Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 74, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 March 1920 — WOOD AND POINDEXTER. [ARTICLE]

WOOD AND POINDEXTER.

One incident in the South Dakota debate between General Wood and Senator Poindexter was deeply illuminative of the character of General Wood. Senator Poindexter, an uncompromising enemy of the peace treaty, in justifying his opposition expressed disapproval of a gift by congress of $100,000,000 to Europe. He contrasted this generosity with the congressional attitude in respect to widows* pensions and soldier benefits. With the true instinct of the .politician he showed how this money might have been spent to the advantage of his South Dakota audience in building roads, in irrigation, in school improvements, in providing farms for soldiers. At the end of his period there was the prolonged applause that the senator had bid for. iGeneral Wood here interrupted, addressing the audience. This is. what he said, as reported by Mark 1 Sullivan in the Philadelphia North ; American: “I refuse to believe I that you are expressing disapproval of a Christian act. If you are, you are not fit to be Americans. Are you people going to deny food and clothing to starving Europe? If you are, you are unfit to live under the American flag.”

Imagine Senator Harding or Governor Lowden saying that! No politician could have said it. It requited courage, honesty, a point of view utterly opposed to the narrowly political. It was a spontaneous reaction that showed depth of feeling, broadness of view, an integrity and a candidness that are not often found in a candidate for political preferment. Senator Poindexter was obviously aiming at pleasing the prejudices of his hearers. General Wood had the courage to risk losing the sympathy of his audience and, incidentally, sacrificing votes, by taking the world point of view against the selfishly sectional point of view, tiie humane and the Christian stand against the cruel and Perhaps no incident of the campaign to date reflects greater credit on the man, or goes further toward establishing his character for moral courage. It is likewise eternally to the credit of the South Dakota audience that it recognized the bravery and honesty of the speaker by following his interruption with the most spontaneous and prolonged applause of the evening. It is also of interest to note - that altogether the honors of the debate, in the view of Mr.-Sullivan, who is not a special pleader for any candidate, went to General Wood.- —Indianapolis News.