The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-03-18

men are doing in their districts. L
is evident that the lives of soldiers
are to be placed on the political bat
tie field by lot of junkers in Wash
ington. Patriotism won the war-it
is too bad that patriotism cannot live
to prevent future wars.
All the trouble is that the Repub-
licans want League of Nations but
they do not want President Wilson
to put 1T over.-Burlington Clipper.
On the whole it begins to look as
] if Brother Frank Greene "put his
foot in it," last week in that address
he made before the Vermont Press
Association on the League of Ma
tons. In justice to Greene, we think
he has been more or less misquoted-
the boys who find fault with his
"partisanship" have omitted the pre-
face to his remarks in which he ex-
planned just why partisanship was
necessary in playing the game at
Washington"
That does not alter the fact, how
ever, that we plain Vermont folks
are not at all ready 20 follow the
bandwagon, hell bent-for-electio
hoorah-boys, as we did in the old
days. The public has changed lot
IN the past four years after what it
has experienced and we are not at
all ready to go back to the old "play-
| ipm tbo eroy,oo b,,ci,oceD thai r~oano
lays emphasis on; on the whole there
are higher things to give our atten-
ton than damniDg the Democrats
just because they are Democrats and
following the Republicans just be-
cause they are Republicans. That s
old, old stuff and worn threadbare
and out-of-date. AS time goes on
and we newspapermen think his re-
marks over more and more, it looks
as if we were inclined to sit back
in the breeching and "call" thc state
ments he made.
AS mater of fact, the public IS
just a bit weary of all this playing
the game' business down in Wa 81
ington, anyhow. We're not interest
ed in "going after them like the Green
Mountain folk went after the York
ers," as Greene put it-not at all.
The sentiment of the country now is:
"What is the measure of this mai"
not "what are his politics." That
went out with Grover Cleveland, or
most certainly it went out when
Woodrow Wilson signed his sigma
ture to the declaration of war against
Germany. 1t is just another indlca-
ton that some of our good Repub-
leans at Washington haven't kept
pace with the speed of the world or
judged at all accurately the temper
of the folks back home. If Greene
thinks he has his ear to the ground
our sincere advice to him i. to hunt
around and find a new patch of
ground. He's got the side of his
head down against loose sand, not
fertile soil.
From talking with the average man
on the street, in the barbershops and
cigar stores, it looks as though all
that ais the Republicans anyhow, is
that they are "sore" because the
Democrats had the running Of the war
and licked Germany by the organiza-
ton they headed, and in such an
event, the blunt honest rugged Yank-
ee's homage goes to the chap who put
the dirty job across, not at all with
the chap who says: 81 could have put
it across BETTER" and then starts
knocking.
American folks hate a knocker.
Every Republican knock is turning
into boost for the Democratic party,
but you can't tell the Washington
environed statesman that, evidently.
All the campaign material which we
Vermont editors are having sent us
day after day, even we good Repub-
lican editors, is nothing but degen-
crate slush and hogwash aimed at
discrediting the Democrats. And we
are not at all in sympathy with dis
crediting the Democrats. We are a
darned sight more interested in learn
ing how the Republicans would
govern the country better or improve.
on what the Democrats have done OF
are doing. Hang a sore-head any
how!
Greene and his colleagues should
take a brace and show the real men
which they are by working for stop
to this brand of mossbackism. He
should be big enough-as our repre-
sentative-to read the signs of the
times and the temper of it Alright
and be bigger American than he is
a Republican. He should see that
this country is slowly evoluting into
two great parties, the liberals and
the conservatives, the Progressives
and the Stand-patters. And the
world is moving too swiftly in these
days to have much use on the whole
for male old ladies in the affairs of
government.
No, Congressman Greene must
"come again." in a little different
vein if he aspires to be our next Yer
mont senator. At least it begins to
shape up that way from what the
newspaper boys say now. We're his
friends from the personal standpoint,
but professionally some of US don't
stand with him at all. And yet we're
as good Republicans-in the fine
broad sound ethical principles of the