Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-10-18
SENATOR BORAH'S
DEFIANCE.


hectic time of it. Senator Borah
has radical principles and a bad
temper and the combination causes
explosions when he gets on a pub
lie platform and opens his mouth,
He is a strong believer in the pri-
mary election system, and the re-
pubIicans of Idaho after trying out
that alleged reform abandoned it
and went back to the convention
system. The republican party plat
form this year Endorses the conven
ton system of making nominations
and condemns the primary cleo
ton system. The republican can
didate for governor, Charles {.
Moore, at present lieutenant gov
er-lor, and the whole republican
state ticket stand on that platform.
Now Senator Borah is a rather
famous orator and the republican
campaign committee got him to
open their campaign for them with
a key note" speech. They now
wish they hadn't. Senator Borah
advised the republican candidates
TO kick the republican platform
into the dust heap" He further
announced his position in general
On all party platforms and his in
dependence of all political par
ties, including the republican par
~, whose nominee he is and to
w.om he owes his election as Unit
Cd States senator. According to
the Associated Press report he
said:
Il don't care two cents about a
platform. Nobody knows tonight
what the platform was upon which
Harding was elected. Who pays
any attention to a platform in the
congress of the United States? All
this is rot about meeting and writ
ing a platform! 1t is forgotten
before you get home. / realize the
course l am pursuing in this state
is lust as hazardous to me as to
anybody else. l realize perfectly
that it is mourning opposition which
will be arrayed against me for all
time to come. l don't care two
cents about that. The next two
years belong to me-nobody but
God Almighty can take them away
from me and during that period
am going to say precisely what
think and advocate the policies in
which I believe, regardless of the
political consequences to me or to
the republican party"
Senator Borah is n of those
men in public life who like to be
spectacular, and is given to ex-
IRENE and exaggerated forms OF
statement. He likes to create
sensation, and the public likes
sensational things as a rule. They
like to be shocked out of the mo-
rotony of life and to experience
thrill. We are not by any means
sure that Senator Borah means al
he says at such times. Some year:
ago when arguing against The
League of Nations" on the floor Of
the senate he declared that if Jesus
Christ himself came to the worlc
a second time advocating thc
league of nations he would oppose
the Son of God in his mission
Now he says that the next w years
in the senate are his, and only
900 Almighty al take them from
him, and during those two years hc
is going to do as he pleases, re
gardiess of its political effect OF
him or on the republican party
This would indicate that he recog
nizes the power of God to stol
him in his purposes, and if h,
holds that belief he can hardly hav'
been sincere when he said he woult
oppose Jesus Christ himself if h
came to this world a second tim
advocating a league of nations a
a means of preserving the peace o
the world. The two statements d
not harmonic very well.
Likewise the morals and equit,
of MS reputation of all response
bility for platforms or politica
parties is open to grave criticism
1t is true that party platform
pledges are often disregarded b,
candidates for office, and there i
a cynical saying that platforms ar
things to get elected with, and no
to bind the candidate after cleo
tor. But this is an essential
dishonest and fraudulent view
point. The platform ought to bin
the candidate after election unles
he has specifically and publicly re