ee i = MAN OED = the Tare ALD-STKS E 767 .D18 1924aaPe SEN nt et rae ee seNS a ts Peet ae Se eee ees ain Fat alg nd 2 aw NO tee es ere eee ae aoe Draw erie aie ade al SUNY el er Ht ROS ear tO ar Gree URED I OOOO a eee Bre SS ae a gece Pee iii 0 eaerac sia eo rae eich ia| i ‘ i H Fy :rt iad aR AI ans nce eae erI Dal St a te Ea —— b : i7 Set OE SN tn Se Sr SSS es Fe = te = Sa STAD Fe ner a a =Ba LEAP ap PNT ee Po ON ESR end SEES EXD? iS e {a} is >» is i > is a RO OR KLE Ka rve xg? aN ST a C TEX pene Pie \e S eG tS GN A LN ORS ee Memory 4 €o) FROM THE LIBRARY OF Edward L. Stone, Printer, of Roanoke, Virginia. ABUNDANT IN PUBLIC SERVICE, RICH IN HIS FRIENDSHIPS, ASSID- UOUS IN THE PRACTICE OF THE ART HE LOVED, HE DEVOTED HIS LEISURE TO ASSEMBLING ITS NOTABLE EXAMPLES. FULFILLING A PLAN INTERRUPTED BY HIS DEATH, THE ALUMNI BOARD GF TRUSTEES HAS ACQUIRED FOR THE LIBRARY OF THE ‘Wniversitu of Virginia THESE VOLUMES, WHICH EX- HIBIT THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRINTING ART, AND MIRROR THE PERSONALITY OF HIM WHO BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER 7 7 SSA ¢ one IAA ROTOR GOSS ESE b =D “-9> € 5 3 CKD PZ WIA DAE AGB * YEN ALOE It © ey 3d <\, ty < YY, a {7 ROG we -= > 203 = 4. 182 Mumni Dayat Princetonses: 9 eee ee 183 An Antidote for Diplomatic Worries.............. 214 President Wilson and His War Advisers........... 215 Columbus Day im New orks (69 eee 238 he BicshOur. =) 0) 4s ne eee eee 239 Announcing the Terms of the Armistice Which Ended the World War......: 2) 2 9) = ee 294 The Corner-stone of the Amphitheatre at Arlington 295 The American Commission to Negotiate Peace. .... 310 On the Bridge of the George Washington.......... 311 TE (11) ‘Sy | cL Bt Ps i " Hi ae ae | Baa — sre en Eto me CAITR SESS = we PAF TRTAY SPAS IE ETT CN LG Sep weees VEILS ES ie eee a Ae pak RRND DTS aC ts reer ager ee PRO a en SO ee ee 2 r mesial rar yceciy SIT enema ay FT AE an Ce eee, = =breve | vot scene auntie steals ei aaeeenceacsiermiamaaemeneamaonanentmmetmeene cote Cv as a BS) Bp ie a i ee a Be a a te oe hoe TE ca ites weet tite aE Soa aS Ores >a. See ace Pw oe 12 ILLUSTRATIONS FACING PAGE President and Mrs. Wilson with the King and Queen of Belgium At the St. Germain Conference The Last Home of Woodrow Wilson Mr. and Mrs. Wilson in the Funeral Procession of the Unknown Soldier The Ex-President on His 65th Birthday............ The Last RitesINTRODUCTION ‘syw AM ready.” | These were the last words of Woodrow Wilson. They are what might have been expected of the man whose inflexible purpose in life was readiness. His philosophy was preparedness. He spared himself no toil, no sacrifice of comfort, no affection, nothing that diverted him from the task which he set for himself. From early youth he always prescribed hurdles that called forth full absorption of all his powers. In his boyhood home, his scholarly and critical father, known for his precision in the employment of words, gave him the example of thor- oughness and accuracy. Like one of his gifted predeces- sors, his youthful mind was bent on solving hard prob- lems. “Give me a stent,” said John Quincy Adams, the only American to come to the Presidency by inheritance, or by the peculiar training his father’s high station privileged him to enjoy. Father and son of the Wilsons were alike in their zeal to find the right word as the vehicle for their thought. ‘“‘Tommy” Wilson’s style, which enabled him later to voice American idealism in such manner as to constitute him the spokesman of a new day in the world, was the finished product of the preparation in the home of his preacher-father. It was a sin to the Presbyterian preacher to be guilty of the loose use of words, as of lapses in manners and morals. The son was early required to avoid every useless word and to go to the dictionary for the real meaning of every term em- ployed. The result? It is seen in his writings and his speeches, those of his maturer years being so perfect it (13) TS VETS wes DE SRST Ta ETE ESTEE TST SS SEI Sear ee tir rae tee ee eee ia Sade te tte aE ~~ Se ene ene ON OO ae aera oe eae SN etn ea ET SEI ITER EEE EY EEE TS RR 8 er OO ION NOT Tae lr x I SEES ott Ea = cae See 2 a Sn ae aaa Pees we wr ost ano rnin Tite eecianerieaenbiel imma itaikecahis io aan: Seer ate naste enn Raa ae erenpcdepeNm mena i aneRmme capac ae ee a sa TSE a ee See a a SEES pp ao nD aoe eae ean eer a SC pee et eae a Wane ore SALA oe ASE tS een ee Den oe ea Ana ETC aeons Mp +H Sons ~~ Sor Se 14 INTRODUCTION might be said of his sentences that they are vascular and alive and would bleed if a word should be cut out of them. Mr. Wilson’s mind was richly stored and disciplined to almost perfect precision. He gave the mental machi- nery one single groove in which to move. The study of government was his passion as boy, as man, as College President, and as Chief Executive of the Republic. All other knowledge and learning were accounted as hand- maidens to the—‘this one thing I do.” His “single track mind’”’ was never deflected to long consideration of any question that did not head up in how government should be best administered and made to advance the common weal. Perhaps his mind, already tending to a career that proved to be a preparation for the Presidency, re- ceived its commanding direction from a_ volume, “Men and Manner in Parliament,” that fell into his hands at Princeton. It dealt with brilliant parliamentary Jleaders—Gladstone, Disraeli, Cobden, John Bright and Harcourt,—and the author clothed their careers with a charm which won the admiration and quickened the enthusiasm of the young student. “No single circumstance did more to shape my studies than this volume which came to me when decision for life work was in the making,” Mr. Wilson once said. The story of the burgeoning of British Government, ‘‘broad- ening down from precedent to precedent,” and flowering into its noblest leadership in John Bright and Richard Cobden, captured the imagination of young Wilson and he became an authority on English parliamentary practice. “TI am ready.” During the twenty-five years Wilson was a teacher his classes found he came to them with full preparation.INTRODUCTION 15 He had not only mastered the only subject he ever es- sayed to teach, Government, with its corollaries of history and economics, but he clothed upon them life and interest. He always imparted vivacity and reality to his lectures. The science of government in his hands was no abstract subject. It was not remote. It was like the “thou art the man” of the prophet. History was no siccant repetition of dates and rulers. He made it glow with the hopes and aspirations of peoples. Eco- nomics in his hands made pupils see the true relations of life. Every student felt a master was giving the result of study, but there was no smell of the lamp. Always his class-rooms were crowded and students stimulated. “T am ready.” When Congress assembled in extraordinary session in the Spring of 1913 to revise and reduce the tariff, Wilson was prepared to outline the way a tariff bill should be drawn. Addressing the body he said: “We must abolish everything that bears even the semblance of privilege or of any kind of artificial advantage, and put our business men and producers under the stimula- tion of a constant necessity to be efficient, economical, and enterprising, masters of competitive supremacy, better workers, and merchants than any in the world” and he urged the necessity of lightening the burden of the people as soon as possible. He added: “Only new principles of action will save us from a final hard crystal- lization of monopoly and a complete loss of the influences that quicken enterprise and keep independent energy alive.” He was not only ready with the plan for tariff revision. He was prepared to fight for it. When lob- bies of miners and sappers poured into Washington, endeavoring to secure tariff schedules of favoritism, by 9 Se es —_ ee cia ext, Bs eer Le ear OT aT aed aera ~ Sosa one =) I EEE EES PELE Det SSSR a SISA RIN LD BE ETOLES SES lem SI tered EET Reece PE I A ee =< ee ores Sree " rp a PT a TT ee pa eae neess gina diiapiicaie i = aaR a aa nL STL area RL REN RE Rapa ae a eal imeeR Erne aR eE Teer La ee a a en arnt 2 Sore vee nas Eee falar arid eet pth eine alah vel tlt arined wag Gabe. etn riety Pres =< Sree ee cat ar oe ee eaten eer TL eee a ‘. RA Le War Soot SEP SES Sree n apa a ac err eI eee ay a soos Ss An i , f Ba) Ww i Fy Eras 16 INTRODUCTION a dramatic move he sent the fear of God into the harpies infesting the capital. As a result they hurried out of Washington, not standing upon the order of their going. His readiness to propose other reforms and to go to the mat for them enabled him to secure the passage of every measure he proposed to Congress until he was stricken. That is a record without parallel. “T am ready.” Hurrying nothing, Wilson was prepared with “force to the utmost”’ when he led America into the World War. His swing around the circle in 1916 made sentiment for preparation for war and secured legislative appro- val of the largest naval program ever authorized in one measure by any nation. He made plans for the selective draft which only his super-leadership carried through Congress. He composed a delicate situation in Mexico so his country should have its house in order to prosecute the World War. His war state papers were the inspiration of the country. He kept pace with army and navy preparations, preached “audacity,” pressed unity of command abroad, and was the heart of American mobilization and American contribution to victory. *“T am ready.” The war ended, while others hoped and drifted, he promptly sailed for Paris with the concrete ideal which finally emerged triumphant—an ideal for which he gave his health, to which as an invalid he clung with undying faith, and for which he became the great casualty of the World War. It is the ideal of Bethlehem and the angels and the star in the East. The story of Paris is the story of the one man who never faltered in faith that mankind could be lifted from sodden war into honorable peace, who never compromised his principles, never loweredna SS be Tne See ee AAI INTRODUCTION 17 his lance, never believed that the vision he had seen of world peace would fade: Never doubted clouds would break, Never dreamed, though right were worsted, wrong would triumph, Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better, Sleep to wake. ee oe =— “IT am ready.” The “broken machine,” the body wounded in bat- tle, when it could no longer hold the unconquerable spirit, surrendered the immortal soul. Wilson never knew defeat, for defeat never comes to any man until he admits it. Not long before the close of his life Woodrow Wilson said to a friend: ‘Do not trouble about the things we have fought for. They are sure to prevail. They are only delayed.” With the quaintness which gave charm to his sayings he added: “And I will make this concession to Providence—it may come in a better way than we proposed.” The Unknown Soldier lies in Arlington with the heroic dead of all wars in which America has taken part. Sharing with him the national gratitude is the Known Soldier, the President who called him to arms and gave his life as truly for the Cause as if he had fallen on the battlefield. ae SPURS Og aR ESE FS a a a 2 a ry = Sa eg ee ee tet a eae er ee a ee a IS eee ee orsSTATA pio age nee ee eames SE SSaPanenrsateeerenee ceed nian ea tease eid ae SAAS a ie e fe i ae oe ! _ roe (et RD SSRI NSA SC REI ae ¥ Na aE ae re arama aa RP man wmCHAPTER [ THE EPIC FIGURE OF HIS ERA IN SELECTING ITS LEADERS ““NATURE DOES NOT RUN AFTER TITLES OR SEEK BY PREFERENCE THE HIGH CIRCLES OF SOCIETY’’—WILSON WON IN “RACE BE- TWEEN WILSON AND HINDENBURG —HE BROUGHT HOME THE COVENANT WHICH TO HIM WAS THE HOPE OF THE WORLD—WON THE GRATITUDE OF MANKIND _ “Hundreds of years hence Wilson’s name will be one of the greatest in history.” —Jax Curist1an Smuts, Premier of the Union of South Africa N EPIC period is always represented by an out- standing and upstanding epic figure. Issues and ideas are made flesh and dwell among men. It is only when a noble ideal is incarnated in a great man that it can be truly interpreted. The period in which Woodrow Wilson was chief