The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1920-09-20
he kept US OUT OF war
NEMESIS OF DEMOCRACY
Returns To Plague Cox rs Result OF
His Acceptance OF Burden
OF Wilson's Position.

Washington, Sept II. = He kept us
otu of war;" that celebrated shibboleth,
said to have been invented by Post
master General Burleson, which was
mainly responsible for the defeat of
Charles Evans Hughes in the cam
paign of 1916, is returning to plague
the Democrats and, under the surface.
is one of the great moving causes of
the unmistakable trend toward the
election of Harding and Coolidge, and
a Republican Senate and House.
This is accentuated by the fact that
Governor Cox has assumed the entire
Wilson burden by declaring that what
ever the President has promised he
will fulfill Whether his declaration
includes the promise to keep us out of
war may be gathered only from his
statement that the league will help to
prevent future wars.
Members of Congress are recalling
to thei reonstituents the utterance of
President Wilson in 1914:
America should lead her own life,
We cannot form alliances with those
who are not going our way, We need
not, and we should not, form alliances
with any nation in the world. Those
who are right, those who hold their
honor higher than their advantage, do
not need alliance"
And they recall that at Shadow
Lawn in 1916 he stated that these
gentlemen (meaning the Republicans),
will never get US into war because
they will never have the opportunity.
There is no longer any doubt that
great numbers of voters wer eswayed
from Hughes to Wilson by such state
ments, any more than there is doubt
that 1t was best that the war be fought
The point in the minds of the voters
who have memories is that the Presi-
dent and the Democratic leaders de-
ceived them, for theer is plenty Of evil
dence that the President and his advis-
ors realized that the war was newt
able.
At the time the Lusitania was sunk
the President made no move. And i'm
mediately after that event Governor
Cox said in his newspaper:
I'VE have not heard Of many Ameri
cans biting their finger nails at the
thought of submarine activities. All o.
us feel sorry for mrchant vessel tina
is sent to the bottom of the SCI
whether armed of unarmed. We fee
sorry also for the man of war that |!
sunk Immediately after an encounter
We sympathize with the soldiers wh(
are losing their lives in the trenches
with miserable humanity in general
activities of the German 'U' boats
They have committed no crime agains
us. They have played the part of com
batants and respected our borders. w,
feel sorry for the men who have los
their lives in the war and for the WON
en- and children who have ben made t,
suffer through no fault of their own
But 1t is not our war, it is the war o
Great Britain and Germany and we ar
not going to interfere with either sid
so long as our rights are respected"
The President repndiated his frs
utterance and is today proposing tina
alliance with European powers whicl
Governor Cox has accepted withou
the slightest chance. Almost as 500
as the Inauguration was over war wa
declared. And then the Democrat
leaders for the first time denounce
Germany for sinking the Lusitanis
Now another election is at hand an
the same promises are beinb made
with the result that Republicans run
ming for Congress are from the stun
asking. "Will you be buncoed again ?
Lakes of Borneo swarm with croco