The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, August 5, 1918, Page 9

is the man who takes advantage of must sink or drive for port at the first coming on of the storm? No; they are there to defend a craft which is equal to every conflict and superior to every foe—the triumph and the pride of all the barks that have battled with the ocean of time. “A republic can make war. It can make war successfully and triumphantly and remain a re- public every hour of the conflict. The genius who presided over the organization of this republic, whose impressive force was knit into every fiber of our national organization, was the greatest sol- dier, save one, of the modern world; and the most far-visioned leader and statesman of all time. He knew that, though devoted to peace, the time would come when the republic would have to make war. Over and over again he solemnly warned his coun- trymen to be ever ready and always prepared. He intended, therefore, that this republic should make war and make war effectively, and the republic which Washington framed and baptized with his love can make war. Lét these faithless recreants cease to preach their pernicious doctrine. FREEDOM GIVES OUR SOLDIERS STRENGTH “This theory, this belief that a self-governing people can not make war without forfeiting their freedom and their form of government is vicious enough to have been kenneled in some foreign clime. A hundred million people knit together by the ties of a common patriotism, united in spirit and purpose, conscious of the fact that their free- dom is imperiled, and exert;,,ing their energies and asserting their powers through the avenues and machinery of a representative republic is the most masterful enginery of war yet devised by man. It has in it a power, an element of strength, which no military power of itself can bring into effect. “The American soldier, a part of the life of his nation, imbued with devotion to his coun- . try, has something in him that no system or mere military training and discipline as ap- plied to automatons of an absolute government can ever give. The most priceless heritage which this war will leave to a war-torn and weary world is the demonstrated fact that a free people of a free government can make war successfully and triumphantly, can defy and defeat militarism and preserve through it all their independence, their freedom, and the integrity of their institutions.” When President Wilson made his final astounding statement on the neéd of taxation to check the greed of the profiteers, Senator Borah was the first - to back him up. In a speech May 21 he said: “PROFITEERS ARE WORSE THAN SPIES” “In referring to a profiteer, we do not refer to a man who is simply con- ducting his business in a skilful and -~ efficient way and securing the reward of such skilfulness and efficiency by taking a reasonable profit for his ef- forts. The man to whom the presi- dent refers, and I presume to whom we refer when we speak of profiteers, his country’s condition, of its perilous situation to gather extraordinary profits, who is taking advantage of his country’s stress and trial to in- crease enormously and unjustly and unfairly his individual - and private gain. “To my mind, and I presume I simply express the view of every patriot, the man who does that is upon a lower moral level than the foreign spy. The foreign spy is at least loyal to his flag, he is loyal to his country; he takes his life in his hands to serve that country; but the man who claims the protection of the flag, who professes his loyalty to the gov- ernment.and his devotion to the flag, and at the same time takes _ advantage of the nation’s peril and the government’s dire neces- sity to increase his private gain, thereby demoralizing the efforts of the people, impeding the prog- ress of the war, and finally work- ing for its ultimate failure, is in- finitely lower in morals, in my humble judgment, than the: for- - eign spy who takes his life in his . hands for his ewn government. tisan league of Idaho. all suggest the frontiersman. “This congress will mortgage the energy and the capacity of the American people for the next 250 years. When we think of the reluctance of a national debt once established to release its hold upon the sweat and toil of men, when we reflect upon its remorseless demands for annual tribute we can well believe that two and a half centuries will still find a portion of this obligation we are so speedily imposing as a burden upon the people. NO PRICE TOO DEAR FOR LIBERTY “One shudders to ~ontemplate the deprivation, the self-denial, the suffering, and the sacrifice which - its payment will involve. From decade to decade, from generation to generation, families will bend under the burden, and the average citizen through long years will feel its haunting presence at the fireside and at his table. “With every necessary dollar expended no pa- triot will find fault—it is the price we pay for the - liberty we love, for the freedom we would transmit to our children. But if we falter in cutting out waste and extravagance we will receive, and justly, the execrations of those who must meet this gi- gantic debt. If we delay one hour beyond the time necessary to shape the law to deal with the execrable wretch, the hated of earth, the alien from hell who would profit of his country’s