The evening herald. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1906-1942, 1919-01-16
THURSDAY, JANUARY 10. 1919
oNE.MAN GOVERNMENT

Soldiers returning from France
land in the United States without
money. tho many months pay is due
them. Ii they are sick. no hospitals
are ready to receive them. says the
Oregonian. No provision has been
made for their civil employment, ex-
ccpt that the government employ
merit Offices are open to them as to
any civilian. No allowance has been
made for their maintenance until
they find employment, such as the
Allies have made. They are no long
er needed by the government since
the Marne has been won, the linden
burg line wiped out, the Argonne for
est cleared of machine guns and the
lost battalion found; so they are CIV
en- no more attention by the govern
ment and they are cast aside like an
old, well-worn shoe. Yes, they are
well-worn in winning the victories for
which President Wilson has been re-
ceiving the laurels.
Care for the returning soldiers
should have had the attention of con-
gress last summer, but congress
blandly assumed that the war. would
last another year at least, and it
whiled away the time in bootless talk.
Having caught congress unprepared
for war, Germany caught ii unpre-
pared for peace by inconsiderately
making an unexpected surrender. AS
Congress had to make an army after
the war began, so il has to make
provisions for the soldiers home
coming after they are home.
The cause of this callous neglect,
which is national shame, is not far
to seek. The President, from the day
of his first inauguration, has taken
all initiative into his own hands until
he has tnaily destroyed all power OF
Initiative in his cabinet and in his
party in congress. The only present
member of the cabinet who has shown
any Of this quality is Secretary lane.
He is the only one who has made iry
concrete proposal for readjustmenr
to peace conditions, but his scheme
needs much fixing before it will be
workable The other cabinet men,
bers are obedient clerks, especially
since Mr.. McAdoo stepped out. The
democratic members of congress have
degenerated into rubber stamps for
the Presidents decisions. the only
exceptions being those who have
made well-merited criticism of the
administration and have received
condign punishment, and those few
who have had hobbies to ride.
When che present session opened,
the eleventh hour for rehabilitation
and readjustment legislation had
struck If the President has called
upon congress to give this work pref
erence over all else, it would doubt
less have got down to business with
all the speed of which it is capable.
He said nothing in his address about
care of thesoldiers during demobiliZa-
tion, left everything to our quick
and resourceful'' people, simply COM
mended the Lane scheme, stated the
railroad problem and gave it up, and
announced that he was goin gto Eu-
rope to settle the affairs of the world
and would run the United States by
wireless.
Since his departure the govern
ment has been like family deserted
by both parents or like flock of
sheep milling around without shep-
herd. The dollar-a-year men who
had injected some business energy
and efficiency into the departments,
have returned to their own affairs,
leaving the small-size chiefs to shift
for themselves. In the absence OF the
big chief to tell them what to do, and
of the business men to show them
how to do 1t. these tame politicians
are at loss, any initiative or cour-
age they ever had having been drilled
out of them. The so-called demo-
cratic leaders in congress are In as
had a predicament. They are not ac-
customed to propose anything with
OUT the Presidents o. X. and they
have been used to carry their trou-
bles to him. They can scarcely do
khA ~