Governor Cox went at great length to improve the condition of the Ohio soldier. He favored all of the legislation presented in the soldiers’ behalf and made numerous trips to Washington and elsewhere in the interests of these men.
There are three factors in connection with the waging of war. There is the government; there is the property interests of the country; and lastly, there is the enlisted and drafted men. Some men who put politics before principles would have appealed equally for the interests of all these three parties; but he did not. Whether he made a mistake, politically, only the future can tell. He took the unorthodox position of stating that the interests of the men were paramount to the interests of wealth or property and equal to the interests of the government itself. The Governor believed that the United States should not follow Germany in its error of making the state greater than those who make up the state. The Governor felt that a very vital principle was here involved and continually fought to have the real purpose of the war kept constantly in view.
Consequently both in his speeches and papers he fought for the “common” people of Ohio—the boys on the farms and in the factories. Unlike some Senators who were willing to send our boys to Europe to die but who now are unwilling to give up any of their own power to prevent future wars, James M. Cox was consistent with his concepts of true Americanism.
False Patriotism
Governor Cox was one of the first to criticize certain Republican leaders for their misuse of the patriotic appeal. He appealed for true patriotism. He criticized that patriotism which is of the hurrah boy style. He does not believe in “America First, Right or Wrong,” which is the slogan of certain Republican senators. Governor Cox believes the real protection of the country depends on protecting the individuals who make up the country, and that all countries must ultimately prosper or suffer together.
James M. Cox believes the teachings of Jesus should be applied to classes and nations; that the ultimate safety of the United States depends not on erecting a high wall about ourselves and letting the rest of the world go to smash, but rather in pulling down such walls and saving the rest of the world. Says he:
“America will be prosperous only when the individuals who make up America are prosperous; and America as a nation will be safe only as the people of all nations are safe. However we may differ in religion or politics, economically we are all brothers together and must ultimately suffer or prosper as one group.”
Attitude Before the War
James M. Cox vigorously and frankly opposed many of the policies of Great Britain. The Republicans frequently criticize him for this, referring to quotations from his papers to support their charges.
It appears to me quite evident in looking back over the last five years, that Cox at one time misunderstood the fundamentals of the European war. Thus on the 7th of November, 1915, a year and a half before we entered the war, an editorial in the News declared that “Victory by Germany was not the worst thing that could happen”; and as late as the 3rd of September, 1916, the News emphasized the importance of not relying wholly on Great Britain and the importance of not fearing her. Surely warnings appeared constantly in one or both of the Governor’s papers. Certain of his friends deny that the Governor was acquainted with such statements before they were written, and some go so far as to state that the editorials did not represent the Governor’s personal feelings. I cannot believe it.