Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-01-22


able to make such q speech as that
to, which the Senate has listened,
but 1t is a time when our personal
desires should be made subordinate
to the public interest. I hope that
the speech will be grateful where he
desires it>to be grateful as he ex-
poets.
MIR. President, the Republicans
of the House and Senate have voted
for all the great measures necessary
for the war. They have voted for
loans authorized; for all the great
powers to be given. There have
been measures, Mr.. President, de-
sired by the administration which
might have failed, which would
have failed in one house at least
without the Republican vote. The
Republicans have, to my knowl-
edge, cast no party vote since the
second of last April, and they will
continue to avoid casting party
votes while the war is in progress.
Partisanship Outside Congress
Mr.. President, IL there has been
partisanship anywhere since the war
began it has not been in the Con-
gress of the United States. It has
been pretty obvious to everybody, to
the most casual looker-on, else
where. While we were organizing
all the industries and all the re-
sources of the United States as we
needed to do in order to win this
war, 1t has seemed to be at times
as IL 1t might be we'll to organize
and use all the ability of the coun
try. The parties of this country are
pretty evenly divided, and to con-
fine one party to the right to give
| their lives, their sons, their broth
ers. their husbands to the armies
and navies seem to me not alto
gether best.
Il think 1t would have been bet
ter If they had been more largely
called. and that we needed all that
ability in the general service of the
United States. I have found no fault
| however, with that attitude. The
only fault i have ever found is that
the administration failed to take the
pest from its own party.
There has been n great admira-
tlon evidenced for what has been
called the dwellers in the twilight
zone; great desire to appoint men.
rev In number, who have wandered
from one part to another until
some trreverent people have referred
to them as the mavericks of politics.
They have been taken wherever
possible and without regard, SO far
as one can see, to anything except
their somewhat varied political rec
ora, ana put in places of great i'm
portance.
Il have observed also that those
wanderers generally permit them
selves to be branded by some one
who is able to admit them to green
pastures and to comfortable stalls.
The fault find is in not calling out
the best ability in the Democratic
| party, If it must be confined to half
the country.
No Party Line Criticism
There are too many men eXerting
great power at this moment, vested
with great authority, who seem to
the observer to have nothing to COM
mend them except their insignifl-
| canoe, which makes them solely de-
pendent on the executive pleasure.
My criticism has never run on party
lines, and does not now.
Mr.. President, the Senator has re-
ferred to investigations. / introduc-
ed one of the resolutions of investi-
cation. The portion of the country
from which l came was suffering
very grievously from the shortage of
sugar and running almost to a fam
inc, and from shortage of coal, and
it seemed to me that it was an obvi-
Gus duty for Congress to try to dis
cover whether there was anything
wrong in the policy that had been
adopted, and whether there was not
some remedy that could be furnish
ed.
The resolution 1 offered was
adopted by the Senate. The investiga-
ton has been carried out without
one thought of partisanship or party
lines so far as could see in the COM
mittee charged with the investigation
and headed by the colleague of the
Senator from Missouri. In that in
vestigation there have been divi-
sions, but they have not run along
the party boundary.
"As to the investigation being
carried on by the Committee on
Military Affairs, in my humble opin-
ion, no greater service has ever been
rendered to the country by any COM
mittee of Congress than that commit
tee has rendered in the last six weeks.
Is this Congress to stand by in ST.
lence while blunders and delays and
needless losses go pouring past, and
to be accused of treason IL it tries to
make conditions better?
THE Senator has referred to the
SDunlSh NdIs WhlIA iaoiNo llAOo
months. We were unprepared then,
as we were unprepared last April,
and mistakes were made then, even
in that short time, but IL will be re-
membered that without congressional
investigation the President changed
his Secretary of War.
Touches on Shutdown Order
"Mr. President, the Senator has
spoken about these investigations
being of assistance in what they re-
veal. They reveal many things, GER
tainly in the Committee on Military
Affairs, to the people Of the United
States which cry for remedy. They
reveal very little, in my opinion, that
the enemy does not know. But when
you speak of the effect of these in
vestigations, what do you think was
the effect on our Allies and our
yet immersed in war, deliberately
closed down for five days all the in
dustries of the country?
What impressions do you think
will be given by that act? What will
be the impression upon the German
mind when the read of that order of
the fuel administration?
IT am not going into that tn de-
| tail. have been passing a great
many hours in considering it, and I
shall have something to say later
but it is not well to speak of these
investigations having an effect and
being hostile to the country when
such an exhibition as that made oi
impotence and failure as is shown In
that fuel order.
The Senator devoted a good dea
of attention to Colonel Roosevelt.
do not think it is necessary for me