executive was marked by the breaking up of old systems and the ushering in of a new era. Old geographies became obsolete. An- cient boundaries were wiped out. New heroes appeared. Change was the order of the day in America’s twentieth century epic—change by legislation, change by dynamic forces let loose, change by war, and change by the events following war. Old things passed away in the years when Wilson was America’s commanding figure. He was a voice crying, “Make straight the path.” This peaceful revolution was as apparent in the days preced- ing the war as in the grim months of struggle. It was felt also in the time of stress and uncertainty which made the after-the-war challenge almost as difficult to (19) ea ea Py Spt eS eee ena 9 EE - PT a nea a as =. SSsee) ———— = 5 Shatin TRL Be OWACAN SRST ANB OBR 6 ia sae GSES Ree ase, Ce a aT TR RR ROE RIS BONE DPD SOO VR IST AID Serie eaee eee rasan nae a eae NE >on res Brians Naa me ary i DI Sesser ca asc a a ea 20 WOODROW WILSON meet as when the fighting was on. Indeed it seemed more difficult because the consecration and unity that cemented and glorified in war were gone. No static man could have fitted into the period of 1913-1921. It called for a man who had no worship of tradition, no slavish adherence to precedent, and who made no fetish of the God of Things as They Are. The times called for a man who had been making ready for such a time as this for over two score years and ten. No man could fitly typify the day who had not, long before the call to leadership, gone through the processes which turn out the great man for the great occasion. What are those processes? Never did the extremities of the race call for a man when God did not provide the Man. He has no patent process. The man may come out of favoring surroundings such as produced Washington, or the rude pioneer life of the West may furnish a Lincoln. He may be fashioned in the quiet home of a scholarly preacher, inspired by the men whose lives are Light Fountains. The resources of God in Nature are not greater than in His leadings which cause the man and the occasion to meet. Speaking of Lincoln, the epic man of his day, when the Lincoln cabin was presented to the Government as a shrine, Wilson said: “Nature pays no tribute to aristocracy, subscribes to no creed or caste, renders fealty to no monarch or master of any name or kind. Genius is no snob. It does not run after titles or seek by preference the high circles of society. It affects humble company as well as great. It pays no special tribute to universities or learned societies or conventional standards of greatness, but serenely chooses its own comrades, its own haunts, its own cradle even, and its own life of adventure andTHE EPIC FIGURE OF HIS ERA 21 of training. Here is proof of it. This little hut was the cradle of one of the great sons of men, a man of singular, delightful, vital genius who presently emerged upon the great stage of the nation’s history, gaunt, shy, ungainly, but dominant and majestic, a natural ruler of men, himself inevitably the central figure of the great plot.” On the beautiful Fourth of March, 1913, when Woodrow Wilson took the oath of office, what seer could have envisioned the tragedies and conflicts awaiting the generation represented in the great gathering? He had come to the high office after the divisions in an old political party. He was the creature of no machine. He was free from all shackles. He was emancipated from all prejudices. To most people that cloudless day betokened nothing more than an auspicious harbinger. The sun shone on a new figure—was he an epic figure and were the days just ahead, mercifully shrouded, to be the epic period of world disruption and war of such magnitude as to dwarf all other conflict¢ at arms? Others may have seen only the orderly passing from control by one party and the incoming of the agents of another party. Now we know its significance was deeper. Did the central figure of that day realize the road of thorns over which he was to lead the Republic? It may be that, master of the lessons of history as he was, Woodrow Wilson sensed the tread of horses afar and heard the thunder of the guns that were to reverberate. If he had no premonitions of the grave issues ahead, who can explain the closing sentences of his inaugural? Reading the solemn, pregnant words in the light of what followed, who can say that it was not given the epic man to envision the grim days near at hand? Else why did Wilson say “men’s lives hang in the balance”? Was it Seo ys nes Cowman ani vena Le eran te eee SS ms er Tee etoSEATS Cer pen tase ate pene ee eee a eae a OES eT a Cw aS. aS Seana mR a aa eae oO ee ret ER a amr ee aaa Sy {1 5B ci Wei 22 WOODROW WILSON not prophecy of the shell-shock of the trenches? Was not world dependence upon America to promote world stability, after the debacle followmg the Armistice, fore- shadowed in “‘men’s hopes call upon us to say what we will do”? When gravely, seriously and bravely, never hesitatingly, he led this peace-loving nation into war, all minds went back to his words of “dedication”’ as he took the oath and declared, ““I summon all honest, all patriotic, all forward-looking men to my side,” adding, “‘Here muster the forces of humanity.” The “watchful waiting” in Mexico, which produced such a storm of criticism, was always regarded by Wilson as calling for the same qualities of devotion to his ideals as his ‘“‘force to the utmost”’ when he was the incarna- tion of military leadershit There was organized pres- sure for war with Mexico. Some of it was promoted by those who had or wanted oil and other concessions. Some of it was urged by the party of expansion voiced by the declaration of Henry Watterson that every foot of land to the Panama Canal ought to be annexed to the United States. The Huerta usurpation opened the way to send the Army to realize that dream. “No,” said Wilson, and he added, “There will be no glory in such a war.” He resolved to be true to the American ideal, which was being tested, ‘‘whether we be sincere lovers of popular liberty or not” and “can be trusted to respect national sovereignty among our weaker neighbors.” He resolved, when the fury of popular wrath dismayed some close to him, to see to it that the attitude of the American government should be as just toward a weak neighbor as it would be toward a powerful empire. It was “‘weakness” said the critics, but when the World War came it proved that in devotion to the old-timeTHE EPIC FIGURE OF HIS ERA 23 American ideal he had been wiser than his critics. Was he less an epic figure when he defied the war-lust and territory-hunger and concession-selfishness, bidding him to war on defenseless Mexico, than when he led the nation in the War against War or when he was acclaimed by the people in Paris and Rome as the bearer of the torch of a new and larger liberty? When the fate of mankind hung in the balance, Lloyd George compressed the thought of the world in this sentence: “It is a race between Wilson and Hinden- burg.” The hope of war-weary Europe was in Wilson. The race was won by the man whose wisdom and zeal in the prosecution of the war enabled America to play its great and decisive part in bringing the war to a vic- torious close. America, united and indomitable, mobil- ized in manhood and womanhood and resource, followed with faith and enthusiasm where he led. Wilson stood forth as the militant leader of a fresh nation, girding itself for victory. It remained, however, for the conclusion of the World War for Wilson to meet the supreme test. The shibboleth of battle and the universal pledges of a last- ing peace had caused the armistice to be hailed, not merely as an end of fighting, but as ushering in a warless world. Could that dream be fulfilled? To him, as he set sail on the George Washington for the Peace Con- ference, the vision of a world at peace, rebuilding on foundations where war could be prevented, was as clear as the glory John saw on Patmos. At Paris were gathered the titled and the great of earth. All the hopes and hates and ambitions and jealousies of two thousand years centered there. States- men and diplomats were looking for national advantage. See ee Ee ne ey . I ats ae ea AU EEE EI gw ny Bares Oe ee OE ae Se ete ee PE eC ee oor on rn wr ws I [Sa 2 Pea a a ee eas =bree men aa ere aor ce ao ea TRAIN: OT RIV REAL SEO oR Toa coecines paneesompae eanenhenaiienuanensadiiien anietmnasd ciate t ae Te aE Poe et ee VET I Tan BEG RV emo ORES a eoewens t= Sec oar re ena et nS a eric Sl i ar i i Pd te . ey MALT R r ra varen 24 WOODROW WILSON They were still pinning their faith to alliances and pro- tection by guns. The vision of organizing for peace did not possess them. It was a language they did not speak. There were, however, great hearts there beating high in hope of the New Day. Glad were they to be comrades of America’s President who, having seen the heavenly vision, never let it fade. Representatives of broken peoples and small nations, long enthralled by the powerful, plead for an opportunity to live their own lives unmo- lested. To them Wilson was the one hope. They had been heartened and cheered by what he had uttered in the great war. But far away from Paris and its Babel of tongues and confusion and intrigue, were the peoples of Europe—the people who had never known freedom and a fair chance. Living under conditions like those of the feudal system, oppressed by obstacles that impeded progress, hopeless and cheerless peo- ples confidently felt that the great American would bring their deliverance. They had heard echoes of his “‘self-determination” and ‘“‘a fair chance for all,” and his humane utterances. Somehow dumbly they felt his coming would open new doors of hope and opportunity to them. Those in high place féted him, but it was the wistful yearning of the burden-bearers that lifted him to a new consecration as they cheered his entrance to Paris. In Rome the humble received him as if he were the earthly Prince of Peace. They would have touched the hem of his garments in thank- fulness that in his heart he had come to Europe to help them and such as they. The forgotten men and women sensed his spirit. It strengthened him and humbled him that the unlearned and the toilers understood his zeal for liberty for all while many in his own countryTHE EPIC FIGURE OF HIS ERA 25 and in Europe had thoughts only for selfish advantage or personal advancement. It steeled his heart to carry high the Covenant which to him had become the hope of the world. And he never forgot those who had given of their flesh and blood in war and who were upheld by the hope the ones they mourned had not died in vain. For weeks, in collaboration with kindred spirits out of all nations, he was the leader. One day at Versailles, his Treaty of Peace, buttressed by the League of Nations, came forth. It was the promise of a new heaven and a new earth. Woodrow Wilson had not failed the men who had fallen in the belief that their sacrifice would flower in a warless world. In 1910 Theodore Roosevelt, in accepting the Nobel Peace Prize at Christiania, made a carefully prepared speech, in which he said: “It would be a master-stroke if those great powers honestly bent on peace would form a League of Peace, not only to keep the peace among themselves, but to prevent, by force, if necessary, its being broken by others.” He added this significant prophecy: ‘‘The ruler or statesman who should bring about such a combination would have earned his place in history for all time, and his title to the gratitude of all mankind.” That is exactly what Woodrow Wilson, awarded the Nobel prize in 1920, accomplished. It is because of that crowning achievement he will live as the epic figure of his period. It detracts no whit from his “place in history” or his “title to the gratitude of all mankind” that the Senate of the United States failed to ratify the treaty all other nations signed. The “League of Peace” which Wilson brought from Paris is only deferred. His faith will yet be justified. Spa ietet hisice ames tn gO ESS EINE FERS Cra at =CaS rn eer Dewey Stet eee onc ct me eter eee a vet et OY eo VT > 5° aS eee rite fr arene ae reoaincee ath eet UF seen ER Te ane ey ET