Republican farmer., 1920-08-13

armaments and live, as the Orient used to live, a hermit nation. dream- ing of the past; or, we must open our eyes and see that modern civiliza- tion has become so complex and the lives of civilized men so interwoven with the lives of other men in other countries to make it impossible to be in this world and not of it. We must see that it is impossible to avoid except by monastic seclusion those honorable and intimate foreign rela- tions which the fearful hearted shud- deringly miscall by that Devils catchword international Complica- tions."
 As for our home problem, we have been awakened by this war into a startled realization of the archaic shortcomings of our governmental machinery and of the need for the kind of reorganization which only a clear thinking business man, exper- fenced in the technicalities of gov ernmental procedure can carry out. Such a man we have. One who has so successfully reformed the business management of his own great state is obviously capab1 of doing greater things. This is no time to eNperi- ment with men who believe that their party can do no wrong and that what is good for the selfish in terests of a political party Is of ne- cessity good for the nation as well. I as citizen believe that this year we should choose as President a proved executive. We need to do things; not to talk about them.
 Much has been said of late about good Americanism. It Is right that it should have been said, and it is right that every chance should be siezed to repeat the basic truths un- derlying our prosperity and our na- tional existence itself. But it would be unusual and much to be wish ed for thing if in the coming pre- sentation of the issues a new note of fairness and generosity could be struck. Littleness, meanneSs, false hood, extreme partizanship-these are not in accord with American spirit. I like to think that in this respect also we are moving forward
 Let us be definite. We have pass ed through great war-an armed conflict which called forth every eff fort on the part of the whole popu- lation. The war was won by Repub- licans as wei as by Democrats. Men of all parties served in our armed forces. Men and women of all par
  They strived honestly as Americans, not as mere partisans. Republi- cans and Democrats alike worked in administrative positions, raised Lib erty Loans, administered food control, toiled in intuition plants, built ships. The war was brought to a success fu1 conclusion by a glorious common effort--one which in the years to come will be a national pride. I feel very certain that our children will come to regard our participation as mem orable for the broad honor and hon esty which marked it, for the absence of unfortunate scandal, and for the splendid unity of action which ex- tended to every position of the na- tion. It would, therefore, not only serve little purpose, but would con for mill to our high standards if any person should in the heat of politi- cal rivalry seek to manufacture po- litical advantage out of a nationally conducted struggle. We have seen things on too large Q scale to listen in this day to trifies, or to believe in the adequacy of trifiing men
 It is that same vision of the bigger outlook of national and individua life which will, I am sure, lead u: to demand that the men who repre-
 
 ment shall be more than politicians or the errand boys of politicians that they shall subordinate always ths individual ambition and the party ad vantage to the national good. II the long run the true statesman anC the honestly forward looking part. will prevail.
 ! Even as the Nation entered thu war for an ideal, so it has emerged ] from the war with the determination that the ideal shall not die. It il | idle to pretend that the War Declara ton of April 9th, 1917, was a mer act of self-defense, or that the objec ! of our participation was solely to de feat the military power of the Cen 1 tra1 Nations of Europe. We knev | them as a Nation, even as we knov l today, that success on land and se l could be but half a victory. Tn 1 other half is not won yet. To tn l cry of the French at Verdun: The shall not pass" ;the cheer of our ow1 | men in the Argonne: They shall g l through"-we must add this, ''It shal not occur again" This is the posi- tive declaration of our wills; that tn world shall be saved from a repeti ton of this crime. To this end tn democratic party offers a Treaty 0 T for a real peace must include League of Nations; because thi peace treaty, if our best and braves are not to have died in vain, mus be no thinly disguised armistice de vised by cynical statesmen to mas | their preparations for a renewal c
 greed-inspired conquests later or
 Peace must mean peace that wi
 last. A practical, workable, perma
 nent, enforcible kind of a peace tha
 will hold as tightly as the bushes
 contracts of the individual. W
 must indeed be, above all thing
 business like and practical in tn
 peace treaty making business of our
 The League of Nations is a practics
 solution of a practical situation is no more perfect than our origin; Constitution, which has been amend
 ed IS times and will soon we hor , be amended the 18th, was perfect.
 is not anti-National, it is anti-wa No super-nation, binding us to tt decisions of it's tribunals is sugges !, ed, but the method and machinery |