The Lexington progress. (Lexington, Tenn.) 1884-current, 1919-11-28
SENATOR SHIELDS VS..
THE NAKED TRUTH.

= Aas V"h PhbHt-~l NoIu ana IalIn
has been found out and that his
treaehery to the nation has aroused
storm Of indignation throughout the
state and nation, United States Sena-
tor John X. Shields has replied in a
bitter and impassioned manner to
those who asked him to surrended his
post to some one who would represent
the people of Tennessee. Like all
others whose sins discover them, the
senator attacks the motives of his ac-
cusers. He tries to console his anger
and disappointment over his grave err
ror by gratuitious charge that those
who favor the league of nations are
either great capitalists who want to
speculate in the bonds Of bankrupt
European nations or dealers in cot
ton and food products who desire to
exploit those countries for selfish pur-
poses.' The other supporters of the
league he would classify as being in
the pay or under subsidy to the finan-
eial interests of the country.
In the name of millions of honest.
God fearing Americans who are ar
IDENTIFY supporting the plan for world
peace, need we resent this miserable
SANDER? Is it necessary to defend
against the foul aspirations of an idle
traducer the Americanism of the men
and women, who offered either their
lives or their all they possess to save
the country? These millions put their
whole hearts and beings into the war
because they wanted to save their
children from another such cruel trial.
They fought and bled and died and
suffered countless sacrifices in order
that when victory came it would be so
utilized as to make impossible anoth-
er war. They won the victory and are
being cheated out of it by such mean
and contemplate minds as that Of |
John X. Shields. 1t would be an in
suit to those American loyalists to
even offer defense of them against |
such villainous slanderers.
Not single one Of the Loyalty
American Tennesseans whose moral
instincts have rebelled at Senator
Shields treachery and breach Of faith,
is interested in his attack upon the
motives of all. Out of fairness and
justice, however, they are concerned
with an effort Of the senator to prove
that he never pledged support to the
president in the making of peace.
They want to know whether or not
he told the truth when he said this:
do not want to enter into
controversy with the Commercial
Appeal. The statement that 1t
makes that promised in my pri-
mary campaign to support Presi-
dent Wilson's Ia points is incor-
rect, besides, it is absurd in the
light Of what took place at the
peace conference at Paris. The
Id points of President Wilson
were not an issue in my CAM
paign, and | never at any time
pledged myself to support them.
We were then in war and if had
discussed the terms of peace |
would have probably been de-
nounced as pacifist and cow
ard.
Now the plain truth is that peace
had been discussed and basis for
peace laid down by no other person
than President Wilson in his famous
Ia points, announced long before the
senatorial primary in Tennessee.
We know that the president was con-
sidered neither pacifist nor a cow
ard for so doing. As matter Of fact,
he could have done nothing else. We
hau W iaNS oolhS pui pUoS III tHc WdTy
as we could not in our same minds
have gone into the struggle blindly.
We had to be fighting for something
and the president expounded in his IA
nous Ia points what we were offering
our blood and treasure for. These ID
points were just as much a part of
our military policy as the selective
service law or any of the other war
measures. In fact, they were more so,
because all the other laws were mere
ly means and the Ia points were the
end to which the means tended. The
peace postulates were the summation
of our war activity. Senator Shields
knew this just as well as anyone else
when, day or two before the prima-
ry Of August 1, 1918, in which he was
a candidate. he said this in state
ment over his own signature:
have advocated and voted for
every other law which the presi-
dent has advised and the Con-
gress has enacted as necessary or
desirable for the vigorous and
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