French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1916-1919, 1918-10-31
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 81, 1918
A BIT OF THE BRITT RECORD.

a BIZ VI The BRITT
President Wilson is calling upon the
people of the United States to return
a Democratic congress in the Novem-
Der election if they approved of his
leadership to date through this criti-
cal period of the cOuntry's history. A
failure to do this, the President thinks,
would seriously impair his power to-
administer the great trust assigned
to him under the constitution and be
interpreted abroad as a reputation OF
his leadership, and, of course, Oppo-
sition to the war into. which the cOuE-
try was drawn in ~self-defense. Only
those who have stood the acid test are
entitled to support in the approaching
election.
Let us see if James j. Britt is in this
class.
Mr.. Britt became a member of con-
gress on March 4th, 1915, and, accord
ing to his own admission, supported
the President when The thought ne
was right" In a speech before the re-
publican district convention held az
Asheville on March 18th, 1916, he made
it plain that the Presidents advice haG
very little effect upon his actions In
the House. The Greensboro News
carried this reference to his speech
from it's Asheville correspondent in
the issue of March rs, 1916:
H (Britt) reviewed briefly his
work during the past four months
of the present Congress and stated
that he had not hesitated to give I
President Wilson support when
he thought the President right. He
cfofod That Mr. Wilson changed
his mind too often, and was I'M
stable"
And who decided the issues upon
which Mr.. Britt and President should
stand together? 1t does not appear
that their minds were together very
often, if at any time, during the two
years of Mr.. Britt's tenure. He voteG
against the Rivers and -HarbOrs bill
presumably because he did not think
the President twas right" in APPROX
ing it. This bill carried an appropria-
ton to be used for the deepening and
dredging of all the harbors OF the
country and to make navigable its in
lets and waterways, all of which was
vitality necessary in the transpOrta-
ton of soldiers, supplies and num-
tions of war to France. But maybe
he thought the President would
change his mind" about the a He
voted against the creation of the
Shipping Board, opposed the considera-
tion of the bill providing for the Board
and is recorded in the Congressional
Record as voting against the final pas
sage of the bill, the enactment OF
which has made possible the con
structiOn of ships for the transpOrta-
ton of our armies abroad and supply
ing them with food, clothing and muE-
itions. The shipping Board has prov
en- to be one of the most valuable
agencies of the Government in the
plans it has evolved in the successful
prosecution of the war. But Mr.. Britt
voted mo" because he did not think
the president was right" in making
provision for the building of ships to
carry our fighting men to the firing
line in France.
During his very first year in Con-
gress Mr.. Britt voted against the rev.
enue bill which provided funds for ali
national expenses of every kind. Again
he did not think that the President
twas right" to ask for funds with
which to support our army and navy
in the efforts they were making to
safeguard American liberty and bring
a lasting peace to the world. Had ali
other members of the u voted
with Mr.. Britt upon this measure, the
country would have a no money
with which to increase the army and
navy, to pay our soldiers, or provide
the necessary expenses for govern
ment maintenance. But he did not
think the administration was right
in asking for this money and let it be
known that he would not stand for
anything of the kind.
Furthermore, Mr.. Britt baked on
some of the preparedness measures,
especially conspicuous by it's absence
is his vote on the Hay amendment to
the Army Bill providing for an in
crease of the regular army to $4,000,
as recommended by b General StaE,
with the approval Of the President.
But, perhaps, he did not think the
President "was right" in asking for
a larger army to protect he American
neonIe against the Entertainments of
asfOreign foe.
On May 9Th, 1916, he voted agains;
section ffty-six of the bill providing
for a Volunteer Reserve Army to be
entirely under Federal control. These
latter votes are charged against Mr..
Britt by the National Security League:
headed by Elihu Root, one of the
greatest Republicans of the country,
which has made a chart of the vote
Of members of the Sixty-fourth Con-
&ess on preparedness measures e
telegram from the League itself is our
authority for stating Mr.. Britt's pos
ton upon the Presidents prepared.
ness measures, in addition to the evi-
dence from the Congressional Record
I'm the face of these facts, we leave
it for the public to decide whethe,
Mr.. Britt has stood the "acid test" anC
is worthy of support at the polls mex
Tuesday