The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1920-03-04

Ihe piOposeu 1nlfO farty is IN the same
boat with the two regular parties. This
does not seem to be the day of great
leaders.
In the meantime, sh-ewd and active
men such as Frank P. Walsh, Governor
Frazer, Fitzpatrick, Amos Pinchot,
Dudley Field Malone, Norman Thomas
and others of the Labor Party, the
Non-Partisan League. the Committee
of Forty-eight, the Irish Friends of
Freedom and the opposition to Gompers
in the Federation of Labor are working
day and night to unite all elements and
find candidate behind whom they can
rally. If they succeed in turning that
trick, they will make the next cam
paign decidedly interesting, to say the
least.
Whether they can do it or not is the
chief topic of discussion whenever two
or three or more politicians are gather
ed together these days-with no brass
rail to put their feet on, sad to say.
One unfortunate result of Mr.. Will
sons breakdown is that the Cabinet
secretaries have had to act on their own
hook. The results have not all been
pretty to look at. On the contrary.
Quite so.
Everybody knows that, with a single
exception, the present Cabinet is COM
posed of very ordinary material. When
Mr.. Wilson was well, he so dominated
all Government affairs that it didn't
make much difference how mediocre
the Secretary of Department might
be practically, his job was only to do
what Mr.. Wilson told him to do, and
things would have gone on Just the
same if all the Cabinet had gone on in
definite vacations.
But now it is different. Mr.. Wilson
has been very sick man. He is still
sick man. And the result is that the
Cabinet has been at skies and sevens.
with public business suffering for lack
of the President masterful direction.
The Department of State has been
the most demoralized by the incapacity
of Mr.. Wilson to direct operations. Mr..
Lansing is an honest little man. who
has done his best. But the chaos in
Europe and the tremendous problems
arising from that chaos would have put
strain on the powers of a Marcy. a
Webster, John Hay, Grover Cleye-
land or Theodore Roosevelt Mr..
Lansing is not in that class. So Mr..
Lansing fell down and out-at that, |
hear nobody approving of the manner
in whice Mr.. Lansing was dismissed.
The loose condition of things in the
State Department was illustrated
strikingly the other day, when a COM
mittee of the Commercial Association
"a body of American Manufacturers
called on Mr.. Lansing to inform them
what the State Department meant to do
about trade with Russia.
1t seems that these American manu-
facturers have bona fide orders for
over S25, 100000 worth of goods from
Russian buyers, which they cannot ship
because the State Department will not
permit American ships to clear for Bal
tic sea ports with the goods; and while
our manufacturers are thus held up,
British manufacturers are obtaining
and filling the orders Americans should
have, and British ships are carrying the
cargoes American ships should carry to
Baltic ports for railroad shipment into
Russia.
The only reply made by the State De-
partment was that it had not yet been
learned what the British Government
had decided to do about opening Russia
to trade-to which one of the indignant
manufacturers replied that he had al
WAYS supposed that the American State
Department and not the British Foreign
Office decided where and how Ameri-
cans could carry on trade with other
peoples.
The probable truth is that Mr. Lam
sing was waiting to see what the Brit
ish Government would do about recog-
MIXING the Soviet Government, though |
it is well-known ION the inside" that !
this is only matter of short time.
Our manufacturers complain that the |
British Government is purposely delay |
ing announcement of its intended recog-
milton of the Soviet Government in or
der to give British manufacturers and
merchants and bankers time to get
good foothold in Russia while Ameri-
cans hands are tied at home. All bust
ness agents and press spondents
returning from the Baltic region say
that this is just what is being done now.
John Bull may appear slow, but when
it comes to running down trade he is as
nimble as the next one, and then some.