Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1920-10-07
Misleading The Voters

new IOIh w WOIlu--DOCS duy 1ulGI-
ligent human being believe that
when the House Of Commons ratified
the covenant of the League of Ma
tions and accepted the obligations OF
Article x, Great Britain abdicated
it's sovereignty, surrendered its ma
tionality and gave itself over to the
domination Of a super-government?
Does and intelligent human being
believe that when the French Cham
Der Of Deputies ratified the covenant
France ceased to be France and be-
came the vassal Of a super7state?
Does any intelligent human being
believe that any one of the seventy
nine self-goVerning nations which
have joined the League has abar-
doned itself to the rule of an fallen
Council"?
Nobody does Of course. Senator
Harding does not believe it, although
he continues to talk about the sub
lection of the United States to for
eign dictatiOn if the covenant is rac-
flied. Not one Of the Republican
Senators, including Hiram Johnson,
is capable of believing what he pro-
feSSes to believe about the Oblfga-
tiOns that are incurred under Article
x. None Of them is so ignorant Or
constitutional government or of In
ternational affairs as that Nor can
Mr.. Hughes's TRADES against Articre
X. be accepted as the studied opinion
of q former Associate Justice Of the
United States Supreme Court
The Republicans have taken up
Article X. as the most plausible ex-
plot in demagogy that is available
to them. Demagogy in politics does
not consist merely in arraying the
poor against the rich. There are
more subtle forms, and the Repub1f-
cans adopted one of them when they
set themselves up as the professeG
champions Of the Constitution of the
United States against the assaults VI
the Council of the League of No
tions. 1t is all rubbish; they know
it is all rubbish yet the shameless
demagogy of their exploit is sur
passed only by it's naked mendacity.
1t is a campaign in which the ap-
peal has been made to all the Lowest
and meanest and most selfish ana
most sordid instincts of the Amer1-
can people. 1t is a campaign when
has also undertaken to capitalize ali
the ignorance and suspicion in a pop
ulatiOn of 100000. and to in
flame as well all the alien sympahies
and hatreds in that population. The
Republican attitude toward the
League is based on the theory that
although you cannot fool all the peO-
pie all the time, you can fool enough
of them until after election lc get
control of the Government That
sort of politices is certain TO have it's
day of reckoning.
Republican demagogy in this con-
test has powerful financial and So
cial support. 1t is CLOSED over by
Republicans who can have only in
tellectual contempt for it, but who
are so swayed by partisan feeling
that they think the end justifies the
means, forgetting that few worse ca
lamities can overtake a political par
ty than to gain power by false pre-
lenses. But in the end it will all
have to be paid for, and the full
price will be eNacted from its benc-
ficiaries.
No political partyt can make the
kind of campaign the Republican
party is making-ey if it is sue
cessful at the polls-without invit-
ing ultimate disaster. The Old
Guard leaders, who are now drunk
with the lust Of power, may not be
able to see it, but they will have diff
ferent emotions in the cold, gray
dawn of the morning after