The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1918-05-02

| say to you today. following
in the footsteps of, Washington
in the war that gained our
nationality; following in the
footsteps of Lincoln in the
war that gained these reunited
States, much more firmly united
than they were before; follow
ing in the foot steps of all the
men who have ever conducted a
great war any where upon this
earth, that the men who talk a.
bout divided legislative and ex-
ecutive authority are fools, and
the men who talk about not in
trusting to somebody some
where centered and unified and
harmonized authority are fools.
They cannot carry on war. 1t re-
minds me of whal Teddy Roose-
welt said about the Secretary of
War or Navy or somebody at the
beginning of the Spanish-Ameri-
can war. He said he had con-
versation with him one day. and
the Secretary said-I believe it
was the Secretary of War,
though it might have been the
Secretary of the Navy-but
whatever the Secretary, he said,
/ had this thing in beautiful run
ming order, and all at once comes
along this damned war and de-
stroys it ALL" Laughter)
Mr.. President. the sole object
of this bill is to harmonic execu-
tive action; to unity executive
purpose; and the sole way of
winning a war is to arm the Ex-
ecutive with sufficient power to
win it.
The old Romans were fools a.
bout a great many things; they
were barbarians about some
things; but they gave to the
world a system of law that con-
trolled it tor thousand years;
they gave to it system of pub
I lie roads that are an example un-
til today. They knew nothing
about real democracy, and that
is the rock upon which they split;
but they did know something a.
bout carrying on war. What
ever else they were deficient in,
they were not deficient in that.
They were the war-making pow
er of the world until Germany
arose, dreaming that she should
found a new empire as a success
sor of the old Roman Empire
and take over world dominion.
The old Romans, under a reoublic
and later, understood this about
war, that when you came to the
critical point you had to have a
dictator. They knew that neither
the patricians of the capitol, nor
the plebians upon the crosss treets
of Rome could carry on war. The
State legislatures and the Con-
gress of the United States can
net carry on war. You have
got to give somewhere to some
body-selecting the right man if
God. under His grace, gives you
sufficient wisdom to select him
the power to do this thing and to
take charge of it with response
bility. In the war in France we
have selected Pershing. | think
he is the right man; hope he is.
If he is not, then the President
of the United States, as military
dictator during the war, has the
power to remove him and to put
somebody else in his place.
The real war is being carried
on over there in France-not
here: not by these talks; not by
my voice; not by the voices of
you. passed through the Senate
day before yesterday and | saw
one of the most distinguished
Senators in this body speaking
[ to four auditors, and one of those
four was so deaf he could not
here it thunder. That is part OF
your legislative and congress-
ional and senatorial life. What
do you think that has to do with
winning the war? More men.
more guns, more munltlons'
Still more men, still more guns,
still more munitions, sent to
France as fast as you can get
them there! Thoroughly trained
or half trained or quarter train
ed! Send men there as quickly as
you can. That is the war win
ming slogan.
You and I are sitting here
talking about the provisions OF a
bill to give the President power
to do what? To put a square peg
in a square and a round peg in a
round hole. If he finds out that