Ia i ea centr ag ee en eT EOIN EEO LP ERED STS it OR =o GRRE AS SSS CANN Sa) Sa ee re 26 WOODROW WILSON If Elizabeth Barrett Browning had been writing of Wilson, his ideals, his dream of doing a great deed “to help a people’s need,” she could not have more accurately portrayed the inception, the creation, and the reception of the Covenant of Peace than she did long ago in these words: A great man (who was crowned one day) Imagined a great deed; He shaped it out of cloud and clay, He touched it finely till the seed Possessed the flower: from heart and brain He fed it with large thoughts humane, To help a people’s need. He brought it out into the sun— They blessed it to his face: “O great pure deed, that hast undone So many bad and base! O generous deed, heroic deed, Come forth, be perfected, succeed, Deliver by God’s grace!” Then sovereigns, statesmen, north and south, Rose up in wrath and fear, And cried protesting by one mouth, “What monster have we here? A great deed at this hour of day? A great just deed—and not for pay? Absurd—or insincere.” * * * But he stood sad before the sun (The peoples felt their fate). “The world is many—I am one: My great deed was too great. God’s fruit of justice ripens slow: Men’s souls are narrow; let them grow. My brothers, we must wait.”CHAPTER II INHERITED TRAITS HIS SCOTCH-IRISH ANCESTRY—THE EMIGRANT FROM COUNTY DOWN—THE NEW HOME IN PHILADELPHIA—LITERARY AND RELIGIOUS CHARACTER OF THE EARLY WILSONS —MOVED TO OHIO—THE CALL OF THE SOUTH—HIS FATHERS DOMINATING INFLUENCE ON HIS LIFE— TRIBUTE TO HIS MOTHER IN HER GIRLHOOD HOME “* My best training came from my father.” —WILSON ee Y Boss will not let me do this.” That was what Woodrow Wilson said one day to a member of his Cabinet who had suggested dropping work for a diversion he knew would appeal to President Wilson. He gave the answer quoted. “Your Boss ?” began the friend, wondering who could be the Boss of the President of the United States. “IT have a Conscience that is my Boss,” said the President. ‘It drives me to the task and will not let me accept the tempting invitation.” The dominant force in Wilson was the inherited spirit of the Scotch Covenanter, mellowed by the saving grace found in appreciation of the humorous, the absurd, the strange. In duty he was the Covenanter. Speak- ing at one time of his inherited traits, Wilson said: “So far as I can make out I was expected to be a per- fectly bloodless, thinking machine—whereas I am per- (27) anne ieee Scecmoniesotoaen Se ra AAO NES PETIA eee en mone OEE GS SSE GR te See Ea oy Ta Se raee a ir! iparerenraninasteentienr bain mnesanemmmnememe imamieeiectimbaei ri —< 28 WOODROW WILSON fectly aware that I have in me all the insurgent elements of the human race! I am sometimes, by reason of long Scottish tradition, able to keep these instincts in restraint. The stern Covenanter tradition that is behind me sends many an echo down the years.”’ He “belonged to that small but superb nation, north of the Tweed, which is bred in disciplined poverty, nourishing the body on porridge and the soul on predestination. He had all the qualities, all the sensitive and angular impulses of a thoroughbred. He was high-spirited as a race horse. By a pedigree religious rather than royal he was an aristocrat and he knew it.” The Scotch and Irish strains in Woodrow Wilson help to interpret the twenty-eighth President of the United States. The traits of both show for mastery in him and made him the scholar, the reformer, the fighter, full of vigor and full of humor. The saving grace of humor which shocked some members of Lincoln’s Cabinet was quite as apparent in Woodrow Wilson. He was fortunate in having a Cabinet who loved stories, and some of them were good story-tellers themselves. Relief from the strain that comes through turning aside to the lighter vein saved him as it saved Lincoln. If the world saw in him chiefly the Covenanter spirit, it was because he lived in days when the stress of serious affairs left little time for the spirit of play and jest which was revealed chiefly to his intimates. James Wilson, his grandfather, was the first of the family to come to America. He set sail from County Down, Ireland, in 1807. On the ship that sailed to Philadelphia, came also Anne Adams, an Ulster young woman, bound also for the land of freedom and oppor- tunity. A sea voyage is notable for intimate confidences.INHERITED TRAITS 29 That voyage brought the young people into the haven of love which was followed by marriage the next year in Philadelphia. Good Presbyterians, both, it was Rev. George C. Potts, pastor of the Fourth Presbyterian Church, who performed the ceremony. The wife had vivid recollections of her North of Ireland home and loved to old age to talk of it, saying from that home she could see the white linen flying on the line in Scotland. Ten children, seven boys and three girls, were born to the Wilsons, and all were reared by the “blue stock- ing” Presbyterian mother in the knowledge of the Shorter Catechism and Calvinistic faith and practice. Of the children, Henry, Edwin, and Margretta were triplets. These two sons bore such strong resemblance, one was often taken for the other. They made their identity known to their intimates by the manner in which they wore their watch guards—Edwin wore a fob, while Henry wore a chain about his neck. The grandfather of President Wilson, upon his arrival, turned his steps to 15 Franklin Court, a former home of Benjamin Franklin, trained printer. He found employment on the Aurora, edited by William Duane, whose ardent espousal of Jefferson’s growing Republican party caused him to be haled before the authorities on the charge of having violated the Sedition Law. Young Wilson had come to America, expecting to see the real new freedom, only to find his new home applying old world suppression of a free press. It was not to last long. Press censorship cannot live in the free air of America. Woodrow Wilson saw to it that there was no censorship of the press in the United States during the World War. As evidence that the young couple admired the gifted and courageous Duane, who “‘suffered persecution” for SESS Re ay PE EES Ee ee ee en ores = a eee eat aS ETI SSS. ~ Se eee eae mip ——. SaaS! ~ Saree Bene PO ee A aa30 WOODROW WILSON his support, as Jefferson said, of “the great principles of the Revolution,” they named their first child “ William Duane.” When Duane in 1812 was made Adjutant General of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, James Wilson succeeded to the management of the Aurora. The boldness and audacity of that paper in Its war upon Federalism foreshadowed Woodrow Wilson’s like war on Imperialism a century later. The lure of what was then called the West caused the editor to trek to Pittsburgh, then having the promise of its subsequent growth. He crossed into Ohio, and after a brief stay in Lisbon, estab- lished a newspaper at Steubenville. His paper was called the Western Herald, wielded large influence and gave its publisher ample income for his growing family. Every one of his seven sons served their apprenticeship in the Herald printing office and became expert compositors. In 1832, in conjunction with four of his sons and two apprentices, James Wilson founded the Pennsylvania Advocate at Pittsburgh, Pa., the first issues being printed on the Steubenville press. Soon, however, he installed the first Washington hand press west of the mountains and the whole of one side of the Pittsburgh paper was printed with one impression. That was as much enterprise in those days as a rotogravure press in this decade. James Wilson divided his time between the papers at Pittsburgh and Steubenville, living in his Ohio home. He was an editor whose editorials expressed his convic- tions and had a punch. For example, he may be said to have originated the attempt to humiliate a political opponent by writing his last name with a lower case letter, as he did in referring to Samuel Medary, a candidate for office, as ““Sammedary” in this offensive paragraph: “Sammedary’s friends claim for him the oe ea Oe a anita maples biti oO > 2 wea SLIT Ra ae acne Sema ipaberete ah enihIe vine mie CONST ea ors La ae rt AS rn et SC eee AL be ee ee Nee chee be reso a me ea ere ares fi +e | oot bINHERITED TRAITS 31 merit of having been born in Ohio. So was my dog Towser.” Such newspaper political amenities, however, did not create social estrangement, for later Henry Wilson, son of the editor, married the daughter of Gover- nor Samuel Medary, and the editor-father favored the occasion with his presence and the bride with his blessing. He not only was an influential editor of the Jeffersonian school, but was given the title of “Judge”? because he presided as Justice of the Peace. He also served in the Ohio Legislature. He died at Pittsburgh in 1837 during a cholera epidemic. The father of President Wilson was the youngest son and was named Joseph Ruggles Wilson. He was born in Steubenville, February 28, 1822, and was taught the trade of printer. It is said that there was no journeyman printer who could set more type. From early boyhood he was a reader of books and, showing ambition to become a scholar, he entered Jefferson College when he was eighteen. It was a Presbyterian college, located at Canonsburg, Pa., and was afterwards merged into Wash- ington and Jefferson College. He graduated as vale- dictorian of the class in 1844. The next year found him teaching at Mercer, Pa. Having? become a member of the Presbyterian Church when a boy, there came to him during this year of teaching the imperative call to the ministry. ‘‘Here am J,’ was his response. To him a call to preach meant summons to obtain the best preparation. He gave one year to the study of theology at the Western Theological Seminary at Alleghany, Pa., and then had a year at Princeton. This year at Prince- ton broadened his general education and had lasting influence in shaping his style, as well as grounding him in his theological studies. Though licensed to preach, 3 FI I EE SYS PE SPSS SSE ees SIS SSR Soa = man a Fatal mot SSS ar eee iar ea ne SEO oe a a Seer eee inom oa ee a S OTS oa Tn ET ee eeemca wn nl 32 WOODROW WILSON he was not to be ordained and have a pulpit for two years. In that period, he taught in the Steubenville Male Academy, while giving all spare time to study and reading. To Steubenville in those teaching days came Janet Woodrow, called “Jessie,” of Chillicothe, Ohio, to school. She was the daughter of Rev. Dr. Thomas Woodrow, who was born in Paisley, Scotland in 1793 and was a graduate of Glasgow University. The Wood- rows trace their Scotch history for 600 years with numbers of men of scholarship and standing in the ministry. Dr. Woodrow sailed for Canada on October 21, 1835, with his wife and seven children. His wife, born Williamson, died shortly after landing. After a year as Presbyterian missionary at Brockville on the St. Lawrence, Dr. Wood- row accepted a call to the First Presbyterian Church at Chillicothe, Ohio. He preached there for ten years, then at Columbus, Ohio, where he died April 27, 1877. He was “a fine scholar, a good preacher and especially powerful in prayer”—say the records of the Presbytery at Chillicothe. Joseph Ruggles Wilson and Janet Woodrow were married June 7, 1849, the bride’s father officiating. Ordained by the Presbytery of Ohio as a Presbyterian preacher two weeks after marriage, the young preacher accepted a position as “professor extraordinary” of rhetoric (they had high-sounding names in small colleges in those days) in Jefferson College. After one year’s service, he heard the call to the South, which made Woodrow Wilson a Virginia-born child of Ohio-born parents, and for four years he was professor of chemistry and natural sciences in Hampden-Sydney Presbyterian College, Virginia. In addition to his professional duties, he pteached on Sundays to country churches in the SR an en ee Sk EUR AEE . nm pepe once Oe ATLA ORD I RESO R aeons CI AE AES AERTS) OST OEE Oe pared oe! Ao ene Guar pats RRR ESE I Sean res See a ie Hs a wereINHERITED TRAITS 33 vicinity of the college. Here two daughters were born, Marion and Annie Josephine. In 1855 he accepted a call as pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Staunton, Va. The