Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1919-01-09
A PEBBLE IN THE STREAM

IL is the inalienable right or every
free American citizen TO criticize the
government and government officials
from the municipal dog-catcher to the
president of the United States. IL is
one OF the grand privileges which even
the humblest OF us uncrowned kinds
may enjoy to the utmost under our
democratic form OF government In
exercising il we are but exercising the
sovereign right of free people and
need stand in no fear of having TO
answer for lese majestic.
Therefore, the communication with
which the Evening Capital has been
favored by one Mrs James Bennett
of Richmond. KY, in which she criti-
cizes President Wilson for visiting in
foreign countries" is one in which she
is but exercising her sovereign right;
there is no law to prevent ii even were
there an inclination.
But we do most earnestly protest
against Mrs Bennett cluttering up the
government mails with such rot as she
appears to be sending out broadcast
to daily papers all over the country.
So do we also protest against this ex-
travagant waste of perfectly good
paper i'm these days when paper is
high priced and hard to get. We have
no objection to her spending her money
for Uncle Sans three-cent stamps in
this matter for she is adding TO the
government revenue.
The communication which Mrs. Ben
nett is sending out is captioned Ask
the Supreme Court" is printed on very
good paper with very poor ink, and
abounds with errors of typography and
diction. In il she intimates that "our
people" want to know IL President
Wilson is not violating the fed
eral constitution by being absent
from the country and urges the
newspapers of the country to insist
that the Supreme court give decision
I'm the matter. AS a clincher to her
argument that President Wilson is alb
senting himself unlawfully she quotes
the Outlook magazine. Certainly there
can be no doubt of the justice of her
position when il is backed up by such
an unbiased authority as the Outlook.
We do not know Mrs. James Ben
nett, of Richmond. She may have suf-
ficient wealth to indulge her little
hobby of spending good money to en-
rich the waste baskets of newspaper
Offices. But we suggest that she con-
fer a gerater benefaction upon the
world by giving this money to the Red
Cross, the Armenians or some other
benevolent or charitable purpose. She
is more likely to be blessed with the
consciousness of having done some
thing in such a case
There is something so homogeneous
about this womans effort just at this
time that it becomes really pitiable.
Here is President Wilson now engaged
upon the greater mission ever given
to man since Christ came on the mis-
sion of the souls salvation; dealing
with gigantic problems which have
the well-being of the whole earth at
stake; hailed with acclaim in all coun-
tries by king and peasant as the har-
binger of universal and lasting peace
Yet this unknown woman in a Ken
lucky village seeks, by her puny, I'M
skilled effort, to sway the progress
of the world by a bubble. AS well
might she seek to stay the movements
of the planets as to discredit Woodrow
Wilson at this time when all the peo-
pies of the earth are proud to do him
homage.
No. Mrs. Bennett. the Evening Capt.
tai is not in sympathy with you in
your effort. We are too deeply inter
ested in watching the progress Presi-
dent Wilson is making in idealism of
the world to note if he has shattered
even so honored and sacred a thing as
the Constitution of the United States,
or if his neektie is awry. In fact. we
don't care boot about anything ex-
cept the successful accomplishment of
his mission.