The Delta independent., 1920-06-11
Special to The Independent.


We are met here to take the first.
the most decisive step in the poiiucai
campaign which is to determine the
party control OF this great govern
ment for the next four years IL Is
solemn moment, fraught with vast
possibilities of either good or eVil.
Well worth our while 1t is just mere
..unon this bank and shoal OF time,
IN pause for an instant while we
glance swiftly upon the scene In which
we are to fight our battle. Behind us
lies the greatest war OF history no"
for the most part fallen SILENT TO-
gether with all the hideous advances
of science In methods OF taxing hu-
man life. which battened upon 1t,
halted and quiescent. The tempest
has subsidized but the ocean still heaVes
and rolls with cresting waves, whlle
the dead seas of the storm, which
has passed. crash sullenly against the
shores that shelter and sustain the
vast fabric which we are wont TO can
our civilization. We find ourselves
gazing upon the problems and trials
which the huge convulsion has left to
us and with which we must cope ana
cone successfully II we are to repuiid
and again move onward. The ruined
towns. the broken Industries. the des-
o,ated farms are there before our
ewes wherever the battles were fought
Countless little mounds mark the
resting places OF the dead in the neids
and on the hillsides torn ana easheu
nv shot and shell. Signals OF mourn
ing throughout the world tell us OF the
irreparable losses, OF all nations
which have swept away such an ap-
palling portion OF the youth oil every
land. those in whom were garnered up
the hopes and strength of the future.
The splendor of the achievement oi
our soldiers and sailors. their daunt
less courage and unshrinking service
will always remain one of the PROUD
est memories in the history OF the re-
nublic But the dead return not and
the shadow of the great sorrow LOT
those forever gone will never he iif''
ed from the hearts OF the people VINO
sent them forth to battle The ma
terial side of war results is. like the
Spiritual, ever WIN "o' "
daily life the grinding pressure OF the
vast debts and heaped up taxes which
have been piled upon our shoulders
and upon those of postcrity. Great
empires have been swept from the
earth. ancient monarchies have
crumbled in an hour and ions-estnb-
lishcd government have tottered. fall
On and passed away like watch In
the night
All these things stare us in the face.
nfcrce our attention and arrest our
thoughts. But this is not all and what
remains. perhaps more than anything
else. makes incredibly difficult the i'm
mense task which lies before us. one
not to be escaped but which will strain
governments and people to the top or
their bent II aught that makes HE
worth living is to survive. The wreck
cd towns. the shattered forts. the ef-
faced villages. the sinking ships were
not the only victims OF the storm OF
war. Other things. the impalpab'e
possessions OF the mind and heart.
have in like fashion been wounded and
crippled. 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 together. were
sept aside One passion. one purpose
to save the country. to save civiH-
zation. to preserve frcedom-rose su-
: preme. II could not be otherwise.
There could be in that hour but one
question asked OF men and women:
Are you loyal to your country and
her cause, ready to work and to sacri-
flee II need be to die for them?" II
that single demand was rightly ans
wered nothing else mattered In those
days of stress and anguish. No one
inquired further.
SO the war ended and victory came;
the great adventure was over and men
and women came back To find the ola
ways duh. the old life tame, the old
restraints burdensome and they them
selves possessed by n longing for ex-
citement and hunger for change un-
known before.
One OF the great political parties has
failed to meet-nay. is In n consider
able measure responsible for. the per-
ilous conditions of the hour. The only
other organized political force strong
enough to grapple with the encircling
dangers is the Republican party. II
that. too. fails and breaks down. the
Russian descent into barbarism will
begin to draw near. Such an end is
inconceivoble with the American peo-
pie, but they must realize the peril
and drive 1t back into the darkness
whence II comes.
In order ~ rendor IN svk,r country tho