town was in the heart of the Valley of Virginia, with a cultured citizenship, given to good works and to hospitality. The home where his distinguished son was born December 28, 1856, was the manse of the Presbyterian Church of which he was pastor. The boy was christened Thomas Woodrow Wilson. ‘The elder daughter, Marion, married Rev. Ross Kennedy, a Pres- byterian preacher, who died some years later in Augusta, Arkansas. The younger daughter, Annie Josephine, married Dr. George Howe, a physician in Columbia, S. C., who died, leaving one son, Dr. George Howe, Professor of Latin and Dean of the College of Arts in the University of North Carolina, and a daughter, who is Mrs. Frank Compton, of Chicago. Mrs. Howe, daughter, and child were frequent visitors at the White House until Mrs. Howe’s death during President Wilson’s presi- dential term. The youngest son, Joseph Ruggles Wilson, named for his father, was long member of the staff of the Nashville (Tenn.) Banner, and now holds a responsible position with the Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland and is making his home in Baltimore, Md. In the spring of 1858, when “Tommy”’ Wilson was less than two years old, his father became pastor of the First Presbyterian Church at Augusta, Georgia. He soon took rank among the foremost preachers and leaders of the Presbyterian Church. In the division of the churches, caused by the War Between the States, Dr. Wilson cast his lot with the Southern branch of the church. He was chosen “Stated Clerk” of the Southern Presbyterian General Assembly, and held the position So SS eS freA ed ar a eee ORO SIEY = Sl Se Sars Rares aoe Sey aD OEE ne em eee ae 5 — a Pa Tne eoSci ee a sh gis RTD ROR CT RCE CC DRC SEES a San ca ee Ebene ae Race 34 WOODROW WILSON for forty years, resigning at the age of seventy-seven in 1899. He was Moderator of the Assembly in 1879. Upon his invitation, the first General Assembly of the Southern Presbyterian Church was held in his church at Augusta. It was here that Dr. Thornwell made the ad- dress, giving reason and justification for the Presbyterians of the South to withdraw and organize an Assembly, composed exclusively of Southern churches. Dr. Thorn- well, of small stature, was, to quote Dr. Wilson, an “intellectual athlete.”” ‘Twenty-five years afterwards, in a description of the occasion, he wrote: “‘Every eye was upon him (Thornwell) and every sound was hushed by a spell whilst for forty historic minutes this Calvin of the modern Church poured forth such a stream of elevated utterance as he of Geneva never surpassed; his arguments being as unanswerable as they were logically compact.” The impression it made on Dr. Wilson may be appre- ciated when twenty-five years later he said, ‘‘The thrill of that hour is upon me now.” It was the blood of such forbears that ran in the veins of Woodrow Wilson and had much to do with his thinking and acting. His life illustrated the maxim, “A man’s education should begin with his grandfather.” He paid tribute to them when he visited England in 1918. At Carlisle, where his grandfather on his mother’s side, Dr. Thomas Woodrow, was minister of the Independent Congregation from 1819 to 1835, he attended services at Lowther Street Congregational Church and on being invited to the pulpit said: “It is with unaffected reluctance that I inject myself into this service. I remember my grandfather very well, and, remembering him, I can see how he would not approve. I remember what he required of me andINHERITED TRAITS 35 remember the stern lesson of duty he spoke. And I remember painfully about things he expected me to know and I did not know. “The feelings excited in me to-day are really too intimate and too deep to permit of public expression. The memories that have come of the mother who was born here are very affecting. Her quiet character, her sense of duty, and her dislike of ostentation have come back to me with increasing force as these years of duty have accumulated. Yet perhaps it is appropriate that in a place of worship I should acknowledge my indebted- ness to her and her remarkable father, because, after all, what the world now is seeking to do is to return to the paths of duty, to turn from the savagery of interests to the dignity of the performance of right.” The boy was father to the man. PE EF IEE NE a OE eee Te ae ee OIE etn oe stale Sas Soa eS oS YF ? Sh ; i 4 , , = pe ea cS mere aye - aE a cae eee‘ ee Bj 7 BS re ng ee Eee Ten rr ee Ee eee OO Se ve rer SS Perret Fe ee oa ne tee a Sel CIRM R ALY meh ACNE A) OE OE rece CuaprTer IIT BOYHOOD DAYS OF TOMMY WILSON A VIRGINIAN BY BIRTH—AT SCHOOL IN AUGUSTA, GEORGIA; COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA; AND DAVIDSON COLLEGE, NORTH CAROLINA—CIVIL WAR DAYS—LIFE IN THE CAROLINAS—‘*‘PREP’’ SCHOOL DAYS—BALL PLAYER— THE BOY WAS FATHER TO THE MAN ““Go in and win. Go after their scalps. Don’t admit for a minute that they can beat you.”’—WILSON wealth long called “the Mother of Presidents.” It was in the Presbyterian manse in Staunton, Virginia, on December 28, 1856, that the seventh Vir- ginia-born President first opened his eyes. He ‘“‘was bred a gentleman and a man of honor in the free school of Virginian Society” to quote the opening paragraph of Wilson’s “‘George Washington,” writing of the birth of the first Virginia President. He was given the name Thomas Woodrow Wilson and was called “Tommy” until he graduated at Princeton. He then dropped the “Thomas” and became Woodrow Wilson. Some years before, his predecessor, Stephen Grover Cleveland, dropped the “Stephen.” It has been remarked that the only two Democratic Presidents in half a century were influenced to discard their first names because most Presidents had possessed but a single given name. The name he chose to keep was the maiden surname of his mother. In 1858, the father having accepted a call to the (36) Pivets mn WILSON was born in the common-BOYHOOD DAYS OF TOMMY WILSON § 37 pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church in Augusta, the earliest recollection of Tommy was when he heard the shrill cry on the street: “Lincoln is elected and there’ll be war.” He watched the troops march away to fight under Lee in Virginia. His other recollections of the War Between the States were limited largely to the burial of many Southern soldiers, to the marching of the men in Augusta when the unfounded rumor came that Sherman’s Army was approaching the city, and to a night vigil in his father’s study. The scarcity of food lingered in his memory. When, as President, he was forced to food restrictions in the World War, he recalled, from experiences in his boyhood days, that people could live without distress on restricted diet. He had no patience in 1917-18 with those who were unwilling to conform to the reasonable regulations for conserving the supply of sugar and wheat so that there might be plenty for the fighting men. He would often remind those who complained that in the war of the Sixties the people of the South were very restricted in food products, but, with a little effort and ingenuity, housewives were able to prepare appetizing meals, citing his mother as one who thus made the best of the situation. In the summer of 1865, Tommy saw Jefferson Davis pass through Augusta under guard on his way to Fortress Monroe. The next year found Federal soldiers sleep- ing in his father’s church. He was nine years old when the war ended, and in those years play mterested him more than war and reconstruction. In an address deliv- ered at the University of North Carolina, January 19, 1909, he told his audience how as a boy he had stood by the side of Robert E. Lee and looked admiringly into the great man’s face. Most of his mature years were spent rd os P Cees 5 SRS ett nea eae 6 SNPS Se uaa pein caimn nen mubairiod ee et Sear Or a ee SI ee eet ses a o a I a nae er eaa oh de Ne NOE tee ee ee TTT pn ae SNURS D —eeeog FEES lI BORER EP SERRA IS RN CARL ro 5 Sta on >a cedar eee ema PR) Oa re per ie ee SN SRL ALS SCA 38 WOODROW WILSON in the Middle States and he was free from sectional bias, but the formative days in the South during and following the war of the Sixties, when that section suffered from poverty and reconstruction, gave him a sense of its struggles, which made him appreciate its problems and honor its leaders. He knew and shared their privations, borne with fortitude and without lowering their ideals or affecting their morale. He loved to pay tribute to these qualities and was himself a product of such environment. He was a lithe and active boy. With his chum and playmate, Pleasant A. Stovall, later to be named by Wilson Minister to Switzerland, where he served the period of the World War, Tommy’s favorite recreation was horseback-riding. Stovall says he had many a tumble from the saddle, while Tommy managed to keep his seat. The favorite resort of the boys in the neighborhood was the stable on the parsonage lot. They organized “the Lightfoot Club” and played with other baseball nines, but the club was more than an athletic organization. It was something of a debating society, with parliamentary procedure. The chaps understood “the previous question” and Tommy here mastered the rudiments of parliamentary law. It was about this time he printed some cards ““Woodrow Wilson, United States Senator.” Horseback trips and delightful week- ends to the country home at “‘Sand Hills” were the chief pleasure of Wilson and Stovall. The “Sand Hills’’ was the home of his aunt, Mrs. James Bones. Playing Indian one day, his cousin, Jessie Woodrow Bones, was hit with an arrow by Tommy. She came tumbling down from the top of atree. “I ama murderer; it wasn’t an accident; I killed her,” he cried as he carried her limp body into the house. Fortunately she sustained no injury.‘yomnyO ueweyAqsarg oy} Jo esvuosied oy} Uy ‘NOLNOAVLS ‘NOSTIM MOUGOOM AO FAOVIdHLAa -, AWIUIOT, ,, VINIOUIA — <= S 2. ° = < —_ <= a 5 a <= a cot a SF > bo GO — CO or ao ~% a TETE 4 + LUE PX Ns a Pra SWil Lo el i dread ee ee dccicicaciClliiig dae wn > n oF 2 © rs) > 4 ig Z 3 by ~ © Z IOJBoONpe pus JUEepNys sB sAv DI “Q 0/04d 1144D}} ¥ $0104] tre —— eS SE oS 71 mS RSE BIE ERLE SENT persia peer oewee EET TT Ses amseen eee rt WOODROW WILSON AND HIS FAMILY IN THE EARLY DAYS © Underwood & Underwood his father, Howe and his NO Top row, Woodrow Wilson; his sister, Mrs. Howe son, Jr.; Mr. Joseph R. Wilson, Jr.; bottom row: Dr. Left to right: Rey. Dr. Joseph R. Wilson; Mrs. Joseph R. Wil The family group at Columbia, 8. C. four childrenFINDING HIMSELF 55 fame and partly by the feeling which always possessed him that he was the real son of the commonwealth in which he was born. He entered into the life of the college circle. He was a frequent and brilliant contributor to the University magazine. Though not an athlete, he en- joyed sports and often acted as umpire. He was initiated into the Phi Kappa Psi. He joined the Jefferson Literary Society, of which he was secretary, and as at Princeton won rank among the best debaters. It is interesting that the two “‘star” debaters of the society were Woodrow Wilson and William Cabell Bruce, now Senator from Maryland. He won the orator’s prize and Bruce the debater’s medal in a debate April 2, 1880, upon the query: “Ts the Roman Catholic Church a menace to American institutions?” Wilson took the negative, his associate being J. M. Horner, now Episcopal Bishop of Western North Carolina. The affirmative was taken by Senator Bruce and Benjamin L. Abney of South Carolina. The judges rendered the decision: “The committee of the faculty selected by your society to judge of the debate for prizes of the society, beg leave to report as follows: ““While the general character of the debate in ques- tion has been very creditable to the speakers and to the society they represent, two of the contestants have shown remarkable excellence. Being requested to decide be- tween these gentlemen our committee is of the opinion that the medal intended for the best debater should be awarded to Mr. Bruce. “In deciding that the position of the orator to the society, with the other medal bestowed therewith, should be awarded to Mr. Wilson our committee desires to express very high appreciation