Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-10-26
ASKS
FOR AN ELECTION OF
DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS
Declares This Will Show The
Nation Is With Him At This
Critical Time
REPUBLICAN MAJORITY
is TO BE DEPLORED
This Would Repudiate Leader
ship Of President Wilson And
Make Difficult His Task

An appeal to the coun was sent
out yesterday by President Wilson for
a vote of confidence in his leadership
both at home and abroad" by re-
turning the Democratic Congress.
In a statement addressed TO My
fellow-countrymen," he said that the
Republican leaders had unquestion-
ably been pro-war but anti-adminis-
tration. and said election of a Repub-
lican majority TO either house of Con-
gress would certainly be interpreted
on the other side of the water as a
reputation of my leadership
Text Of Presidents Statement.
The Presidents statement follows:
MY Fellow Countrymen: The Con-
gressional elections are a, hand.
They occur in the most critical period
our country has ever faced or is like
ly to face in our time. If you have
approved of my leadership and wish
me to continue to be your unembar-
rassed spokesman in affairs at home
and abroad, | earnestly beg that you
will express yourselves unmistakably
TO that effect by returning a Demo
cratic majority to both the Senate
and House of Representatives.
Il am your servant and will ac-
cept your judgment without cavil, but
my power to administer the great
trust assigned me by the Constitution
would be seriously impaired should
your judgment be adverse. and l must
frankly tell you so, because so many
critical issues depend upon your veT-
dict. No scruple of STATE must in
grim times like these be allowed to
stand in the way of speaking the plain
truth
81 have no thought of suggesting
that any political party is paramount
in matters of patriotism. / feel too
keenly the sacrifices which have been
made in this war by all our citizens,
irrespective OF party affiliation, to
harbor such an idea / mean only
that the difficulties and delicacies of
our present task are OF a sort that
make it imperatively necessary that
the nation should give its undivided
support to the Government under a
unified leadership and that a Republi-
can Congress would divide the leader
ship.
THE leaders of the minority in the
present Congress have unquesttion-
ably been pro-war, but they have been
nti-Administration At almost every
turn since we entered the war they
have sought to take the choice OF pol
icy and the conduct of the war out of
my hands and put it under the con-
troll of instrumentalities of their own
choosing.
This is no time either for divided
counsel or for divided leadership
Unity of command is as necessary
now in civil actions as it is upon the
4 field of battle. If the control OF the
House and Senate should be taken
away from the party now in power, an
opposing majority could assume con-
troll of legislation and oblige all ac-
tion to be taken amid contest and OBJ
struction.
1.-THE return of a Republican ma
jority to either house of Congress
would, moreover, certainly be inter
pre.ed on the other side of the water
i as a reputation Of my leadership.
Spokesman of the Republican party
are urging you to elect a Republican
Congress in order to back up and sup
port the President, but even If they
should in this way impose upon some
credulous voters on this side of the
water they would impose on no one
on the other side II is well under
stood there as well as here that the
Republican leaders desire not so
much to support the President as to
control him.
1.-The peoples of the Allied coun-
tries with whom we are associated
against Germany are quite familiar
with the significance of elections.
They would find il very difficult to be-
Iieve that the voters of the United
States had chosen to support their
President by electing to the Congress
a majority controlled by those who
are not, in fact, in sympathy with the
attitude and action of the Admins
tration.
Il need not tell you, my fellow
countrymen, that / am asking your
support not for my own sake or for
the sake of a political party, but for
the sake of the nation itself, in order
that its inward unity Of purpose may
be evident to all the world.
"In ordinary times / would not feel
at Liberty to make such an appeal to
you. In ordinary times divided coun-
ellis can be endured without perma-
nent hurt to the country. But these
are not ordinary times.
'If in these critical days it is your
(COntInued on page 4)