The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1920-10-01
A LESSON IN POLITICAL SOIL
DARITY

it rarely If ever scatters its plaudits.
upon those who compose the member
ship of the republican party.
1t is asked if the members of that
party never at any time do things
that are worthy of praise, appreciation
and commentator?
The question is frankly answered in
affirmative:
Their devotion and fidelity to party
ic a case in point.
No one ever suffered -nartyrdom
with more sublime devotion.
If the party at any time or IN any
manner invites criticism its members
with one accord leave that for the
dedication of the opposition-it is no
work of theirs and they will have
none of it.
Travel as one may he will never
find a republican going UP and down
the country proclaiming that the
chances of his party are doubtful.
There is no gloom, no despair.
The average republican is always
hopeful, always sanguine, always
boastful.
Whatever the outlook he is always
ready to bet two to one or still more
ODDS if necessary that his party will
be successful.
Mr.. Harding may say one thing To-
day and quite an entirely different
thing tomorrow and he will brook no
criticism within his own party-he
can safely and always rely upon his
hands being upheld.
This is conspicuously observable in
the attitude of ex-President Taft on
he one hand and Mr.. Hiram Johnson
on the other. ertte
For a long time ex-President Taft
was regarded as the godfather to the
League of Nations and until it be-
came a party issue, he defended it
with great force, perspicacity and APP
parent sincerity, while Mr.. Johnson,
the California congressman, denOunc-
ed it as everything develish, damn
able and outrageous, but as soon as
the Chicago nominees were made the
two clasped hands across the ap-
rarent impossible chasm and are now
yie;ng with each other to see wniGh
can decorate the front porch gentle
man" with the more exquisite plaudits.
The motto and slogan of the repub-
lican party is this: when the party
speaks all hostile criticism must
cease"
The head of the party, as the Pope,
must be reckoned as infallible.
Suppose the republicans had as
much to go upon in this campaign
as the democrats have at their COM
mand. what a blaze of enthusiasm
they would arouse and how lurid they
would paint the political skies.
Suppose that under a republican
administration, with the ocean policed
with deadly submarines, there had
ceen landed in Europe, within the short
space of less than a year, without so
much as the loss of man, an army
20 millions of the best fed and
best equipped soldiers the world had
seen whether under Alexander,
Caesar or Napoleon, and had put to
rout a seasoned and until then a
steadily victorious army, how the
- would have played and the null
titudes would have shouted.
The newspapers would not have
tad space enough to have proclaimed
the wonderful story and the English
7rguoge would have been exhausted
ny the campaign orators in search for
metaphors and adjectives in which to
1--WE coloring in word painting to so
rand picture.
In their loyalty. fidelity and devo-
lion to party the average republican
gives to his democratic opponent a
lesson that he might profit by to the
success and well being of his marty.
The republicans admonish one an
other that in unity there is strength
that a house divided against itself can
not stand and must fall.