Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1919-02-05


to some extent one must believe, be-
cause assertions are made that Gen
eral Pershing is not really popular in
the army and that the returning sol
d1ers and those to be returned will not
be enthusiastic for him if he should
be candidate for the presidency. One
thing is certain. If this war does not
develop a president it is the first war
the country has ever had that failed
to do so.
From 1884 to 1919 is a long span of
years. That is the period during which
Henry Cabot Lodge and Theodore
Roosevelt were close personal and po-
litical friends. They made their first
political fight together in 1884 at the
convention which nominated Blaine.'
They were against the Plumed knight,
and since that time they had been to-
gether on nearly every political prOpo-
sitiOn that came before the country.
particularly on the subject of civil
service reform, which brought them in
closer alliance than almost any other
issue. They were active leutenants In
the fight to make Tom Reed speaker
30 years ago. Senator Lodge would
not go to the Republican national con-
vention in 1912 because he did not
want to be put in the position of an
tagonizing Roosevelt, although he did
not believe that his candidacy at that
time was opportune. In the conven-
ton of 1916, however, Lodge voted for
Roosevelt on the second ballot
Any man who seriously proposes
to annex territory to the United
States is sure to start something.
Every acquisition of territory has
aroused bitter opposition. History
tells us that was the case in regard
to the Louisiana purchase, the annex
alton of Texas, the acquisition of terri
tory from Mexico after the Mexican
war, and again when Seward bought
Alaska from Russia. 1t is within the
memory of men still living how oppo-
sition to General Grants proposal TO
acquire Santo Domingo was strong
enough to overthrow presidential pol
| icy. Plenty of people can remember
the bitter contest against acquiring
Hawaii and the Philippines. But with
| the exception of Santo Domingo, which
is nominally under our control, nearly
every movement for the acquisition
of territory has been successful.
Perhaps that is what makes Sena-
tor Ashurst's proposition a real SUBJ
| ject of debate He wants to add Lower
California and a large slice of the
northern part of Mexico to the United
| States, and puts up some pretty good
reasons for the acquisition. Just as
Tom Reed complained bitterly about
| buying Malays at 50 head" abiding
to the $20,000,000 paid for the Philip
pines with their 100000 population,
so there will be a great deal Of oppo-
sition to taking over the poems and
semi-savage tribes of northern Mexico,
even if we get a large slice of land
with it. However, the world Is be-
coming somewhat topsy-turvy and geo.
graphical lines are being redrawn in
the old world, and perhaps the inf1u-
ence will spread to this continent, not
withstanding the ringing declaration Of
| Senator Elihu Root at the Rio Janeiro
conference when he told all of the
Latin-American republics that the
United States did not desire foot Of
their territory.
While there Is talk of rushing
everything in the way Of legislation in
order to avoid an extra session, it
may be mentioned that the house Of
representatives devoted four or five
days to hearing a contested election
case. Strange as 1t may seem. the
contest came from Alaska, terri
tory having a delegate who has no
vote. The time was when contested
election cases excited considerable in
terest in the house of representatives.
1t was a contested election case which
precipitated the fight when Tom Reed
counted a quorum in the Fifty-6rst
congress, provoking one Of the most
bitter partisan struggles that has
ever been known in the history of con-
gress. Much of the time in the debate
in the Alaska case was taken up by
the men who are battling for the seat,
IN q lnpo rohoorcal of plnotinn c0n6f-