The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-10-05
DIR. ELIOT TELLS WHY cox SHOULD WIN NEXT MONTH
CContinued from Page One)

I
 the official platforms of the two parties, the keynote" speeches at ithe conventions, and the acceptance speeches of the candidates. It is a igrave misfortune and hindrance that these documents are, with two exeep- ltions, deplorably long, much less ex- plicit than they should be- and defaced with vituperation, bombast, and vote lcatching appeals to the thoughtless land ignorant. The exceptions are .he lspeeches of acceptance of the two can luldates for the vice. presidency.
 It now looks as if October were
 going to supply the inquiring voter 1 with some other means of making | up his mind how he ought to vote. There means will apparently he bet
 ter adapted to the reading habits of the American people than the official documents now accessible;
 because they will be short editorial |, paragraphs in the newspapers
 short reports of utternnces by the leading candidates.
 l The best opinion now seems to be lthat the ordinary American will put ( if Ireading an article in his newspaper which exceeds column or so in length Tor an article in his magazine which exceeds eight or ten, pages. He may jintend to read it later but seldom does. If the newspapers and periodicals ;on- l form to this confirmed habit of their readers there is hope that the voter lwho wishes to cast a considerate and righteous vote will get some help from the pres during thes closing weeks lbefore the election. Indeed, both the principal candidates have within the Ipast few weeks made significant con Ifrih1ItinnS tn ha dnh o ta " lare revealing their personal qualities | to the attentive voter.
 AIM OF REPUBLICAN MANAGERS
 The republican managers seem even now to be studying how to shift the main issue of the campaign from Irepudiation of the covenant and treaty to repudiation of President Wilson and all his works. They hope that htere are more voters who dis Hike the President, condemn severely his mistakes and failures and see no merit in his achievements, than there are voters who reject outright the I covenant and treaty and wish to have the United States kept out of all par ticipation in the struggles of the world toward international co operation, the reduction of armaments, and the pre- lvention of violence by strong peoples against weak ones, and of wars for lnew territory or new trade. They incline to withdraw the re- 1 lection of the league and covenant 1 as the primary issue and to rely
 chiefly on the impatience of short
 sighted people with those dem
 Ocrntic measures of the past seven 1 years which have disturbed their
 private business or their accus-
 toned pleasures. They think 1t
 ~nTA N~ H.
 erous people who are tired of the l strenuous ideals of the eloquent but impractical and mentally is- | plated President. They hope to profit by the reaction from the
 moral exaltation of the wartime. and by the common wish for
 change in political. economic. and | industrial management.
 1 All the more it. is important to state. and keep stating until the election, the real issues which the people arc to decide on November ?.
 THE ISSUES ARE MORAL ISSUES Fortunately these issues are moral issues. In all free govdrnments based on wide suffrage sound'popular deci- sions are obtained on moral questions more quickly and more surely than te- cisions on economic. legal, or admin istrative questions. This fall the main questions before the people might properly be called religious, if that word did not suggest to many minds some sectarian or ecclesiastical 1 int expectations
 The reflecting and responsible l voter is going to make his choice
 on moral grounds. He ia going 10 1 nsk himself who are right, the President and his supporters in and
 out of office. the opposition Sem l ators who have been preaching for 1 more than a year that the noble | phrase "America fifst- means, n respect to national conduct. not moral leadership and enterprise, and service without thought of self but seifishness. deserjen of brave
 comrades-fn- n-arms, seeking cover from new risks for liberty and humanity, and refusal to partici- 4 pate in protecting the weak
 against the strong, and in making aggressive war too dan&erOus. in either civilized or barbarous reli- sious. to be undertaken.
 THE FIRST TASK OF
 THE THOUGHTFUL VOTER
 The two political platforms differ from each other most strongly in their descriptions of President Wilson's character and achievements. The republican platform condemns and Iepudiates in hot terms roth President Wilson's abstract political philosophy and the practical conduct lof the administration of which he has been for seven years the head. One would infer from that platform that President Wilson had never said or done anything that was right, and hat his administration had been an abj ,ct failure before the war, during ;he war, and after the war.
 both the principles which President Wilson has expounded and stood for or, in other words. the ideals which guide and animate him-and the meas- ures his cabinet and the administra- tive bureaus at Washington have al- ready put into execution or are now advocating.
 The first thing. therefore. for the thoughtful. voter to do is. to satisfy himself as to the principles of govern ment which President Wilson believes in and has acted on. The next, thing will be to consider what the two Will son administrations have done for the country. Tomorrow President Elliot will dis cuss the principles of government Pres- ident Wilson believes in and has acted on.