The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-06-29
Complete Text Keynote Speech
 Of National Chairman Cummings

from Michigan.
 l The republican party became so fixed ! in it's incorrigible habit of conducting in-
 vestigations that it finally turned to the 1 fruitful task of Investigating itself For | the first time since they entered upon
 this programme, they discovered fraud
 and graft and gross and inexcusable ex-
 penditures. The revelations disclose the l fact. long understood by the initiated | that the meeting at Chicago was not a l convention but an auction. The highest | bidder. however, did not get the prize 1 The publicity which overlook the proceed | ings frustrated the initial purpose. In
 more senses than one, the recent Chicago ! convention has left the democratic party l as the sole custodian of the honor of | the country
 THE COST OF THE WAR There are men so small in spirit, so pitifully cramped in soul. that they sug gest that the war cost too much. The
 republican platform echoes this complaint I It was indeed, an expensive war. War is l the most wasteful thing in the world. 1 But is money to be measured against the | blood of American soldiers? Would 1t not
 be better to spend a billion dollars for shells that were never exploded. than to have one American boy on the firing line minus an essential cartridge? Was ] 1t not better to prepare for a long war | a short war and make 1t long? When criticism is made of the expense of war, | let us not forget that we bought with it the freedom and the safety of the civil
 ization of the world.
 ] PREPAREDNESS
 Again, they say that we were not 1 prepared for war. In a strict military
 sense democracy is never prepared
 for war, but America made ready in
 hat far iua ithan by maintaining, at enormous cost,
 great ornaments, which neither party
 ever advocated and which our people 1 would never approve.
 Wars are not fought by armies alone. 1 They are fought by nations It is a
 measuring of the economic strength of
 nations. The front line trench is no
 stronger than the forces which lie be-
 hind the trench. The line of commit nication reaches back to every village,
 fagm, counting house. factory and
 home. America prepared by making the
 economic life of the country sound l What would have been our situation if prior to the outbreak of the war, 1 we had not prepared so that our farm j CTS Were able to feed the armies of the world? What would have been our situation if labor had not been willing | to follow the leadership of the Presi- utht' " Hat WOulu nave Ueen the Sltu-
 ation if had not established a cur Irency system which made 1t possible
 for US to finance the war? What would
 have been the situation if the repub- lican party had been in control and had maintained it's old attitude toward 1 Legislation? There would have been an 1 inevitable breaking down of the eco 1 homie structure of our country. We
 would have been caught in the throes
 of a panic more devastating than any
 we had ever known. Industrial life
 would have been disorganized and the
 tasks of war, difficult as they were,
 might then have become altogether | impossible.
 The republicans have now been in
 control of the Senate and the House i for more than year. They won the
 election of 1918 upon the faith of all turing promises. They said that they would earnestly support the Presi-
 dent at least, until the tasks of war were finished It was their contention
 that they would enter upon the work
 of construction with superior intelli- gence and even with greater patriotism ' than would be possible under demo- cratic leadership. They gave publicity.
 when they entered upon the recent ses- l sion. to detailed and ambitious state ments as to their programme. If we
 are to be judged, as I hope we may be, l by the record, let them also be judged 1 by the record. What have the repub- licans accomplished since their political
 success in 1918? What beneficial re-
 suits have flowed to the American people? What promises have been re- deemed? What progress has been made
 in the settlement of foreign or do- nestle questions
 Twice the President went before 1 Congress- since the termination of hos 1 tilities, calling attention to needed leg lislation. He urged the passage of laws | relating to profifteering; measures to 1 simplify and reduce taXation: appro- priate action relative to the returning
 soldiers; the passage of a resolution concerning the constructive plans worked out in detail by former Secre-
 tary Lane, and the measures advocated by the Secretary of Agriculture. He suggested that the Congress take coun- sel together and provide legislation
 with reference to industrial unrest. and the mutual relations of capital and labor. After more than year of sterile
 debate, our country has neither peace nor reconstruction. Barren of achieve
 ment, shamless in waste of time and money, the record of the present Con- gress is without parallel for it's incom- l petencies, failures and repudiations Are the American people so unjust or
 so lacking in discrimination that they 1 will reject the service of party which has kept it's word and place trust in party which merely renews the broken promises of previous cam lpaigne
 ATTACKS UPON PRESIDENT Republican leaders have been moved by strange and inexplicable jealousy of the President. Their feverish anil mostly, expressed in gross abuse and through secret intrigue. has been pro- ductive of one of the most unhappy
 chapters in American history. recalling 1 the similar experiences of Lincoln and Washington. Political malice followed the President to the peace table. senatorial round robin" was widely circulated Every device which parti- l sanship could develop. was employed for the purpose of weakening the in- fluence of our commission at Paris, and making the task there still more difficult. At a time when every in- lstinct of fairness pleaded for whole- hearted support of the President, politi- cal antagonism and personal envy con- trolled the anti administration forces l The President made every sacrifice i for the cause of peace The long con- tinued strain while composing differ ences abroad; the expenditure of nerv- ous vitality and intellectual force in building a new order of human rela- | tionships upon the runs of the olOo laid heavy toll upon his reserve powers. Then came the return in triumph, only
 to find here widespread propaganda