of his merits not merely Cae ee eT SE RS Spee nes a ee tt ee ne cere Sa ers pone SS EIST SEERGSS Ni EO a a ae Se a Ta a fe re eee56 WOODROW WILSON as a speaker, for which this honor is bestowed, but as a debater also.” At that time as he afterwards abundantly proved in crucial days, Wilson believed in righteous peace when it could be had with honor. With many other students, he went to a circus at Charlottesville. Mr. M. H. Caldwell, of Concord, N. C., tells of an incident growing out of it and the mass meeting which followed: “Trouble began when the students were enthusiastic in applause of a show girl. Some yelled, others clapped their hands. This enraged a showman. He rushed into the ring, denounced all of us as ruffians, scoundrels and blackguards, and threatened to throw us from the tent. He reminded us of the showman that had been killed there in former years and declared that if any one was killed on this occasion it would be a student. *“Several of the students wanted to fight there, but some one came and got the showman. We went back to the campus and the fun was on. A mass meeting was called to determine whether or not all of the students should go to the show that night and compel the man to apologize or whether everyone should stay away. Leroy Percy, later United States Senator from Mississippi, was spokesman for the crowd that wanted to fight; Woodrow Wilson was champion of the other crowd. Fiery speeches were made, but the logic of Wilson prevailed and his side won by about ten votes.” Speaking of the same incident, N. C. Manning, Jr., of Lynchburg, Va., says: “There was great excitement and a number of fiery speeches on both sides of the question. Mr. Wilson spoke against the attack; Mr. Percy forit. Mr. Wilson was well known to the students; was exceedingly popular, and hisFINDING HIMSELF 57 courage was recognized by all. I have always thought that his influence with the students, combined with his wonderfully frank discussion of the reasons for and against the attack which he summed up in the question, ‘Is it worth it?’ secured the defeat of the proposition by a small majority.”” In his speech Wilson had counselled against the attack, but declared if the majority decided against him he would be ready to fight with them. **When Wilson reached the University,” said Senator Bruce, “he was tall and lanky, correct in dress and a stickler for proper deportment. While he was not a goody-goody, he was never absent at chapel, and showed the deep religious training of his father, a Presbyterian clergyman. He was always a model among the students. “He was not conceited, but always had much con- fidence in himself and was conscious of his superiority of intellect. “He had a good sense of humor and used to tell the gang funny stories, often at the expense of his worthy father. To illustrate the condition of the family, he told this one of an encounter between his father and a parish- ioner down in North Carolina: “The parishioner said: ““ RO SSO a a me en rece Ke ae oem RSA on ato arena ermine hetero Mn I ss eee re ae ase, es oe i He Pt Ch , rh 62 WOODROW WILSON On his eleventh visit she gave the answer which later made her Mrs. Wilson. She was the daughter of Rev. S. Edward Axson, prominent Presbyterian minister of Savannah. Her grandfather was Rev. Nathan Hoyt, long Presbyterian pastor at Athens, Georgia. It was an ideal union, for the two young people had been reared in like environment of culture and religious atmosphere. The venture in law at Atlanta had revealed to him that teaching and politics, not law, was his life work. There was no prospect of immediate marriage. He had decided upon two years at Johns Hopkins to take his degree and Miss Axson went to the Art Students’ League, in New York, to perfect herself in painting, in which she had real talent. These days of preparation accomplished, the young couple were married at the home of the bride’s grandfather in Savannah, on June 24, 1885. A honeymoon in the mountains of Western North Carolina, with Waynesville in the centre, was marked by rambles, with some pencil sketches by the bride and much reading by both. Then, Wilson having accepted a professorship in Bryn Mawr, they set up a home near Philadelphia. It was during these years that the two oldest children, Misses Margaret and Jessie Woodrow (now Mrs. Francis B. Sayre), were born, both at Gainesville, Ga. Thence to Wesleyan University, at Middletown, Conn., where their younger daughter, Eleanor, who later became the wife of the Hon. William G. McAdoo, was born. Only one other home of long duration was known —that at Princeton—until the move to the White House. The Princeton house was a home of their own making, and the architecture and furnishings attested Mrs. Wil- son’s taste. It is said to have been designed after oneFINDING HIMSELF 63 in Keswick, England. The buff-and-black timbered house is approached through a closed porch. Steps led to a well-like room lined with tiers of brick that made an ideal library. Mrs. Wilson entered into all social affairs at Princeton and to that home came men of letters and distinction. It was a place of study, of companion- ship, of the finest flower of hospitality. Deeply religious, well read, and artistic, Mrs. Wilson was a leader in the social life of the college town, as wife of a professor of growing influence and later as the wife of the distinguished President. Her ambitions for her husband and her faith in his future made her keenly interested in all that con- cerned him. All his life he was a home-body, giving himself without reserve to those in the loved circle. The Wilsons never permitted the claims of society to deny the supremacy of the home life. The family group in Washington em- braced the President, Mrs. Wilson, their three daughters, and Miss Helen Woodrow Bones, a cousin of Mr. Wilson. To go ahead of the story: a few weeks prior to Wil- son’s inauguration to the Presidency, a visiting friend to whom she talked freely, was asked by her: “What do you think of the propriety of an inaugural ball when Woodrow is inaugurated?” (She never called him any- thing but ‘“Woodrow.’’) The visitor thought these balls were garish and rather cheap, but it had so long been regarded as a necessary part of the inauguration, he supposed the Committee would wish to keep up the custom. “T cannot bear to think of a ball, with the modern dances, when Woodrow is inaugurated,” she said, carry- ing the impression that she regarded the occasion as a “dedication,” not a social event. There was no inau- gural ball. ‘The Washington Committee protested with- out avail, and the belles and dressmakers of Washington 5 A or Se eT Re = - SSR Sah RRS RE cD Oe ar eee TI EST Te na crear ee ore met ewe ee WOODROW WILSON 70 tying the score, which remained unbroken. It was Professor Wilson. In 1890 the chair of jurisprudence in Princeton became vacant through the death of Dr. Alexander Johnson, and Wilson was chosen for the work at the place to which his friends believed he had been pre- destined. At any rate, agreeable as was his life at Wesleyan, the love and lure of his alma mater claimed him. From September, 1890, therefore, until he became Governor of New Jersey, he was professor and president of Princeton, and indeed lived in his own home until he took passage for the eight-year residence in the White House. He had an abiding love for Princeton, attested in his attempts to lift it to his ideals for a university. A university, he had said, was a place where men go “to hear the truth about the past and hold debate about the present with knowlege and without passion.” He gave possibly his best expression of his feeling about the place when, in accepting the gift of a lake from Andrew Carnegie, he said: “I do not think that it is merely our doting love of the place that has led us to think of it as a place which those who love their country and like to dwell upon its honorable history would naturally be inclined to adorn with their gifts,” giving vent to his devotion as he embraced all Princeton, when he added: ‘We could not but be patriotic here.” It was at Princeton in student days he had found the controlling impulse to his life work. Residence in the South in the seventies, where the people talked politics and government more than trade and industry, had awakened in him the sense of the duty of a citizen. But it was at Old Nassau he was born again. In his student days he had heard the clear call to leadership in politics.EDUCATOR AND LECTURER 71 He returned with the glow of enthusiasm and happiness of opportunity to open the door of service to those he was to teach. For twelve years here he studied govern- ment, its history, its development, its laws, its limita- tions and its literature. And he applied all he learned and hoped and thought and dreamed as to how govern- ment could be made the instrument of equality and happiness to mankind. The spirit of Witherspoon was upon him. Tradition of the noble days when devotion to liberty and inde- pendence by Princeton’s president caused Fox to ex- claim, ‘‘Cousin America has run off with a Presbyterian parson” stirred within him. The simple dignity and love of learning that was incarnated in James McCosh held him in emulation. Every sacrifice and every noble tradition, as well as love of his calling, appealed to him as he returned to the old place. He had gone away to carry its best ideals. He had returned to live and to impart them. His lecture rooms were crowded with ambitious youths who followed him with a new under- standing of what politics and citizenship meant to an educated American. He became at once easily Prince- ton’s most popular professor. Students going into the world carried something of the compulsion of public service he stressed and imparted. The splendid diction and faultless structure and brilliant phrasing of his lectures were but the vehicle of the mighty political and social truths he was bent upon instilling. Then, as always, his ready flash of humor and wealth of illustra- tion—from the classics and from the street—made the student body eager to hear his interpretation of the vital affairs of an increasingly complex system. They felt that he brought to them treasures new and old out of ne nn Ne NE Sey ES eRe eee eee SD ai IND ETL EY Se a Tat lm =e REE Sn GEC ani ree = eee - A EEE yas = * ee ees ee et eta e EE Sees PRE SS eee ee a a a ei ara IIS Spa ee ee mem i i 4nee ee at nar ee He i oi ie BS a EES San mr Cr oe reer rat 72 WOODROW WILSON the reserves of a large storehouse of knowledge. He asked them to accept nothing upon his “say-so”’ and never led them into a blind alley. He had none of the vanity of dignity. He always had a remedy for every political ailment, or he frankly told his students, “my mind is in debate” and when debate was ended, gave the conclusion. The class-room, however, was not permitted to monopolize his thought or circumscribe his deep interest in what concerned his countrymen. He brought to his class freshness of treatment of public questions that many professors thought might involve something political or partisan. He never concealed his convictions and never spoke as blind partisan. But he rang clear where his principle was fixed. It was in his teaching days that Professor Wilson revealed himself. The things that he pondered in his heart there he afterwards practiced as the leader of the Republic. It was while Professor at Princeton that the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the College of New Jersey occurred. Professor Wilson was chosen as the commemorative orator. ‘The address made a profound impression. He warned young men, while alert for what was hew In science, against giving up “old drill, the old memory of times gone by, the old schooling in precedent and tradition, the old keeping of the faith as a prepara- tion for leadership in days of social change,” and he declared, “We must make the old humanities human again.” He was no foe to science but welcomed its instruction. He stood against its monopoly in college life. Science, he said, “‘has given us agnosticism in the realm of philosophy and scientific anarchy in the field of politics.”EDUCATOR AND LECTURER 73 The promotion from the most popular professor