as to what
what I believe the facts to be as to
any subject-matter which may be re-
ferred to in his letter"
Mr. Hays undoubtedly wants an op-
portunity to confer with other repub-
lican leaders. Unfortunately the
press, and was merely a heart-to-
heart talk between the republican ma
tional chairman and his workers. No
stenosraphers from the outside were
present, although it is quite possible
that a secretary Kept record of the
proceedings.
Considers Remarks Personal.
Anyway, when Mr.. Hays refers to
'the democratic leaders at Washing
ton" assuming that he used such Ian
guage, the President considers him
self as included in that category. He
has always let the public know that
he is the leader of the democratic
party. So if Mr.. Hays attacked "the
democratic leaders" for readiness to
compromise with Germany, the Presi-
dent considers that the remarks are
nothing more than an accusation lev
e1ed at him.
Ordinarily the remarks of these ma
tional chairmen to their workers are of
TO international Importance. 1t matters
very little what names or epithets are
hurled against the democratic or repub-
lican leaders by the party workers whose
business it is to keep the campaign in
teresting. But the President is dis
tinctly against any effort to inject do
ness as the diplomatic policy of the
United States government in these criti-
cal times. This Is entirely aside from
the intimation which the alleged re-
marks of Mr.. Hays would carry that
the President and his associates care
far more for their own political fortunes
than they do for the peace OF the
world and the tremendous sacrifices
that have already been made to get
durable peace.
Speaks for the Country.
Coming as the telegram does on the
very same day that Baron Burian of
the Austro-Hungarian cabinet pleads
for conference of all belligerents to
uiSCuSS peace AHloIlHdIlys IL SAO" .
that the government of the United
States is not thinking of any ending
Of the war except one that is just
and is sanctioned by all the entente
allies in frank consultation with each
other. England and France do not
want a premature peace or an I'M
satisfactory settlement Of the war and
it is unthinkable that any domestic
quarrel in the United States would
affect their judgment of this Ques-
ton.
Mr.. Hays may say that he did not
accuse the President of anything, but
cloakroom gossip in Washington has
more than once said in private what
closed doors to the republican state
chair1nen at Chicago. Mr. Wilson un-
questionably is using the published state
ment in the Topeka Capital as means
of exposing the whole business and put
ting a stop to what he considers an I'M
derground campaign to knife his own
administration at the same time that
republicans go out publicly and claim
that they are supporting the President
in his war measures and are better able
to help him win the war than his own
party in Congress.
Some in Both Parties.
Pacifists and compromise peace
makers there are no doubt in both the
democratic and republican parties in
Congress. Counting OF noses today. so
far as any record vote is concerned,
would reveal hardly any. There were
before the war just as many, II not
more republicans. lined up against the
President on the McLemore resolutions
as there were democrats, and neither