The Letters of Franklin K. Lane, Personal and PoliticalLane, Franklin K.
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The Letters of Franklin K. Lane, Personal and Political
Lane, Franklin K.
United States -- Politics and government -- 1913-1921; World War, 1914-1918 -- United States
A day has come when partisanship with its personalities and
bitterness does not satisfy the public. We have seen things on too
large a scale now to believe in the importance of trifles, or in
the adequacy of trifling men. We must have men who are large
enough to be international and national at the same time, to be
politicians and yet American statesmen, to subordinate always the
individual ambition and the party advantage to the national good.
THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS
I feel that we have not tried to interpret the League of Nations
to our people in terms of America's advantage. We Democrats are
looked upon as International visionaries because we have not been
willing to deal practically with a practical situation.
The League is not anti-national, it is anti-war; its aim is to
defer war and reduce the chances of war between nations. This is
to be effected, not by creating a super-nation, or by binding us
to abide by the decisions of a super-national tribunal, but by
establishing the method and machinery by which the opinion of the
world may become effective as against those inclined toward war.
By adopting the League, we do not pledge ourselves to any war
under any circumstances, without the consent of Congress. And
because we have not been willing to say this, we are now in danger
of losing the one chance the world has had to get the nations
together.
Loyalty to the President's principles does not mean loyalty to his
methods. They have been wrong as to the League, in my opinion. You
could deal with Congress, even a Republican Congress, on this
matter, I believe, and come out with the essentials. ...
Don't let Bryan get away from you, if you can help it, because he
really represents a great body of moral force and opinion. But
don't pay the price to Bryan or Wilson or Hearst or Murphy or any
one else, of being untrue to your own belief as to the wise and
practicable national policy, that you may gain their support.
There couldn't be a better year in which to lose, for something
real. You can not win as a Wilson man, nor as a Murphy man, nor as
a Hearst man. The nation is crying out for leadership, not pussy-
footing nor pandering. Be wrong strongly if you must be wrong,
rather than be right weakly. You can only win as a Cox man, one
who owns himself, has his own policies, is willing to go along,
not with a bunch of bosses, but with any reasonable man, asks for
counsel from all classes of men and women, does not fear defeat,
and expects a victory that will be more a party victory than a
personal one, and more a people's victory than a partisan one.
YOUR ENEMIES
Pick a few enemies and pick them with discretion. Chiefly be FOR
things. But be against things and persons, too, so that the nation
can visualize you as leading in a contest between the constructive
forces and the destructive critical forces.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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