Evening star., 1924-11-02

, t1ontinueQ from flrSt PaSe.D
| great States and great nations there
| are no trivial decisions.
! "A single individual who has acted
! in haste, may easily retrace his steps,
/ but decisions that affect the destiny
| OF millions of men and women can
| not be left to impulse. 1t behooves
| us ALL therefore, in this closing hour
TO think earn. .stly of the duty that
| lies ahead and to cast our ballots
with solemn sense of our RESPONSE
btl1ties to ourselves and to posterity.
We owe it to ourselves and to those
who shall come after us to make sure
that we are guided by no spirit of
blind partisanship or political
rancor.''
Wants Experienced Governor.
In the same tone of seriousness,
the candidate turned to the political
situation in New York State. declar-
ing the result there was not in doubt
Unless we are prepare to ex-
ch"nge experience for ineXperience,
mature and proven capacity for un-
trlt youth, and record of achieve
ment for wordy promises he said,
there viii be no change in the ex-
ecutive offices. of this State"
Regarding the national campaign,
nominee Of the Democratic party for
he last three months to direct the
public mind to the questions which
should decide this e'ection"
Il have sought to appeal to rea-
son and conscience" he added
rather than to prejudice Claiming
FOR myself no virtue which DO not
freely concede to my opponents.
have endeavored to avoid mere per-
sonalities and have neither assai'ed
the character of any man for the
lake of political advantage nor mag
nitied his shortcomings in order to
arouse partisan zeal"
Nr. Davis however. criticized the
conduct of those responsible for the
asement of the Rcpub lean cam
paign
Diverted From Real Issues.
Never perhaps in any campaign"
he said, has the fine art of di, ert-
-ng attention from the real to the
unreal been more earnestly attempt
Ell than il has in this by our Repub-
lican friends.
When We talk of corruption in
public office they point to the ex-
istenCe of Il budget. When we COM
plain that the public treasury has
been plundcred and the public do
main given away. they cry that the
Constitution is in danger. When We
point to the unjust burdens that
prices artificially raised by law
have placed on the American con-
sumner they offer us the comforting
reflection that the average American
eats IL pounds of butter per year.
Great questions of naked right
and wrong cannot be evaded by
E. 'thods such as these" Mr.. Davis
said at another point. Questions
that appeal to the moral sense and
- the moral fiber OF the American
people are before us. They address
themselves to the conscience of the
alton for reply and call only upon
he moral law for their solution. We
shall better know ourselves and the
world will better know US by the
answers that We make.
Honesty First Demand.
First and foremost, I put the
stark question of honesty in government
1t is one which no political party trust
ed with power can be permitted to
escape. Whenever, under the rule of
any party, corruption becomes wide
spread and notorious, whenever it
extends not only to mere underlings
but to those in seats OF highest
power, the party in whose ranks 1t
appears must expect to pay the
penalty imposed by an outraged
public opinion. 1t is no reflection on
the honest men and women who make
up its rank and file, it is no re-
proach TO any left in Office whose
hirtue is still intact. to insist that
Ghe party organization to which they
belong shall stand or fall by the rec
ord it has made.
s.Tbere 1eadIipe yhich M marty
can be permitted to cross with i'm
punity. There is degree of corrup-
ton which calls for stern rebuke.
even by the adherents of the party
itself, unless by their complacence
they are willing to take upon their
own shoulders d share OF responsi-
bility for the crime.
"I cannot believe that the country
will rest content with the statement
Of President Coolidge that the Won
der is not that the corruption in
yolyed so much and so many, rather
than it was SO little and so few. We
cannot be asked TO accept in Ameri-
can government any lower standard
than that of absolute and entire
honesty. We have the night to de-
mand that not some but all Of those
who serve us shall prove faithful to
their trust.
Appeals to PatrOits.
II appeal not only to Democrats
but to all patriots of whatever party,
to express at the ballot box their
determination to accept no lower
standard. On a great issue like this.
of moral right and moral wrong,
there is no room for division among
Americans on party lines. And es-
pecially do l appeal to the fathers
W
hands rests the training of our fu-
ture citizens, to make an example
that coming generations will ren7fn-
ber of those who degrade public Of
flee and betray the public trust.
There is the question of efficiency
IN government. No political party
has the right to ask a renewal of
its power unless it can show that it
has kept it's promises in the past and
is able to perform them in the future.
If it is to invite the public conf
dence it must present leaders who
can lead and followers who are will
ing to support that leadership. !
cannot think that under our system
of government the duty of Executive
leadership is discharged by abortive
vetoes, or that party is entitled
to confidence when it exhibits an
inability to agree, in Congress or
without, upon party policies.
The contending forces that have
split the Republican party in twain
will not be reconciled merely by a
Republican victory. Their struggle
will but be begun again upon a new
battle-ground and renewed more
fiercely than before. Their differences
Of outlook and of interest are too
profound to be, bridged by any tenn
porary compromise. Stagnation or
chaos, or an alienation of the two,
will reign supreme in Washington.
''There is the great moral issue
of privilege in Government; whether