Cox stands for pure Americanism but Americanism of the democratic type rather than of the imperialistic type. He favors progress and reform but insists that it must come about thru the ballot and not thru direct action. What he is saying today along these lines is reported constantly in the newspapers. Hence, it might be well to refer to what he said before he had any idea of ever being a candidate for the Presidency. The following prepared by him, is taken from the Resolutions above referred to:
“We are living in the most thrilling time in all history, and our resolves are centered in the contribution to our children and our children’s children of that measure of human contentment, justice and opportunity which will record us as the worthy sons of worthy sires. Confident that we must progress from the fundamental base of American ideals conceived and vitalized by the founders of the Republic, we pledge ourselves in firm and harmonious resolution to gain inspiration from the creed of pure Americanism, rather than from the disordered doctrines that find expression elsewhere. If peoples from overseas desire to live with us and become a part of the nation’s life, they must accept, in the first instance, this condition, namely that principles of government must change thru the evolution and processes of calm, human intelligence and that the mind of the majority, rather than the violence of a minority, must be the determining factor. We have been thrilled and reassured by the militant declaration made to this conference by the Secretary of Labor, Hon. William B. Wilson, that any alien who seeks to invoke force rather than reason against our form of government must and will be treated as an enemy of our institutions and sent out of the country.
“It is our expressed belief that any doctrine which inveighs against both God and government is a poisonous germ in human thought and must be treated as a menace to the morality and the progress of the world. It has been insidiously planted in some parts where the discontent growing out of unemployment brought fertile opportunity. Government, which derives its power from the people, must keep vigilant watch in the maintenance of public confidence, and inasmuch as the need most pressing now is to provide the means of giving every man a chance to perform the function God intended, we, as the representatives of States and municipalities, enter most happily into the suggestion that we coöperate our energies with those of the National Government. Its perspective is wider. It is guided by a fresher experience in things that are vital, and from it should come the expression of a dominating policy and the initiation of such practical methods as will match preachment with performance....
“Regardless of certain disordered statements by delegates to this Conference, its outstanding feature, nevertheless, has been a militant note of confidence in our government and industrial stability. The world in part is to be rebuilt. The patriotism, resource, ingenuity and unselfish spirit of our people saved it from destruction, and what these elements have accomplished in protection they will guarantee in preservation. We face the future, firm in the belief that the Almighty intends all things well, and that there remains for us and the generations to come full compensation for the service given, and the sacrifice made in support of the ideals of democracy.”
Cox’s Employees
It is said that the best way to get the truth regarding a woman is to interview her maid. Certainly the best way to get the truth regarding the employer is to interview his wage workers. Hence, while in Springfield and Dayton, I endeavored to ascertain how Mr. Cox’s employees feel toward him.
On the morning following Mr. Cox’s nomination, the employees of the Dayton News early in the day sent him a huge bouquet of flowers. Upon receiving it he climbed the steps to the composing rooms of his newspaper to say a word to his fellow workmen. After the typographical union chapel of the paper presented him with congratulations and resolutions of support, he spoke as follows to his workmen:
“The greatest gift that the Almighty God can give to any man in public life is to permit him to come into the world under circumstances which enable him to know the life status of the man who works. Providence was good to me—it was my high privilege to come thru the ranks. I know the torment of the boy who is without funds and I know his anxiety as to how he will get an education that will help him achieve his ambitions. If nomination means election, I will take to the White House this best equipment for a man in public life—experience in the ranks of those who toil.”