Palatka daily news. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1919-1994, 1922-10-24
CHOOSE WHICH EVIL?

"Of two evils, always choose the
lesser" That maxim is as old as hui
mainly. The republican chieftains
are basing their congressional CAM
paign upon that principle; of all the
issues which might be brought to the
front, they are compelled to choose
between those which are bad for
them and those which are worse. So
it is that, rather than rest the issue
upon the merits and dement's of this
republican congress, they choose
rather to fight upon the issue of
standing by the president" Small
and shrinking as is his popularity,
they think it better to take chance
on that than to rest their case on the
do-nothing record of the congress- So
now the president has been induced
to write letter to Mondell praising
the record of a congress which even
republican leaders have repudiated
language almost too strong to print.
Weeks, a member of Harding's own
cabinet, declared that congress had
sunk to new low record for achieve
ment. Wood, republican congress-
man from Indiana and chairman of
the congressional campaign commit
tee, said on the floor Of the house in
a speech that the people everywhere
"are giving US hell" With testimony
of that sort coming from the inner
circle of reactionism, is it any Won
der that the campaign leaders would
try to hide the congress behind the
skirts of the president, even though
the skirts be both short and narrow?
The presidents own record is one of
weakness, vacillation and broken
promises, but that of the congress is
worse. 1t has broken every success
sive pledge for relief from high taxes
and high living costs; it has done
nothing to protect the public from
the coal profiteer and all of the less
err pirates; it was as helpless as the
president in bringing about an end
of the strikes which were distressing
both the strikers and tn consumers;
it has pretended to cut the costs of
government, but even the president,
himself, is forced to admit that there
will be deficiency of three quarters
of a billion by June 80, next. Of
course, this is Secretary MELONS es-
innate, and, of course, he made it as
modest as possible. 1t will probably
be a ruond billion before that time
comes. As for constructive legisla-
ton, the record is a blank. Practical
ly the only piece pu Through was
the tariff bill; if that had not been
passed at the behest of the big cam
paign contributors the party could |
not have hoped for campaign con-
tributions for the election a few days |
ahead. The people are just begin
ming W HOIG us GllGCG III IIlG rising |
costs of sugar, woolens, cotton goods |
and an unending procession of other
manufactured articles, while the arti-
Giles which the farmers have to sell |
fall lower and lower. 1t is a tariff |
which operates like the poisoned |
knife which DR.. Warren described in
a famous novel. In the story the
blade was poisoned o none side, so
that when it was used to divide the
loaf, it dealt out health and strength |
to one, while dealing sickness and |
death to the other. Is it any wonder
that the republican campaign man
ayers would rather the voters should |
think only of the easy-going golf |
player of the white house rather than
the wielders of the poisoned knife
that shaped the unfair and iniquitous
tariff law?