Perth Amboy evening news., 1919-06-23
MAKING THE PARTY RIDICULOUS

and TO establish a great agency for preventing war in The III
lure The latest retreat is the abandonment OF the Knox reso-
Tuition calling on the peace conference to insert a clause IN the
treaty of peace giving the United States and other nations the
right to withhold joining the league until after the treat! Is
signed.
When will the Republican leaders in congress learn 'hde
the American people are not inclined to make a partisan issue
out of any matter involving The peace oil the "orld' WIN
.be sentiment is nearly unanimous that President Wilson has
made a great mistake in ignoring the senate as N e mas "e
fact remains that he is absolutely whiting his constltuuonail
nights in doing so and the people are not going to let the grew
.nce which The senators have against the Executive block
Americas participation in such a wonderful advancement l'
civilization as the League of Nations promises to be.
Never before has the Republican party been put In the po-
sition of being The party of obstruction. 1t has always stood
for progress and has led in the establishment OF a new ordef ii
things. 1t was the Republican party mat oVer'hre" sidNei!l
something that had become so firmly fixed as one OF the 1nstl-
futions of this country that it took q great civil war to destrpY
it. But it was an advancement in civilization ana 'e hepup-
lican party was called into existence to accomplish IT,
All precedents were again thrown to the WINDS when the
United States went to war with Spain in order TO Tree CuDa'
Here was a family quarrel between a mother country M one
of her children, something in which we, IN a sense were not
concerned. 1t is none of our business what any european
country does to her colonies unless we are concerned IN hu-
mainly as a whole. But here again it was the Republican party
that led the nation in freeing Cuba and ending the DarDarous
rule of Spain in different parts of The world.
In doing this we were compelled to take over the Philip
pine Islands, marking the beginning of a new epoch IN united
States history. 1t was an untried experiment and caused US
to abandon our old isolation and become a world power con-
corning ourselves in world wide politics for the first time. But.
we did not shrink from it aud it was under the rule OF the Re,
publican party that it was accomplished.
William j. Bryan, the Democratic candidate for Presi-
dent, made it a campaign issue declaring that the United States
was launching forth on a policy of imperialism. the Democ-
racy was wrecked on that issue because the party was not big.
enough to tackle new problems and new conditions clnghg
always to the policy Of reaction.
Today when the greatest step of all in the advancement
of civilization is about to be taken--in fact, has been taken-E
we find the Republican party, under the leadership OF Senaf
tors Lodge and Knox and Eihu Root, taking The position OF re-
action, fighting progress, but being forced continually to giv,
.-ox. - III e;Iac hafop h OyppUhplmlnQ nnHHC SpntmeDti
The rank and file of Republicanism are becoming pretty
well disguised with, such leadership. But there is another
strong element in the Republican party that can see beyond
mere partisanship, especially when such grave worldwide
matters as now confront the nation are concerned. Because
of the broad and thoroughly sound position OF these men there
is vet a chance that the Republican party may redeem itselfI
Senators Wadsworth and Calder, representing the great
state of New York in the upper house of congress, have heard
from the progressive leaders in a way that cannot help but
carry weight. These New York senators are in receipt OF q
letter in which it is respectfully urged "that political parts
anship should have no place in the consideration on its merits
of the constitution of the proposed League of Nations"
The letter closes as follows:
1.-THE undersigned urge that the treaty containing the
peace covenant be promptly ratified by the senate without at,
tempting to embarrass it by amendment, thus delaying the
conclusion of peace and the establishment oil q great agency
Tor its future preservation"
This letter is signed by such regularly enrolled Repub-
leans as former President William Howard Taft, G. w. Wick
prsham and O. S. Straus, both former members of Republican
cabinets; former Governor Whitman of New York; Herbert
Parsons, a former member of congress and chairman OF the
Republican State Committee of New York; former Senator T.
Z. Burton, of Ohio, now residing in New York; William Fell
lows Morgan, president of the New York Merchants Associ-
alton, and A. E. Marling, president of the New York Chamber
of Commerce. Among others who signed the letter are emf
nent Judges, both state and federal.
These men are the forward looking men of the Repub-
lcan party in New York and there is reason to believe that
they express the sentiment of the progressive leaders in other
important states.
In the light of such sentiment it is no wonder the Knox
resolution has been abandoned and the reactionary Lodge
and Knox have now fallen back on a suggestion offered by
Eihu Root as a final means of obstructing the League of Ma
lions after the treaty finally reaches the senate.
But there is ample evidence that the country at large II
convinced that the League ofq Nations is the greatest achieve
ment of mankind up to the present time. 1t has ceased to be
a dream il It's no longer Utopia that no less a person than Sen
ator Lodge himself argued in ravor of before his partisanshp
and hatred for President Wilson got the better of him. 1t is
actually to be tried out by the nations OF the world and it is the
logical position for America to be in the lead in such a move
ment. 1t is in accordance with the best traditions of the Re-
publican party to lead the nation in taking a leading part III