Milford chronicle., 1922-02-03
PACIFIST VS.. PATRIOT

There is little danger that the peo-
pie of the country will fail to understand
the merits Of the Ford Newberry con-
test in the United States Senate" de-
clares the Republican Publicity Associa-
tion, through its President Hon. JOna-
than Bourne, Jr. THE Democrats have
tried to make the amount of money ex-
pended in Newberry's campaign the sole
issue, and, unfortunately, circumstances
have been such as to make it easy for
them to ignore Ford and the influences
that were at work in his behalf People
are not so fOrgetful as the Democratic
politicians apparently believe.
There will be no overlooking the
fact that Henry Ford was the rankest
kind of pacifist. He was for peace at
any price. He was one of those who con-
tributed heavily to the 1916 Presidential
campaign by means of which Woodrow
Wilson was reelected to the Presiden-
cy on the false claim that he kept us
out of war Mr. Ford was one of those
internationalists who would call upon
the United States to make the supreme
sacrifice contemplated by the Treaty of
Versailles
This reference of some of his ideas
is sufficient to demonstrate that he was
out of touch with public sentiment in
Michigan. Nevertheless because of his
large industrial interests, the large num-
ber of his employees, and the extent of
his selling organization, together with |
the publicity he had received because of |
the popularity of the car he manufact-
Ured, Mr.. Ford had a tremendous advan- |
tage in any political campaign. More |
over, Mr.. Ford became a candidate for |
the Senatorship at the request of Presi-
dent Wilson, and had the support of the
Federal machine in Michigan. All of
these influences in his behalf, except the
support of Federal office holders were
something which Mr.. Ford had right to
utilize and no criticism can be made
against his receiving the benefit of that
political strength
But those facts must be kept in mind
in passing judgment upon the methods
which were pursued by the committee
which undertook to conduct a campaign
in behalf of Mr.. Newberry. Newberry
was in the navy. Two of his sons and
a son-in-law were also in the military
service of their country. The commit
tee of Republicans who undertook to
meet the campaign conducted in behalf
of Mr.. Ford, was confronted by the task
of getting clearly before the people of
Michigan the real significance of the at
tempted election of Mr. Ford to repre-
sent them in the Senate. They were \
engaged in a contest against influences
which could not be measured in dollars.
They had the alternative of either yield
ing the election without contest or ex-
pending money for publicity purposes in
such amount as might give them some
hope of winning. They wisely chose the
elected to the Senate is one who truly
represents public opinion in his State,
as Mr.. Ford does not.
mo corruption is either charged or in
timated. The real question was, there
fore, whether, when man of Mr.. Ford's ;
wide acquainta and commercial
becomes a candidate for Of
flee, those who did not believe him fit
for the position must quietly accede to $
his demands because they were afraid !
to expend the funds necessary in a pub q
Iicity campaign to give the voters of the {
State full information regarding the is g
sue. But for the expenditure of large c
sum of money by Republican leaders Mr.. t
Ford would have grabbed the Senator a
ship without a contest. The people of '
he United States have good sense
enough to perceive that the success Of
,Ir. Ford would have been perversion
# popular government, a misrepresen-
alton Of the State of Michigan and a II
humiliation to the country as whole" t,