Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-11-02
WILSON'S APPEAL
SCORED BY TAFT
Wants Power Equal to
Hohenzollerns, Declares
Former President
URGES G. o. P. CONGRESS
Tells New Hampshire Audi.
ence Republicans Will Be
Nations Safety Valve

Portsmouth. y. H.. NOV. q
Former President Taft urged New
Hampshire voters in a speech here last
night to elect Republicans to Congress
so that President Wilson would be held
to an unconditional surrender by Ger
many and not be allowed 10 make a
peace by negotiation.
Mr.. Taft objected TO the Presidents
appeal for the election of Democratic
candidates for Congress on the assump-
tion that a Democratic majority in both
houses would make the President the
spokesman in affairs at home and
abroad.
THE character of the Presidents ap-
peal" said Mr.. Taft "discloses his utter
misundersta anding of our constitutional
form Of government. The appeal Is a
demand for power during the next two
years equal to that of the Hohenzollerns
in war and peace and accounting and
reconstruction He continued;
Democrats Not Leaders
"The present Administration has led
but little i'm this war. 1t has been
pushed into many important steps which
II has taken. Not until Joffre and
Viviani and Balfour came here was the
necessity Of sending troops at once to
France realized and acted on. For a
long time the hope was that the war
could be won without more than few
divisions of American gtroops in France.
but with our treasure and our supplies.
Not until the preparation for the Ger
man offensive early this year was the
Administration brought to the task Of
sendinE q large army to help the Allies.
and not until the Allies furnished uS
transportation did we seriously under
take 1t. II there hHd been leadership
we would have been In France In large
numbers months before.
THE Republican minority has voted
all the power and all The funds the
President has asked TO carry on this
war.
''The Secretary of War created a war
council of the heads OF bureaus in the
department. which, without real au-
thority. feebly lived and died. The
President has finally been induced to
delegate power to Barney Baruch, to
| Stettinius. to Hoover. TO Schwab. to
Goethals and to Ryan. He has now n
self-created war council. which only In
clumsy way serves the purpose the
Republican minority had In mind = year
before.
Much has been done through COM
petent military officers and well done.
with no more waste than that which
was involved III naSte anu II HectSSdTy y
lack Of trained organization. But much
has not been done which should have
been done, had the arm OF the Ad-
ministration been at once open TO Ameri-
can genius available In the particular
heIds Of war production. and to Ameri-
can statesmen trained In diplomatic and
world affairs.
THE example of Lincoln in calling his
political Opponents, who sympathixed
| with the war into his councils was
| specifically rejected and course pur-
sued which justified the statement that
never In peace or war have we had q
| more partisan Administration than
| during this critical period in the nations
life. The Republican party was repre-.
sented only by the Republican minority
| in the House and the Senate The men,
| bers Of that minority have been moved
| in their concerted action by no partisan
purpose. The country owes much to
them for the stimulus to better war