Republican leaders have been moved by a
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trange and inexplicable jealousy of the Presi- 19 e ae ee ee - - — dent. Their feverish animosity, expressed ingross abuse and through secret intrigue, has beenproductive of one of the most unhappy chaptersin American history, recalling the similar ex-periences of Lincoln and Washington. Politicalmalice followed the President to the Peace Table.A Senatorial “round robin” was widely circulat-ed. Every device which partisanship could de-velop, was employed for the purpose of weaken-ing the influence of otr Commission at Paris,and making the task there still more difficult.At a time when every instinct of fairness plead-ed for a whole-hearted support of the President,political antagonism and personal envy control-led the anti- Administration forces. The President made every sacrifice for thecause of peace. (Applause) The long con-tinued strain while composing differencesabroad; the expenditure of nervous vitality andintellectual force in building a new order ofhuman relationships upon the ruins of the old,laid heavy toll upon his reserve powers. Thencame the return in triumph, only to find here awidespread propaganda of opposition, making itimperative that he take up in his own country,a struggle for the preservation of that which hadbeen won at such incalculable cost. Following 20 the superhuman labors of seven years of unex-ampled service, this meant the wreck of hishealth, sickness for months upon a bed of pain,and worse than the physical sickness, the sicknessof heart which comes from the knowledge thatpolitical adversaries, lost to the larger sense ofthings, are savagely destroying not merely thework of men’s hands, but the world’s hope of set-tled peace. This was the affliction—this thecrucifixion. As he lay stricken in the White House, therelentless hand of malice beat upon the door ofthe sick chamber. The enemies of the Presidentupon the floor of the Senate repeated everyslander that envy could invent, and they couldscarcely control the open manifestation of theirglee when the Great Man was stricken at last.The Congress was in session for months while thePresident lay in the White House, strugglingwith a terrifying illness and, at times, close tothe point of death. He had been physicallywounded just as surely as were Garfield andMcKinley and Lincoln, for, it is but a differenceof degree between fanatics and partisans. (Ap-plause) The Congress, during all this period,when the whole heart of America ought to havebeen flowing out, in love and sympathy, did not 21 find time, amid their bickerings, to pass one res-olution of generous import or extend one kindlyinquiry as to the fate of the President of theirown country. (Applause and Cries of “Shame onthem.) And what was his offense? Merely this—that he strove to redeem the word that Americahad given to the world: that he sought to save afuture generation from the agony through whichthis generation had passed: that he had takenscriously the promises that all nations had madethat they would unite at the end of the war in acompact to preserve the peace of the world: andthat he relied upon the good faith of his ownpeople. (Applause) Tf there was any mistake,it was that he made a too generous estimate ofmankind, that he believed that the idealism whichhad made the war a_ great spiritual victory,could be relied upon to secure the legitimate fruitof the war—the reign of universal peace. (Ap-plause ) In one sense, it is quite immaterial what peoplesay about the President. Nothing we can saycan add or detract from the fame that will flowdown the unending channels of history. (Ap-plause) Generations yet unborn will look backto this era and pay their tribute of honor to the 22 man who led a people through troublous waysout of the valleys of selfishness up to the moun-tain tops of achievement and honor, and_ thereshowed them the promised land of freedom andsafety and fraternity. Whether history recordsthat they entered in or turned their backs uponthe vision, it is all one with him—he is immortal.(.f pplause and rising demonstration). I am afraid, my friends, that this speech isgetting a little long. (Voices: “Go ahead—thecountry needs it—tell the story.”) 1 will hastenas fast as I can. (Voices: “Don't be in a hurry—tell the story.’’) THE REQUIREMENTs OF Honor. There are men who seem to be annoyed whenwe suggest that American honor is bound up inthis contest, and that good faith requires that weshould enter the League of Nations. The wholeRepublican case is based upon the theory that wemay, with honor, do as we please about this mat-ter and that we have made no promises whichit is our duty to redeem. Let us turn again tothe record. (lf pplause)
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