Evening star., 1924-08-12
OPPOSING PARTY: REVEALS SELF
CROOKED&AND+ HELPLESS, HE SAYS
Candidate Contrasts Democratic Record WHh
Regime That AAo,oed Fall, Duugherty,
Ne,Uberry and Forbes.

this state of affairs loads, us at once
to the history of the last four years,
In 1929 we passed through a political
campaign in which materialisn1 was
preached as a creed and selfishness as
a national duty. All the forces of
discomfort were marshaled. and the
embers of every smoldering hate
were famed into burning flame. We
have eaten of the fruit of the tree
that was planted, and it has been
bitter in the mouths of even the most
Indifferent. / speak with restraint
when / say that 1T has brought forth
corruption in high places. favorit-
ism in legislation, division and dis
cord in party councils. impotence In
, government and a hot struggle for
profit and advantage which has be-
wildered US at home and humiliated
us abroad. For all these things the
party now in power cannot escape
the responsibility that is it's due. No
repentance at the eleventh hour and
no promise of reform can cancel half
| a line Of the indisputable facts.
Plain Speaking Demanded.
1.-The time demands plain speaking.
1t is not a welcome task to recount
the multiplied scandals of these mel
United States convicted of corrupt
practice in the purchase of his sena-
torial seat. Secretary of the Inte-
rior in return for bribes granting
away the naval oil reserves 80 nee
essary to the security of the country.
a Secretary of the Navy ignorant of
the spoliation in progress IL not in
| different to it; an Attorney General
admitting bribe takers to the Depart
ment of Justice, making them his
boon companions and utilizing the
agencies of the law for purposes of
private and political vengeance: a
chief of the Veterans Bureau steal
ing and helping others to steal the
millions In money and supplies pro-
vided for the relief of those defend
ers of the nation most entitled to the
nations gratitude and care. Such
crimes are too gross to be forgotten
or forgiven.
Il do not believe that the millions
of sincere and patriotic men and
| women who have composed the rank
| and file of the Republican party are
more ready to condohe these and SIM
liar offenses or to pardon the Offend
ers than those of other political
faiths. Indeed, their indignation has
perhaps a sharper edge. for il is
coupled with the chagrin that must
follow from the knowledge that un-
der authority issued in their name
corrupt men have crept to places of
power and then betrayed the trust
that placed them there.
Places the Responsibility.
There are circumstances, how
ever, which spread responsibility
for the effect of these things upon
the public confidence beyond the list
OF the criminals themselves. There
is, first, the fact that the revelation
of these crimes was not the result
of any action taken by the Execu-
| tive. No burning Indignation there
put in train the forces OF investiga-
| tion and Of punishment. The dis
closures came only as the result of
| the painstaking effort Of faithful
| public servants in the Legislative
| not close them eyes even when 9th
ers chose to slumber Again. when
discovery was threatened, instead OF
aid and assistance from the executive
branch there were hurried efforts to
suppress testimony, to discourage
witnesses. to spy upon Investigators
and finally, by trumped-up indict-
ment, to frighten and deter them
from the pursuit. The spying on
Senators and Congressman, the hasty
interchange of kilograms in depart
ment code, the refusal Of those ac-
cused to come forward under oath to
purge themselves-all these things
serve to blacken a page that was
already dark enough.
Different, perhaps, in moral quail
fly but hardly less painful to the
country has been the attitude Of
| some OF those in high places whose
effort 1t has been to weaken the ef-
feet of these exposures by crying out
not against the guilty, but against
those who exposed them. What
shall we say when a statement comes
from one who Of all men should have
been most deeply stirred that the
wonder is not that SO many have
fallen, but that SO few have been
shown untrue?
"Lfbelous SaeEestfon' Charged.
With what patience shall we greet
the libelous suggestion that, after
all. these are but incidents provoked
| by the demofalfzat ton attendant upon
the Great War? Is memory then so
short that we no longer recall the
heroic days of 1917 and 1918. when
America rose to heights of moral
grandeur unsurpassed. when every
d
every house a shrine? Shall we for
get that no taint of dishonesty or
corruption has ever attached to any
man who held public ONCE during
| that great struggle or to any man
who continued to hold Office under
the Federal Government until March
I, 1921? Shell shock was late indeed
in arriving if it is to be put for
ward now as the excuse for these
gross mlsdeeds
Aecusses G. o. p. of Corruption.
7 charge the Republican party
WITH this corruption in office. i
CHARGE II also with favoritism in
leglsiation. 1 do more, I charge it
| with that gfossest form of favoritism
! which gives to him who hath and
| takes away from him who hath not
To pervert high oEsice to personal
gain is an offease detested by all
honest men; but to use the power
I of legislation purposely to enrich one
1 man or set Of men at the expense OF
others is robbery on a larger scale
though done under the forms of law
In the passage OF the Fordney.Mc-
| Cumber tarfif act imposing the high
| est rates and duties in the tariff his
| tory of the nation, there was an un.
| blashfng return to the evil days OF re.
| wardihg party support and politica
contributions with legislative favors
| I'm the language of one of the ad-
/ vocates of that measure: If we take
| care Of the producers the consumers
| can take care OF themselves Fol
4 every dollar that this statute has
drawn ihto the Treasury of the
United States 1t has diverted 1--WE fron
the pocket or the consumer into the
1 pockets OF the favored few. Although
the Republican platform adopted a
Cleveland holds out to the taxpayer
the elusive promise of relief to thos.