to the presidency of Princeton was the natural and easy step. When President Francis Landey Patton, in 1902, resigned, the selection of Woodrow Wilson was hailed alike by faculty, trustees and alumni of Princeton as the logical succession. Mr. Wilson was not quite forty- four years of age. He had won the place of distinction by superior fitness. Coming toit by the merit system of promotion, he insisted upon it in others when called to the highest public station. Not only did “Nassau men” welcome his election, but the liberal and progressive thought of America shared in approval. The sub- ject of his inaugural was ‘“The Relation of the Uni- versity to the State.” Wilson’s reputation had traveled far and educators and public men saw in him a dynamic force. Great things were expected of him. The prophecies came true. He needed no period of the novitiate. Student and professor, he had spent his best years at Princeton. Its fine traditions were in his blood. He knew where it was weak. The exhibition of executive ability in university president foreshadowed successful administration at Trenton and Washington. He resolved to graft upon the old in- stitution the vital principles Witherspoon had helped to secure for America when the young republic was born. He later outlined his policy, or his conception of education, in an address in which he said: “We are upon the eve of a period when we are going to set up standards,” which followed his state- ment to a body of teachers in another common- wealth: ‘“‘You know that the pupils in the colleges in the last several decades have not been educated. You know that with all of our teaching we train nobody. Sees en oe eee SS SS ee er ee eee es A I EN ER FE ITE IN SS a TE: NSse ——— ‘ Pe a enn gi A NTS a RPI OR ROR RN NSIT) no oem wom oo Lm Na EA RH EEL ETE a a St nna ee RPL SIT pet Sacre RIES EA oe cpa ms mem Stee cl aa a nS eR a Sie fy a 74 WOODROW WILSON You know that with all our instructing, we educate nobody.” If that statement had been made by one outside the teaching profession, it would have created a sensation. As it was, the teachers to whom he was speaking felt that he was making his declaration more to stir them up to better instruction than announcing a policy. He was doing both. Wilson’s term as President of Princeton was from 1902 until he was elected Governor of New Jersey in 1910. Life as head of the old institution, which had been his nourishing mother, gave promise of long years of happiness and usefulness, with time for study and sum- mers abroad and lectures and addresses to his countrymen. These would have filled his full measure of happiness if the conditions at Princeton were such as his judgment approved. First, he must “set up new standards.” And until “new standards” threatened to change social conditions and estrange rich donors, Wilson’s incumbency as president was a continuation of his popular career as professor. If he had been content to insist upon the preceptorial changes, without his vigor in demanding democratization of university life, the days of stress and controversy might not have made the call to political office pleasing. As professor and president, Wilson had become a prime favorite as a public speaker, often addressing gatherings of business men and public men, as well as educational bodies. His plain-speaking and dissection of evils, clear conception of remedies, and his original and clear-cut way of presenting his real views made him a leading figure among educators who felt the call to serve their country as well as their college. He had been speaking his mind since his graduation in hisEDUCATOR AND LECTURER 75 addresses, but the forum of President of Princeton gave him a national audience. Now the dramatic quality of his utterances, as well as his frank turning the light upon college problems, challenged public attention. He never spoke that he did not say something worth hearing, and something that he must say. He would not “sell the truth to serve the hour.” It was not a far cry from being President of the University, which gave Witherspoon as leader in form- ing the Republic, to becoming President of the United States in days of crisis and change. The Schoolmaster in Politics outlined his policy in his inaugural as President of Princeton. In Washington “The Relation of the University to the State” was translated from theory into practice. He was on his way to Washington. SN ne ee en eae i RnR eee Pa OP OSLG IOI EI EE EE NGS ee ee Eee 5 oO IP TN ee eer ee Cee ha 6 OTN ETT TEL SS Sos pod Deets = 4 ¢ 4 i i i | i ( Nc l 4 5 i 5 VyPay, 2 oy a Ce as Ne eer ( . | Fe P ie i ie 13 ie FLSA SD OT ee at ee ene Ee ee Stee Tees Le Fi om ib hi Hs SLSR ERSTE N SAN RRA Cuaptrer VII HIS FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY IN EDUCATION *‘AMERICA WILL TOLERATE NOTHING EXCEPT UNPATRON- IZED ENDEAVOR’ —RAISING THE STANDARDS OF EDUCATION—BROADENING THE CURRICULUM—THE PRECEPTORIAL SYSTEM—THE CONTROVERSY OVER STUDENT CLUBS—COLLEGES MUST BE RECON- STRUCTED FROM TOP TO BOTTOM—THE ‘BATTLE OF PRINCETON” “It ts service that dignifies, and service only.” —W1LsoN tg HAVE told the authorities I will not be the Presi- ] dent of a Country Club. Princeton must either be an educational institution or I will not remain.” With these words, spoken in telling of the long drawn- out contest at Princeton, Mr. Wilson, then President of the College, voiced his attitude against permitting the ““side-shows”’, as he called the numberless activities of college social life, to crowd out the serious business of obtaining an education. “Too many college students,” he went on, “give their initiative and enthusiasm to other things and bring a jaded mind to their classes.”’ It was to such a young man that he made an oft-quoted retort. “This is a dull subject,” said the student seeking to excuse his low marks, to which the College President replied, “The only dull thing about this subject is the mind brought to it.” His quarter of a century of teaching before he became an executive had given Mr. Wilson opportunity to know the defects of college life. The growing aloofness of the (76)DEMOCRACY IN EDUCATION 77 scholar from the problems of the world in which he lived was a matter that gave the new President concern. He had long been of the opinion that the air of superiority assumed by college graduates, which often blocked their way to service, was the result of a lack of democratic practice in the colleges and the universities. In his classes he had found men coming with the fag end of their powers to their studies. He debated with himself whether a college was primarily an educational institution or a social club. When, therefore, with practical unanimity, the trustees of Princeton in 1902 elected Dr. Wilson to succeed Dr. Patton as President, the opportunity came to put into practice the ideas he had long been evolving. The election of Dr. Wilson, with his lack of reverence for Things as They Are, was to cause much anxiety in the breasts of those who were well satisfied to permit Prince- ton to be a favorite of youths who enjoyed the pleasure of living in its clubs and cramming enough to skin through their examinations. Wilson had made a reputation in the educational world. As early as 1900 suggestion had been made of his availability for President of the United States. But this was only by scholars and a few others who knew of his mastery of questions of government. It added to Princeton prestige to have its President highly regarded. The reactionary group, joining heartily in his election, were later'to have a jar and regret their choice. Cradled in Presbyterianism and the child of the church, Prince- ton had had none but a preacher as its President. It was a departure to elect a lawyer, even though he was an elder and the son of a preacher. Disregarding ministerial succession broke a precedent, and the new President was to break many others. See Re Ne ee — =— eee EE one eeR eee eee serene een asm 5 Se mee eee ee nie oneete eee ne eA a eS ea - Peo ar Tne ta eeeae sence sy «tC eee SoS A ae a a oO 20> a TO nC EraePED Te Sn ower EN ACNE) OT ara oe Coenen Soran Ra PS OEE Ad a Se es ae oe Sana et Wy A aS 78 WOODROW WILSON Soon, before the end of the first year of his incum- bency in fact, Wilson startled the students by letting them know that if they wished to remain at “the most charming Country Club in America’’, as Princeton had been called, they must pass their examinations. Social and all other kinds of “‘pull’? were at an end, the new executive announced. The rule created a sensation. In addition to requiring scholarship, a new system of col- legiate study was evolved. Students were required, if taking elective studies, to master the subjects they under- took. The next step was to bring students and faculty into nearer relationship by adopting the preceptorial system, which has since been adopted by a number of other colleges. Having taken these two progressive steps within a few years, President Wilson laid his hand on the system that was responsible for the lack of diligence in study—the social system. He proposed the quad- rangle or dormitory, which should house a certain number of men from every class, with a young professor as the head of the house, so to speak. It was the logical next step in the preceptorial plan. There was everything to commend it except the fatal defect: it was too demo- cratic and cut across the grain of the exclusive system of sumptuous club houses. The objection to the club houses was that only a portion of the student body was admitted and there grew up a feeling that those who were not chosen were ostracized. The ambition for selection to these exclusive clubs was such that young students sometimes devoted more time to electioneering for admis- sion into the charmed circles than to preparing their lessons. It ministered to snobbery. Because Wilson’s “‘quad”’ system would have taken the place of the clubs, the intensity of feeling against himDEMOCRACY IN EDUCATION 79 was greater than can be described. “He wants to make a gentleman chum with a mucker” was the cry raised by the club group, and they asked what the world was coming to when a man must be “compelled to submit to dictation as to his table companions.” The clamor by certain of the alumni against the “quad” system in- fluenced the trustees. The Board had approved the “quad” plan, but on account of the protests, requested President Wilson to withdraw it. He was not that kind of man. But the fight was so bitter that echoes of it remain to this day. President Wilson was not fighting clubs as such. He was the last man to wish to deny anyone the right to choose his own associates. All he was trying to do was to make Princeton a real educational institution. If the clubs stood in the way of a better educational development, so much the worse for them. The object was education. It was a contest between two principles—Privilege and Democracy. They have been at war for all time. When Wilson, solely in the pursuit of educational efficiency, became the champion of Democracy, the old order of Special Privilege fought him at Princeton as later it did when he was in the White House. He replied as President of Princeton as he did at Washington. He neither asked nor gave quarter. The division at Princeton between President Wilson and his antagonists reached the crucial stage when a lady left $250,000, and William C. Procter, of Cincinnati, offered to give $500,000 for a graduate college. The conditions were the location of the graduate school at a certain site considerably removed from the undergraduate schools and that another $500,000 should be raised to match Mr. Procter’s half a million. The trustees “looked a gift horse in the mouth;” informed Mr. Procter that the 6 a Te 7 Re NON ee +s ee = SSS Se ee FEST SS SR LS LOL A Ser a * a a a a ne earety : a ere Poa oy SenrsTs a OT So Os" SN cn oi i AO CTL SE NA ROE Wa ty VR COT rte rr sale PaaS ASL pal ae ee AL Te rae Se a pacer et oe H at i 3 + He Pe aKa ey 80 WOODROW WILSON plan of a graduate college had been adopted only tenta- tively, and asked him if his gift was conditional upon permitting him and those at Princeton in touch with him to control the location, or whether he wished to make a donation and trust to the wisdom of the college authori- ties to use it in the wisest manner. He withdrew his offer of the money. President Wilson had before expressed his belief that in colleges there was “‘a strong tendency to glorify money”? unduly, and that with the increasing wealth of the country this tendency would be accentuated and that we would “drift into a plutocracy.” He said he believed that at Princeton, to which many sons of rich men came, the policy should be one that would “so impress those boys with ideas of democracy and personal worth that when they became, in the ordinary course of nature, masters of their fathers’ fortunes, they would use their undoubted power to help, not hurt, the com- monwealth.”’ President Wilson felt that the graduate school, as proposed, was more ornamental than necessary. He asked, ““When the world is looking to us as men who prefer ideas even to money, are we going to withdraw and say ‘After all, we find we were mistaken: we prefer money to ideas’?” He justified his position further by saying: “We should be forever condemned in the public judgment and in our own conscience if we used Prince- ton for any private purpose whatever.” That seems so sound that at this distance it is remarkable that there was any sentiment among the trustees in opposition to President Wilson’s views. However, fourteen out of the thirty trustees stood against him. Some wavered. The bulk of the faculty, the alumni, and student body approved his declaration when he said, “I cannot accedeDEMOCRACY IN EDUCATION 81 to the acceptance of gifts upon terms which take the educational policy of the university out of the hands of the trustees and faculty and permit it to be deter- mined by those who give money.” The conflict was to the bitter end. It was not lessened by the plain speech of the fighting President. He loved peace—he believed there might be occasions when a man should be “‘too proud to fight’”—but he was not the man to remain silent when he saw influences at work which he felt would undermine the spirit and scholarship of his beloved alma mater. He hurled defiance at his opponents in an address to the Pittsburgh alumni, saying: “You can’t spend four years at one of our modern universities without getting in your thought the con- viction which is most dangerous to America—namely, that you must treat with certain influences which now dominate in the commercial undertakings of the country. “The great voice of America does not come from seats of learning. It comes in a murmur from the hills and woods and the farms and factories, and the mills, rolling on and gaining volume until it comes to us from the homes of common men. Do these murmurs echo in the corridors of universities? I have not heard them. “The universities would make men forget their common origins, forget their universal sympathies, and join a class—and no class ever can serve America. “‘T have dedicated every power that there is within me to bring the colleges that I have anything to do with to an absolutely democratic regeneration in spirit, and I shall not be satisfied—and I hope you will not be— until America shall know that the men in the colleges A ee ey EER ee ee SSSA = os ee RE tne na mara = ACA a,- = A —rgeCUY me: a {vt 3 errata ena etter ek cnesieaen are eaensaidinaenieanoaahenatmmmmeimenime contain ca penx 4 oe? Lai i ee ORO one, 2 oT = re tear RTI ee aE TT perete eee roe TET Sires aie ene Settee pee ont eon Sees ree aa CRETE SSE plant Fata Ri aE Tiga SSN SETE Ser lane ar 82 WOODROW WILSON are saturated with the same thought, the same sympathy, that pulses through the whole great body politic. “T know that the colleges of this country must be reconstructed from top to bottom, and I know that America is going to demand it. While Princeton men pause and think, I hope—and the hope arises out of the great love I share with you all for our inimitable alma mater—I hope that they will think on these things, that they will forget tradition in the determination to see to it that the free air of America shall permeate every cranny of their college. “Will America tolerate the seclusion of graduate students? Will America tolerate the idea of having graduate students set apart? America will tolerate nothing except unpatronized endeavor. Seclude a man, separate him from the rough and tumble of college life, from all the contacts of every sort and condition of men, and you have done a thing which America will brand with its contemptuous disapproval.” A windfall of three million dollars, and the renewal of Procter’s gift, inclined the trustees to undertake the plans which they had declined and which Wilson had not approved. What college has trustees who could con- sistently throw a brick at the Princeton authorities? President Wilson, seeing fate and money had combined to give the victory to his old opponents, accepted the situation. He had made the bravest fight recorded to democratize university life. One of the queer slants of the contest was that in 1910, at the very meeting where the opponents of Wilson won as to site, thanks to three million arguments in the way of three million dollars, in the election of a trustee, the anti-Wilson candidate, Mr. Adrtan Joline, was defeated for trustee. He was theDEMOCRACY IN EDUCATION 83 same Mr. Joline to whom Dr. Wilson had written in 1907 that he wished “we could do something to knock Mr. Bryan once for all into a cocked hat.” The scars of that famed university contest were still fresh when Mr. Wilson went to Washington. Often, when he was assailed, he would refer to incidents and lessons from “‘the battle of Princeton.” It cut deeper than political contests, for in the college town it affected whole families. The first Mrs. Wilson, who, in addition to her beautiful affection, was far more ambitious for her husband than he was for himself, had felt the strain of the differences in Princeton which the outside world thought of as quiet and serene classic shades far removed from clash and conflict. The turn of affairs, however, could not destroy the principles he enunciated at Pitts- burgh. ‘‘Democratic regeneration in spirit” in college was not defeated. It was only deferred. College sub- mission to the dictation of wealth always proves the undoing of the right kind of higher education. To-day few gifts are made conditional upon permitting the donor to determine what course the institution shall take. The democratization of colleges received an impulse from Dr. Wilson’s courageous stand. Princeton, and all institutions, even if for a time the great issue was confused, have felt the blessing of the democracy im education proclaimed by Woodrow Wilson. With a brief period of redeeming New Jersey from the thraldom of trusts, opposing privilege and the power of wealth in the commonwealth as he had in college affairs, Mr. Wilson went to Washington to continue, on a larger scale, leadership in the age-old war between Democracy and Privilege. He blazed the way. En TS ee Ee ARGS a Se See eee Fe Em EL ea ae eee ee EIT eee ees oe EE ees aa en ee a SS SRO ee ie MOSS Teenie SATA Sey a Fee a ee oe eaea ae ees as a vc patie eaatenpeteatetce deeuaeslonar rLeceaia tei taneaeaes acing ieee aaa eee a ae PFA I, SR ee ee = SARS CuHapTter VIII WRITER AS WELL AS MAKER OF HISTORY MAN OF LETTERS TO HIS FINGER TIPS—MADE HISTORY FASCINATING AND POLITICAL SCIENCE INTERESTING— HIS FATHER TAUGHT HIM TO THINE IN DEFINITIONS— THAT TRAINING AND WIDE READING RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS ELEGANT STYLE—MADE HISTORY AS PRESI- DENT AS HE HAD WRITTEN IT AS CITIZEN “The historian needs consummate literary art as much as candor and com- mon honesty.” —WILSON ONG before he became President, Mr. Wilson had been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters whose constitutional qualification for membership is “notable achievement in art, music or literature.” That honor came not because he was a professor of history and jurisprudence. It was awarded because his historical writings were literature in the highest sense of the word. He fully exemplified his own assertion that “the historian needs an imagination quite as much as he needs scholarship, and consummate literary art as much as candor and common honesty.” ‘‘What- ever else he may be,” said an English critic, ‘‘ President Wilson is a man of letters to his finger tips—a man steeped in literary traditions, and possessed of fine lit- erary gifts. He can make political science readable to the layman, and he can make history fascinating with- out imparting to it the cheap over-coloring of fiction or the hectic fervor of partisanship.” “Congressional Government,” Mr. Wilson’s first (84)WRITER AND MAKER OF HISTORY = 85 published work, appeared in 1885, six years after his graduation. It had been prepared as the thesis required for his degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Johns Hopkins University. Most academic dissertations are soon buried in oblivion, but the brilliancy of this one raised it at once to the rank of a political classic, and brought its author an immediate reputation in the world of learning. It is an analysis of our legislative procedure, describing the American national system in contrast with the British. In vivacity and incisiveness of style it has often been favorably compared with Bagehot’s famous work on the English Constitution. Four years later came “The State: Elements of Historical and Practical Politics” (1889), a compre- hensive manual tracing government to its origins and analyzing its ancient, medieval, and modern types. A pioneer work in the field of knowledge treated, it was one of the earliest examples of the new historical method applied to the subject of political science. Critics on both sides of the Atlantic gave it a warm welcome, a distinguished English scholar saying: “Mr. Wilson will be considered as the foremost of those who rendered possible an intelligent study of a department of sociology upon which the happiness and good government of the human race essentially depend.” “Division and Reunion, 1829-1889” (1893), is an able summary of the larger features of American public affairs from the election of Andrew Jackson to the end of the first century of the Constitution. As a general history of political development during the period cov- ered it shows extensive knowledge, unusual power of summarizing, an acute political sense, fine impartiality of judgment, and an admirable sense of proportion. His ple Se RON mo aa ea te et eR oie Fh ELD AEST LLDPE er st ATP EEE E ETS NGAI NS eee esr os Fe ITO RC Care Oa eee eee eae nat , aS a ry pay Beanees ee — Ne pete nee Pate ete fet et Lt) Lib) x ete Sree ene er ere eR IE ERT RRO DA I oe ne ms ee irl I SA bh ed os Sareea a me proms Sawer tas fan me a Fat fii si ie Lee 86 WOODROW WILSON insight into the tendencies of the times, the vivid manner in which the views of parties and contemporary political life are characterized show historical talent of a high order. The style is easy and flowing, striking phrases flash out brilliantly and often, and there are few if any other books on this important period which are so thor- oughly enjoyable to read. The “Life of George Washington”’ is a masterpiece of biography. The first President is shown in the proper setting of his own eighteenth century age and time—as the Virginia country gentleman, frontier-surveyor, and military commander. It is a history of the times written as an epic, the events being grouped about the personality of the hero but with the figures of the men who sur- rounded him also delineated with a sure and vivid touch. Again the narrative is one full of charm and the style singularly careful and polished. President Wilson’s best known and most widely read work, “A History of the American People” (1902), was written during the years of his Princeton incumbency. It originated in his desire to find a means whereby he might continue his study of governmental problems. The work is designedly popular in character and treat- ment of its subject, and was frankly intended for the general reader rather than for scholars and specialists in American history. But it is an able summary of Amer- ican political history and none but a true man of