Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-09-09
THURSDAY Evening. SEPT
CONCERNED EVERYWHERE

Down In Florida the DemocrAtlc
rmee-Un3on. Of jacksonville, says:
we regret. very much that the
presidential campaign has degenerat-
cd into the worst mud-eiinging con-
test on record. Nc matter who is re-
sponsfble for it. nobody win gain by
il. and the people wiz, be embfttered
and disguised"
The Washington, D. G. Star. Re-
publican, Eye
the fuss about which side has the
moro money. and whether that side
has been perfectly frank about its
riches, is wearisome In its present
stage. which promises to remain the
permanent stage throughout the dis
custom" &
The New York Times. Democratic.
says:
The public knows that both parties
need large funds. take all they can
get. and that each side Is accustomed
to charge its opponents with c6rrup-
ton. The whole matter strikes most
people as tnsincere. II violations Of
the law, II promises of Office or po-
litical action in consideration of sub
scriptions r proved presumptively.
the offenders should be prosecuted.
and II guilty punished. A senate
committee of Democrats and Republi-
cans may be trusted to hunt evidence
s~edulously. The people know per-
fectly we'll that the absolutely neces-
sarY expenses of a political campaign
in forty-eight states must amount to
a big sum, and that a 1920 dollar Is
not more than half a dollar in 1916.
Both sides, and particularly the
Democrats, whose campaign chest is
usually lean compared with the Re-
publican. may find it hard to raise
money if the size Of campaign funds
is to be regarded as the great ques-
ton OF the election. That, of course,
1t cannot be. The treaty of Versailles
and the League Of Nations, the reform
and reduction of taxation, national
economy, the cos of living, the reces-
sity of increasing production. Of eff
cient labor. Of better relations be-
tween capital and labor-cardinal poll
icies, national and international-are
IN the minds Of the people. They are
capital questions of general and vital
import to every citizen. Upon them
wise candidates and campaign speak
ers will insist and enlarge constantly"
Quotations of this character. show
Ing the thorough disgust of the pub
lie. regardless of party, with the
cheapness and tawdriness of this fea-
ture OF the campaign, might be null
tlpiled indefinitely. No words of
censure can be too strong to fit the
occasion. But, in our disgust over
Abe character Of that portion of the
campaign discussed above, we must
not gloss over the fact that responsi-
b1llty Tor the present aspect Of the
campaign exists. n that it can be
definitely placed. And responsibility
IN his case rests directly on James
middleton Cox, Democratic candidate
FOR president It is he who has soueht
to make an issue of that which even
his partisans repudiate, and who has
introduced into the campaign boz.
the methods and the language of the
har-room bully. 1t may be that 9TH
ers have planned his campaign, and
that he has listened to bad advice
from them. AS to that we do NOT
know. But he was under no com
pulsion to follow advice which led
him into such excuses, and his en-
tine attitude has been that OLA man
who finds himself in c~ongenial sur
~roundinss, and who is following
Y methods OF which he approves most
heartily. .