Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1918-02-07


structed would always run smoothly
and that nothing would ever go amiss.
| Too wise and experienced in govern
ment to indulge in such delusions, he
| looked far ahead into the future.
'It is necessary to make a national
army with singleness of purpose and
sympathy, responsible to one COM
mander in-ehief, and not stoop to
chickering's.
There will be critics and fault.
finding and discomfort, but that has
been au incident to all our wars. 1t
is an incident to our free-and easy
4 @ 10 ocracy. 1t will come
again inevitably. Do not let us join
the band of faintrhearts when the
Time of criticism comes, or without
our etaoin. When the inevitable
shortcomings of democracy must
! come, then is the time for stout
hearts to stand by their country and
say that no matter what mistakes are
made we will stand by our govern
ment and our country.
we will not permit the chorus Of
d discoutent and criticism to obscure
the real instincts of patriotism. We
will stand by the government now
aud all shout hosannas. We will
stand by the president as we stood
by Lincoln when the faint hearted
we're crying that the war was q
failure.
Have Mr.. Roots inspiring words
> already been forgotten by our repub.
r ican friends? Are the republicans
in the house and senate prepared to
tear up the splendid pledge that he
gave to the country and to make it q
r scrap of paper? Are they ready to
deny that republican party loves its
8 country more than place and power?"
, Under the leadership of Theodore
I Roosevelt, are they now determined
that they Will not stand by Wilson
'as we STOOD by Lincoln when the
! faint hearted were crying that the
war was failure?'
e We shall not believe that the prom.
: ise made by the ablest of living re-
0 publicans will be repudiated by the
U republicans in congress until we have
/. concrete proof. The criticism and
It fault-fnding and discomfort now find
l. ing expression in Washington is, as
k Mr.. Root said, an incident to all our
d wars and an incident to our free-and-
s easy democracy. We refuse to regard
It it as more than an incident.
e Such being the case, it is incon-
it ceivable that the republicans of the
q senate and house will compromise
themselves by supporting the vicious
y and unconstitutional war cabinet bill
u which is designed to depose the presi :
~ dent and which therefore must in
u evtably muddle the whole conduct
q of the war. 1t is inconceivable that
'e they will give their support to any
y measure of ripper legislation affecting
the war administration. The war
u powers cannot be taken from the
Sc president. They cannot be vested
u elsewhere. To meddle is to invite
disaster. ngress cann0 o :
carry on war. That is an executive
G. function, and when congress under.
@. axes to override the wishes and the
1t constitutional authority of the presi.
,e dent in the conduct Of such war az
le this, 1T imperis the nation. More
1t than that, it imperils civilization
h-| itself.
e. There NAV be gentlemen in con-
t. gress who think they are more com
Is petent than Woodrow Wilson to
d. direct this war. There may be gen
ID tlemen who think they could select q
more satisfactory cabinet. There
may be gentlemen who think that in
his position they would be omnipo.
tent and omniscient and infallible.
of There may be gentlemen who are
ID convinced that the only successful
,e way to make war on the kaiser is to
r make war on the prefident of the
id United States who is making war on
ID the kaiser. But we do not believ g
r that the American people agree with
them.
o. There were gentlemen in the Civil
q war who held similar theories in re.
,e gard to the Lincoln administration.
e. The country did not agree with them
I, and history has excoriated them, as
e. it was bound TO do. They succeeded
,e in working immeasurable mischief
lr They succeeded in prolonging the
r war and adding to it's horrors. That
&c is all they accomplished. and that is
all their present-day imitat0rs can
at accomplish.
IT the republicans in congress are
O. seeking leadership in this crisis, II
OF they want guidance and direction,
rs lthey can find it in the speech that