peril, we will deserve what we will receive—the ana- themas and the curses of posterity. The profiteer! THAT SCAVENGER OF CIVILIZATION, THAT TARANTULA BURYING ITS FANGS IN THE VEINS AND ARTERIES OF THE WOUNDED AND THE GRIEF-STRICKEN, yet the president says he is in our midst, that the evidence is here and indisputable. In the name, therefore, of the success of this war, in the name of every patriot in the land making his sacrifice and contributing his efforts to the common cause, let us proceed to his destruction. We can either drive him from his prey—the American people—or we can turn his ill-gotten gains into the treasury of the United States to meet the burden of this war. The presi- dent is right. We can deal with him effectually and conclusively by taxation, and I trust that in \ P N B e 3 . This is Senator Borah, indorsed for the United States senate by the Nonpar- In externals, Borah is the typical Mountain state westerner. Though not a tall man, his sturdy frame and self-reliant carriage give him the effect of one. His round face, keen blue eyes, combative nose, cleanly cut mouth, and a habit of using his lips hardly perceptibly in speaking, So do his direct, unpretentious manners, his low voice, which carries without effort, \and his refusal to get excited under fire. : PAGE ' NINE - / the passage of this bill we will not falter in doing our full duty in that respect.” The stand of the Nonpartisan league on the price of wheat was indorsed by Senator Borah before the senate July 1. He called attention to the need of farmers for the same treatment as other industries in matter of price-fixing. They were perfectly willing that $2.20 be fixed as the price of their wheat, if prices of things necessary to production of wheat were fixed in the same pro- portion, but it was utterly impossible to raise wheat for $2.20 if farm machinery was permitted to be put up 150 or 200 per cent in a year. Borah’s statement was made in opposition to demands by Senators McCumber, Sterling, Gore and others, that the minimum wheat price be fixed at $2.50 at country elevators. He declared that while the problem was one of keeping reasonable ratio between prices of things necessary to pro- duce wheat and other crops and price of these crops, either there should be no price-fixing or prices should be scientifically fixed at all points. He said any other arrangement might mean chaos. INTRODUCED A FARMERS’ BILL If Senator Borah had put up a lightning rod, he could have been the Republican candidate for presi- dent before this. It has long been the custom of liberals all over the West to write to him their views, rather than to their own more reactionary representatives. Back in 1914 Borah caused a stir in the senate by introducing a bill for scientific marketing. He had not written the measure, but introduced it at the request of E. H. Rettig, a farmer of Opportunity, Wash. Co-operation among the farmers instead of com- petition, so that the farmer may receive the whole of the consumer’s dollar instead of 35 to 45 per cent, as is now the case, was the aim of the bill, It would have created an “agricultural capital,” a clearing house. It would be run by farmers, under government subsidy or charter. The bill would furnish machinery for scientific marketing and standardization of farm products under direction of a country-wide organization of producers, ir- respective of any government control. Designed primarily to eliminate middlemen and reduce the cost of living, to arrange transportation fa- cilities. and otherwise improve con- ditions of the farmers and consumers, the bill aroused considerable interest ‘among senators by its radical sugges- tions. It was referred to the agricul- tural committee. The institution would be controlled by a board of 15 directors. It would be made up of county organizations, requiring at least 50 farmers in each county to form a branch association, and conduct the marketing of all the crops of its members under rules and regulations to be drawn up by the general board, which would be elected by the individual members every five years. WHAT THE COUNTRY OWES BORAH Earnings in excess of expenses, when it should become self-sustain- ing, and 3 per cent, would be returned pro rata to its members. Each branch organization would be controlled by a board of trustees and a general direc- tor and would serve not only as a clearing ‘house for marketing and standardizing the farmers’ products, but would also be authorized to loan capital to its members and to assist in the production of crops. Nothing ever came of this beyond the first startled flurry among the senators. But Senator Borah has many important measures to his credit. The law for direct election of United States senators was steered to success by him. The income tax had his eloquent support. Indirect tariff and internal revenue are worked to the limit, he pointed out, and the poor man was already paying a heavy indirect tax. Rural credits legislation and irrigation projects also have re- ceived his active interest. And as chairman of a senate committee he reported out the -eight-hour bill for federal employes on government con- tracts and the child labor bill. One of Borah’s measures was a law providing for a bureau for children: “T. assume,” said the supercilious (Continued on page 14) i i t i i i H B e { |