Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-08-07
GOVERNOR COX'S ACCEPT
=. ANCE

| 4 N1lEt interest IN governor COX
~ speech of acceptance, of course, cen
ters on what he has to say about the
League of Nations. 1t must be ad
mitted that his statement of views on
this question is much more definite thar
that of Senator Harding. He favors
entering the league and he believes in
the ratification of the treaty with such
reservations as will secure the support
of the necessary two thirds Of the
Senate.
= This is the attitude of substantially
all of the friends of the league in the
Republican party. There are few
Republicans who are opposed to the
whole undertaking and there are many
| Democrats who object to all reserva :
| tions save those which will please the
President.
| As we pointed out the other day. the
treaty cannot be ratified by either the
! Republicans or the Democrats acting
alone. Reservations must be framed
which will satisfy members of both
parties. Twenty one Democratic sen :
ators voted for the Lodge reservations
and only a small handful of Republicans
voted against them. If the Democrats
in the Senate had entertained the view
speech there could have been agreement
on such reservations as would have
| commanded the support of two thirds
of the senator's and this country should
have been at peace long ago.
The reservations suggested by the
governor do not differ in essence from
the greater number of the Lodge rcscr-
vations. They are intended to make it
clear that this country in fulfilling the
obligations under the league covenant
| must act in accordance with the consti-
tuition. Yet in spite of everything that
Mr.. Cox says, it is clear to those
familiar with the subject that there can
be no ratification of the treaty, with or
without reservations, until the attitude
of the Democratic senator's is changed.
OF course, Governor Cox attacks Sen =
ator Hardings intimation that he would
make a separate peace with Germany.
1t ought to be- attacked and the plan
ought to be repudiated.
A large part of the speech is occupied
with noncontroversial matter. The gov
ernor favors better treatment for the
farmers and the laboring men. He be
lieves that illiteracy ought to be dis
couraged and that the foreigners should
be Americanized. He favors develop
ment of transportation by land and
water and he advocates the industrial
rehabilitation of the soldiers wounded
| in the war. And he holds that the
budget system ought to be adopted by
| the national government in the inter
ests of economy.
Every one is in favor of all these
| things, just as every one favors honesty
in men and virtue in women. 1t is
really waste of time to discuss them
| If specific propositions were advanced
for securing the ends sought, there
would be some excuse for debate, but
the governor confines himself to gen
| eraliZatiOns.
Mr.. Cox does claim credit for his
party in passing the Federal Reserve
banking law, and he would have failed
| in his duty as a party advocate if he
had not claimed it.
But the Democrats are only acci'
dentally responsible for this excellent
| legislation. The groundwork was laiC
for it by the Republican Aldrich None
tary Commission, which studied the
banking systems Of the world anC
drafted a bill for a federal banking
system. The nation was ready for thu
| legislation, and if the Republicans hat
been in power it would have been passeC
! just the same.
The only credit that the Democrats
! deserve for it rests on their acceptance
Of the general plan outlined by thu
Republicans in the Monetary Commits
| sion report. But if it had not been foI
the assistance of the Republicans in cor
rectipg errors in the Democratic bill
as originally drafted we should have
| had much less satisfactory law thar
we got. In the interest of historical
accuracy these facts should not be over
! looked.
But Governor Cox insists that tn,
Republicans fought the Federal Re
serve banking plan, when as matte
of fact they did not fight the plan bu
fought the mistaken methods which tn
Democrats were trying to adopt to carr
out the plan. This is distinction will
a vital difference.
The candidate ought to have beel
better advised than to attack the failur
of the Republicans to modify the exces
profits tax laws. He charges those law
with responsibility for all sorts 0
abuses, including high prices and bust
ness extravaganza.
But he seems to forget that ever
charge against these tax laws is a
accusation against the legislative com
, potency of his own party. These law
! were passed by a Democratic Congress
| and signed by a Democratic Presiden
in spite of the defects in them pointe
out by the Republicans. 1t was know
, that their effects would be perniciouS
! but the Democratic demagOgues insiste
. that they were going to make big bust
4 ness pay the cost of the war, and the
!. were Indifferent to everything else. The
, had the votes and they carried the
d plan, and hey voted it for trO gear
[ so that there could be no possibility {
letting big business of.
And now Mr.. Cox is damning Il
Republican Congress because it did NJ
correct the blunders in the Democrat
d legislation as soon as it came into ofic
= The popular memory in this regard
= not quite so short as he thinks it /
. And even If it were short, the Reput
20 lican campaign orators will not allo
e the country to forget that the Demo
= cratic Congress is responsible.
n VNln,n utin ram tin,n co. H. II