Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-08-07

DAYTON. Ohio, Aug. THE address OF
Governor James NJ. Cox, IN accepting the
Democratic Presidential nomination, de
livered here today, follows:
Chairman Robinson and Members oi
the Notification Committee: he mes
sage which YOU bring from the great con,
ference of progressive thought assembled
under the formal auspices OF the Demo
cratic party inspires within me a priue
and an appreciation which l cannot voice
At the same time | am mindful OF the re
sponslblitv which this Junction now OH
cially places upon me. As / measure my
own limitations the task ahead OF us
should be approached with more than a
feeling of diffidence if | were not strength
ened and reassured by the faith that one
has only To practice true hdellty 10 con-
science Ii is not the dlttcult thlne 10
know what we ought TO do; the sense OF
right and wrong has been gwen with
divine EQUALITY. The mistakes OF history
are the result Of weakness in the face OF
tempting interests. | thank God, there
fore. that | take up the standard OF
Democracy a free man, unfettered by
promises and happy in the CONSCIOUSNESS
OF untrammeled opportunity to render q
service in the name OF government that
Will hold for it the confidence which "
deserves.
TINE FOR STRAIGHT THINKING.
We are in a time which calls for straight
thinking, straight talking and straight
acting. This is no time for wobbhng.
Never in all our history has more been
done for government. Never was sacrlhce
more sublime The most precious things
of heart and home were gwen up In q
spirit which guarantees the perpetuity OF
our institutions if the faith is kept with
those who served and suffered. The altar
of our republic Is dreEched in blood and
tears. and he who turns away from the
tragedies and obligations of the war, not
consecrated 10 a sense of honor and OF
duty which reslsts every base suggestion
Of personal or political expedlency, is un-
worthy of the esteem of his countrymen.
The men and women who by expressed
policy at the San Francisco convention
charted our course in the open seas of the
future sensed the spirit of the hour and
phrased il with clarity and courage. 1t Is
not necessary to read and re-read the
Democratic platform to know its meaning
IL IS a document clear in its analysis OF
conditions and plain in the pledge Of
service made to the public. 1t carries
honesty OF word and intent. Proud of the
leadership and achievement of the party IN
war. Democracy faces unafraid the prob
lens OF peace Indeed, its pronouncement
has but to he read along with the plat
form framed by Republican leaders in
order that both spirit and purpose as they
dominate the opposing organizations may
be contraSted On the one hand we see
PRIDE expressed in the nation glory and
promise Of service easily understood. On
the other captious. unhappy spirit and
the treatment OF subjects vital to the
present and the future, in terms that have
completely confused the public mind. 1t
was clear that the senatorial ollgarchy had
been gwen Its own way in the selection OF
the Presidential candidate. but it was sur
prising that It was able TO fasten into the
party platform .l.e-srsed of hate and Bit
terness and the vacillating policy that
possesses II.
SENATORIAL cABAL FORMED DURING WAR.
In the midst of war the present sena-
torlal cabal, led by Senators Lodge, Pen
rose and Smoot, was formed. Superficial
evidence of loyalty to the President was
deliberate IN order that the great rank
dlAA lllt VI tAAtll HtdA NNs AolbAlluA anu
patriotic to the verv core. might not be
offended. But underneath this misIead-
ing exterior, conspirators planned and
plotted. with bigoted zeal. With victory to
our arms they DELAYED and obstructed the
works OF peace. II deemed useful to the
work in hand no artihce for interfering
with our constitutional peace-making
was rejected. Before the coun-
try knew, yea, before these men them
selves knew the details Of the composite
plan, formed at the peace table, they de-
clared their opposition 70 1t. Before the
treaty was submitted to the Senate in the
manner the Constitution provides, they
violated every custom and every con-
sideration Of decency by presenting a
copy of the document. procured unblush-
ingly from enemy hands, and passed it into
the printed record of senatorial proceed
lngs From that hour dated the enterprise
of throwing the whole subject into
technical discussion, IN order that the
public might be confused. The plan has
never changed in its objective, but the
method has. At the outset there was the
careful lnsistence that there was no desire
20 interfere with the principle evolved and
formulated at Versailles Later, IL was the
form and not the substance that professed-
ly inspired attack. But pretense was futile
when proposals later came forth that
clearly emasculated the basic principle of [
the whole peace plan. II is not necessary
to recall the details of the controversy in
the Senate. Senator Lodge finally crvs-
tallized his ideas into what were known
as the Lodge reservations, and when
Congress adjourned these reservations
held the support of the so-called regular
leaders.
From that time the processes have
been interesting. Political expediency in
its truest sense dwarfed every considera-
ton either of the public interest or of the
of the honor of great po-
htical party The exclusive question was
how TO avoid rupture in the Republican
The country received with
interest, TO say the least, the announce
ment from Chicago, where the national
was assembled, that a plat
form plank, dealing with the subject of
world peace, had been drawn, leaving out
the Lodge reservations, and yet remaining
agreeable TO all interests, meaning there
by, the Lodge reservationists, the mild
and the group Of Re
publican senators that openly opposed the
League of Nations in any form
AS the platform made no definite com
initial Of policy and was in fact, so artfully
phrased ss TO make almost any deduction
possible, II passed through the convention
With practical unanimity. Senator John