The Washington times., 1918-01-25

profits on the war by men and COM
binations, debating as far as pos
sible to constituted authority" and
making the conduct of the war de-
pend first on satisfaction assured
them in control of the opportunities
for making money out of speeding
1T up"-with speed developing in
the measure of their possibilities Of
profits.
incidentally, Senator Chamberlain
touched this in his mention of the
"hold-up" in the wool market and
the way in which the 65-35 and
$3.50 shoddy ratios in army uni
forms and overcoats were put
over" on a quartermaster general
whom dollar-a-year volunteer ex-
perts had reduced to helplessness.
Singularly enough, the objection to
volunteers as compared with "reeu-
lars" was applied to them only in
specific instances.
This, however, was only inciden-
tai. He did not put as much stress
on 1t, or as much eloquence into it,
as ne did into exposing the prevail
ence OF measles and other camp dis
eases endangering the lives of the
boys whose fathers and mothers he
urged to write letters to the Presi-
dent to speed up" the war, that the
selected boys may not die with meas
les or other camp diseases before
they reach the trenches or peace is
made, without sacrificing a hun
dred thousand of them for every
mite Of trenches carried.
AS he read from. documents sub
mitted to the Senate Committee on
Military Affairs (some few of them
not hitherto published) his audience
was profoundly attentive Only a
few, who knew the. extent and i'm
port of the evidence, felt that he
could not do it justice. on bis ,ques-
ton Of veracity with the President.
Perhaps most of those who heard
him felt that he was as deeply in
Jured as chairman of the Committee
on Military Affairs, as he may have
a right to feel personally when at
tucked by the President in what he
felt his tenderest point-his reputa-
ton for truthfulness. But the at
tack came in a speech at a political
dinner-not in the Senate or in one
of its committees.
The question Of privilege took a
different aspect, when, following him,
Senator Kirby of the Committee on
Military Affairs, challenged his right
to speak for the committee on the
evidence it had taken, before its re-
port was completed, and denied that
he had made a correct use of the evil
dence.
Senator Kirby was not eloquent or
pathetic, and many who had been
deeply moved by Senator Chamber
lain left the chamber or the galleries
in full sympathy with him while
Kirby was speaking. AS a matter Of
fact, Kirby referred to a mass of evil
dence which could not possibly be
summarized as Senator Chamberlain
had used it at the New York political
dinner and in the Senate yesterday
on his question of personal privilege.
1t may be decisive of greater
things than a question of personal
privilege. 1t may decide or help TO
decide the issues of free, Just and
constitutional Government in the
United States. In the meantime, the
demands of the Armageddon party
for full control of the Constituted
authorities" may decide PresideD-
tial election-but it may be an Gar
mageddon" for those (all of them Of
whatever name) who believe that the
constituted authorities of the United
States can be permanently subjected
to any domination other than that OF
the American people.
Immediately after the discussion
of the question Of privilege, the Sen
ate confirmed the nomination OF
Postmaster Burleson, late Of Texas,
for four years-the President hav-
ing taken note of the fact that in his