The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1922-03-30
FIRST REPUBLICAN YEAR
REVIEWED BY U.S.. SENATOR
Majority Leader Henry Cabot Lodge Contends for Accom-
plishments of Present "Do Nothing Peace Time
Congress.
By HENRY CABOT LODGE
United States Senator from Massa-
chusetts.

By HENRY CABOT LODGE
United States Senator from Massa
chusetts.
There are two points Of a genera
character to which / wish to bring at
tention. In the first place remember
that the choice which lies before the
voters next autumn is not between the
Republican party and some ideal or
ganfzation which never makes a mis-
take but which passes laws, especially
everybody, an organization which has
never yet existed and never will ex.
ist. The choice before us is much
simpler than that-very different-it
Is a choice between the Republican
party and the Democratic party
Those two partys in a practical way
are all you have to choose between.
Therefore, when you are making
your comparison you are not making
ut with counsels of perfection as
against the Republican party, you are
making 1t against the DemOc att.
party and nothing else, and, there.
fore, what the Democratic OrgaIiza
ton has done and promises to DO is
that with which the comparison must
Denies Cry of Democrats.
Now, the second point is this: The
Democratic organization In Congress,
and no doubt elsewhere, has been fill
ing the air with the cry that this is
do nothing" Congressional moth
ing has been done. That is easily said
.ond its ease commends itself of
course, to the Democratic intelligence,
on which it is not well to put too Sc
we're a strain. By every artifice of
delay and time wasting they have done
their best to make this Congress q "do
nothing" body and although they have
failed, they are keeping on saying 1t
just the same.
The proposition, however, that this
has been do nothing Congress Ia
a statement / purpose to disprOve.
In the first place, consider what the
situation was which the Republican
party was obliged to take up when it
came into full control of the govern
ment les than year ago. We had
passed through great war, a war
won not by any party organization,
whether Republican or Democratic,
hut by the courage and qualities of
our soldiers and the enormous patri-
1t was time when everybody was
profoundly mOved-it was q time of
excitement.
The American people were deter
mined to win the war-they were
ready to make any sacrifice in money
to secure success. Although they are
the most generous people on earth and
did not question in that war time any
appropriations or expenditures, they
had right to expect that the money
they freely gave with both hands
should not be spent needlessly or reck-
lessly.
Then the war ended and the excite
ment died down and in cold blood we
began to look about us. The tragedy
was over, the lights were out, the mus
ic was hushed, and the country was
left to contemplate what had happen
ed in the calm of returning peace. 1t
is an old saying that they who call
the tune must pay the piper, but in
this case, so far as the government
was concerned, the Democrats called
the tune and, being rejected by the
country, left it to the Republican party
when it came in to pay the piper.
The Great War Debt.
had been in Washington of course
through all those months of the war
1 thought l knew something of the
expenditures, something of the extrav-
agance, but until the burden fell upon
us l had no conception of the extent
Of the waste or Of the amount of debt
and wreckage with which we were
obliged to deal. The sum of $3,5O0,-
100000 had gone to the shipping board
and we had to take over that financial
wreck. We are making an endeavor
to save from that wreck enough to Sc
cure the future af our American mer-
chant marine, the difficulty of which
can hardly be overestimated. We had
spent $685., 100000 on aircraft and we
had not a single combat plane in
France when the war closed. We had
been using for our air service such
planes as we could get from France
and England. We had spent on artil-
lery $5S2, 100000, and we fought the
war with French guns. When the war
closed we had just begun to get ma
chine guns of our own, on which many
months had been wasted in expert
menting and delays.
We had bought supplies for the war
and had on our hands an immense
surplus of every kind of material
copper, wool food, clothing and equip
ment of all kinds. If / had time to
give you the details it would present
a picture which you would find 1t diff
ficult even to believe. All these results
of reckless buying had to be disposed
of. / mention only these as illustra-
tions of the problems which confront
ed us on the fourth day of last March.
Figures are usually dull. but I am
going to give you few figures, which
! think you will find both striking
and picturesque. We gained control
If Congress by the elections of 1913,
and on the fourth of March, 1919 we
had possession of both House and Sen
ate. With the war still going on, ON