Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-06-08
LODGE IN KEYNOTE
SPEECH DECLARES
DEMOCRATS FAILED
Asserts Party Is in Part Re-
sponsibIe for PeriIs of
the Hour.

CHICAGO, June SIN his keyno'
speech as temporary chairman Of tn
republican national convention Senate
Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusett
said:
We are met here to take the first.
the most decisive step. in the po-
litical campaign which is to deter
mine the party control of this
great government for the next four
years. It is solemn moment.
fraught with vast possibilities of
either good or evil. Well worth
our while it Is here upon this
bank and shoa1 of time" to pause
for an instant while we glance
swiftly upon the scene in whi CHI we
are to fight our battle. Behind US
lies the greatest war of history.
now for the most part fallen silent.
together with all the hideous ad-
vances of science in methods OF
taking human life. which battened
upon 1t, halted and quiescent. The
tempest has subsided. but the ocean
still heaves and rolls with cresting
waves, while the dead seas Of the
storm. which has passed, crash sui
ieniy against the shores that shell
ter and sustain the vast fabric
which we are wont to call our CIV
ilization. We find ourselves gaZ-
ing upon the problems and trials
which the huge convulsion has left
to us and with which we must
cope, and cope successfully, II we
are to rebuild and again move on
ward. The ruined towns, the
broken Industries. the desolated
farms are there before our eyes
HnH hnk
Countless little mounds mark the
resting places Of the dead. in the
fields and on the hillsides torn and
gashed by shot and shell. Signals
of mourning throughout the world
tell US of the irreparable losses Of
all nations, which have swept
away such an appalling portion Of
the youth OF every land, those in
wh0MsweEA Rrnere.d up the hopes
and strengfh Of the future. The
splendor Of the achievement Of our
less courag6 and sinshrinking serv-,
ice win always remain one Of the
pr9udest memories in the: history
OF the republic. But the dead re-
turn not and the shadow Of the
great sorrow for those forever
gone will never be lifted from the
hearts Of the people who sent
them forth to battle. The material
side Of war results is, like the
spiritual ever with US. We feel
in daily life the grinding pressure
OF the vast debts and heaped-up
taxes which have been piled upon
our shoulders and upon those OF
posterfty. Great empires have
been swept from the earth, ancient
monarchies have crumbled in an
hour and long govern
ments have tottered. fallen and
passed away like a. watch in the
night.
Immense Task Dimcult.
All these things stare us in the
face. pierce our attention and ar
rest our thoughts. But this is not
all and what remains. perhaps
more than anything else, makes
incredibly difficult the immense
task which lies before US. one not
to be escaped but which will strain
governments and people to the top
Of their bent IL aught that makes
life worth living Is to survive. The
wrecked towns, the shattered
forts. the effaced villages. the
sinking ships were not the only
victims of the storm Of war Other
things. the impalpab1e possessions
of the mind and heart, have in like
fashion been wounded and Grip
pied. In the shock of war, through
long years of bitter conflict, moral
restraints were loosened and all
the habits, all the conventions, all
the customs of life, which more
even than law hold society to-.
gether, were swept aside. One pas
sion. one purpose--to save the
country. to save civilization, to
preserve freedom-rose supreme.
It could not be otherwise. There
could be in that hour but one ques-
tion asked Of men and women:
Are you loyal to your country and
her cause. ready to work and to-
sacrifice and II need be to die for
them?" If that single demand was
rightly answered nothing else
mattered in those days Of stress
and anguish. No one inquired
further.
Great Adventure Over.
So the war ended and victory
came; the great adventure was
over and men and women came
back to find the old ways dull, the
old life tame. the. old restraints
burdensome, and they themselves
possessed by a longing for excite
ment and a hunger for change un-
known before. One sees the result
In the restlessness which is every
where; In the mere trifles of life,
in dress. in amusements, in pleas
ure seeking, in the greed for
money and the recklessness of ex-
penditure and, what is Infinitely
more serious. in the discomfort
with all forms'o government or
control and in the readiness and
eagerness to destroy even the
fundamental principles of a free
and orderly civilization without
which law and order, organized So
ciety, the possibilities Of progress
and the chance for happiness can
not exist. This state Of mind born
of the war Is the gravest obstacle
in the essential work of restoring
a shattered world and making
the great victory n blessing to
mankind. In order to succeed at
all we must understand this men,
tai and moral condition. We must
allow for it, We must be very
patient. We must steady our
nerves. We must be tolerant and
above all open-minded. We must
call on our common sense and self
restraint. The complex problem
cannot be evaded and it must be
dealt with in such a way as to pre-
serve the foundations OF society
and enable us. those once secured.
to advance steadily, never hurried
ly. but always in order, toward
every reform. every Improvement,
every form Of true progress which
will help mankind. 1t Is a gigantic
task for any government or any
party. No party and no govern