letters could have given the book its fine literary flavor and form. The author sets forth the approved modern judgment of the great questions and great men of Amer- ican origin; his frank democratic bias is never concealed, but it never disturbs his imperturbable fairness. Very few men, with his Southern antecedents, could have keptS10 ‘Aqisreatuy) surydoyy suyor JO nD 9914) 9G.L -jsod B SBA PRET Ul guUepNys eyenpBis ‘Burpupjs) UOS|T AA A01pPO0 AA Aq peztue usym (7fa7 wouf pwovas £010Yq 9PtM P140M © oy 2 DM — o & Zm 4 = cS Nn Oo zm Z oo oo ns ts CE Ea Pn fF AE aE ASE Rn en nar ee “2pr aie soe = i Sr AN ACADEMIC PROCESSION AT PRINCETON Woodrow Wilson in the center in cap and gown as president of the university. Photo. Brown Bros. is left is Andrew Carnegie, on Ath whom the university conferred the degree of LL.D.WRITER AND MAKER OF HISTORY = 87 such an admirable balance between extreme Northern and Southern views. President Wilson showed himself almost wholly devoid of sectional prejudice of any sort. Good judges consider the chapters dealing with the Jacksonian period the best of all. The dominating presence of masterful men is everywhere felt, and one catches the spirit of the time and the very atmosphere of its life from the glowing, vivid word-painting. It was the frequently expressed opinion that this “History” does for the United States what J. R. Green’s “Short History” did for England. Like Macaulay, Froude, Motley, Parkman, and Green, Mr. Wilson never forgot that written history must be, if possible, literature as well as accurate assembling of facts. The opening para- graph of the chapter entitled “The Swarming of the English” illustrates the ease and pictorial quality of his narrative style: “Tt was the end of the month of April, 1607, when three small vessels entered the lonely capes of the Chesa- peake, bringing the little company who were to make the first permanent English settlement in America, at Jamestown, in Virginia. Elizabeth was dead. The masterful Tudor monarchs had passed from the stage and James, the pedant king, was on the throne. The ‘Age of the Stuarts’ had come, with its sinister policies and sure tokens of revolution. Men then living were to see Charles lie dead upon the scaffold at Whitehall. After that would come Cromwell; and then the second Charles, ‘restored,’ would go his giddy way through a demoralizing reign, and leave his sullen brother to face another revolution. It was to be an age of profound constitutional change, deeply significant for all the English world; and the colonies in America, notwith- Sass ts agen —— = SS Se A eae ema! eae rt eeres ye EP SS PRIS Ey So SE RR RN Ea ee eal SRN Pa a os a er = RS eS Se — a EAE mane TTR EI ee ae ea aSst ————— a eNOS a eR A acauenenacSe ERS ae Ce ree eras ee ett a OL =a RR RRA Eo TETRA ay ORY VINA a COR CRC es LE fi et Gg SEL SE a RSL Oar OS ITT ISTRY ESTE BN ONG eri nD SSB NS ap ar oe 7 4 re i oa Ban Da SRE ES RA RRS OSS A IS. 88 WOODROW WILSON standing their separate life and the breadth of the sea, were to feel all the deep stir of the fateful business. The revolution wrought at home might in crossing to them suffer a certain sea-change, but it would not lose its use or its strong flavor of principle.” “Constitutional Government in the United States” (1908) exhibits Mr. Wilson’s high quality as a thinker and is in many ways the most complete expression of his political ideas. Particularly in this work did he show his belief that the President of the United States, both by reason of the duties imposed upon him and by his relation to the rest of the government and to the people, must almost necessarily be the leader of his party as well as the leader of the nation. This carefully considered conclusion of Wilson the scholar should be borne in mind when judging the public acts of Wilson, party leader and president. In the latter capacities he was but following out the conclusions reached after prolonged study and thought in the quiet of his academic home. Thoughtful readers will note another impressive and significant fact in the work of this scholar and historian. His “ Constitutional Government,” “Life of Washington,” and “History of the American People” are all essentially studies in leadership, and throughout them all there runs a quiet consciousness of his own power. He writes, as afterwards he came to speak, as one having authority. After entering public life he no longer had time or opportunity for sustained study and literary composition. As from time to time he was called upon to express him- self upon the great political, social, and international questions of the hour, it was chiefly through the spoken word that he had to convey the conclusions and opinions formed in his richly stored mind. And yet, so thoroughWRITER AND MAKER OF HISTORY = 89 was his knowledge of the subjects dealt with and so perfect his command of English, that many of the steno- graphic reports of his extemporaneous speeches read like finished examples of carefully composed written work. This is notably true of the addresses contained in “The New Freedom” (1913). There is not a page in it that a man of letters might not be content to have written at leisure; there is not a suggestion that the flowing sen- tences were spoken in the glare and heat and excitement of public platforms. And the subject matter is as good as the form, for, as Mr. Wilson himself said, “they are an attempt to express the new spirit of our politics and to set forth, in large terms which may stick in the imagi- nation, what it is that must be done if we are to restore our politics to their full spiritual vigor, and our national life to its purity, its self-respect and its pristine strength and freedom.”’ With the coming of the Great War all the resources of his scholarship, his knowledge of history, and his gift of expression were drawn on to the utmost. The writer who had long labored in the still air of delightful studies now became the inspired spokesman of a great nation, and indeed of the masses of the peoples of other nations. No other President, probably, has accomplished so much of his work through the successful use of written and spoken appeals to the Congress, to the American people and to the public opinion of the world. They aroused the attention and extorted the admiration of the leaders of thought and affairs in all the allied countries. They shaped contemporary events not only in the current sense but in the larger aspects of history. Their remark- able literary quality would alone be sufficient to insure their being read by generations yet unborn. His in- Nea a Toe ees EE ES Sener Te es er eae et Raa Se See ee ar 3 as "Patt x PE a ET an ee aea ENS PEE EEE I EEO, I RE A aed oe NCS eS a rR IETS ea <= i ere at Seog URAC Te EIE LISS ES ; da Poe P maar. fete one ye eae ay 90 © WOODROW WILSON cisive, clear-cut, throbbing sentences and paragraphs helped to crystallize the vague longings of right-thinking men in all nations. They were the articulate expression of the hopes of the world, and for Americans the clarifying and vigorous definition of their national purposes and ideals in the war: “Our object is to vindicate the principles of peace and justice in the life of the world as against selfish and autocratic power and to set up amongst the really free and self-governed peoples such a concert of purpose and of action as will henceforth insure the observance of these principles.” ‘““We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make. We are but one of the champions of the rights of mankind. We shall be satisfied when those rights have been made as secure as the faith and freedom of nations can make them.” Convinced belief in democracy runs through all the messages and addresses like a golden thread. In his mind, the means of bringing about democratic govern- ment comes from within, not from without, by moral, not by physical force. ‘“‘I have not read history,” he said, “without observing that the greatest forces in the world and the only permanent forces are the moral forces.” That was ever his keynote, and if it had its origin in his ancestry, it had been reinforced through wide his- torical study and keen observation of the men and events of his own time. In the domain of pure belles-lettres, Mr. Wilson’s finest efforts are to be found in the two volumes of his literary and historical essays, ““An Old Master” (1893)WRITER AND MAKER OF HISTORY 91 and “‘Mere Literature’? (1896). These essays indicate the wide range of his reading—‘“‘a thoughtful, brooding, vital kind of reading,” Bliss Perry calls it—and show the windows from which he looked out upon the world and grew human by seeing all its play of force and folly. His pages breathe an intense love of literature and of the fine things of literature, the expressions of a broad and catholic humanity. The following is a significant passage: “There is more of a nation’s politics to be got out of its poetry than out of all its systematic writers upon public affairs and constitutions. Epics are better mirrors of manners than chronicles; dramas oftentimes let you into the secrets of statutes; orations stirred by a deep energy of emotion or resolution, passionate pamphlets that sur- vive their mission because of the direct action of their style along permanent lines of thought, contain more history than parliamentary pamphlets.” When he was fifty Wilson expressed regret that his style had not improved, though he had “sedulously cul- tivated” it. He knew, to quote from one of his own essays, that the ear of the world must be “tickled in order to be made attentive—that clearness, force and beauty of style are absolutely necessary to one who would draw men to his way of thinking; nay, to anyone who would induce the great mass of mankind to give so much as passing heed to what he has to say.” Demos- thenes would have made little impression on the Athenians but for his style; Cicero would not have been listened to in the Roman forum but for his style; it was the style of Burke that carried his words across the channel to France and across the ocean to America; the style of Rousseau started a revolution. It was Wilson’s style in which he dressed his appeals a FLITE VE EIEN OB EET ST LSE OD EOE RE ee = athe : oo = Iren —_ ey eee mn EE eter oT a a SAE ee eam ew LO ea Po OR a Hise te ' su hanes es eee anaes nL ae SSS ies ie thi 92 WOODROW WILSON for peace that helped him to reach the heart of men all over the world. To a remarkable style he added wit that was never lacking in appositeness and _brilliancy. “For light on a dark subject,” he said, “‘eommend me to a ray of wit.” He explained in “Mere Literature”: “Wit does not make a subject light, it simply beats it into shape to be handled readily. For my part, I make free acknowledgment that no man seems to me master of his subject who cannot take liberties with it, who cannot slap his propositions on the back and be hail fellow well met with them. “Most of your solemn explanations are mere farthing candles in the great expanse of a difficult ques- tion. Wit is not, I admit, a steady light, but ah! its flashes give you sudden glimpses of unsuspected things such as you will never see without it. It is the summer lightning which will bring more to your startled eye in an instant, out of the hiding of the night, than you will ever be at the pains to observe in the full blaze of noon.” As a stylist few writers in his own field equal and none excel him. But that easy, graceful, unfaltering command of language that marked his middle and later years was the result of a long apprenticeship and assiduous practice in the art and craft of writing. President Wilson was accustomed to give his father the credit for his style of expression. “‘My best training came from him,” he said. “From the time I began to write until his death in 1903 at the age of eighty-one, I carried everything I wrote to him. He would make me read my writing aloud, which was always painful to me. Every now and then he would stop me. ‘What do you mean by that?’ { would tell him, and of course in doing so would express myself more simply than I had on paper. ‘Why didn’tWRITER AND MAKER OF HISTORY 93 you say so?’ would be his reply. And so I came to think in definitions.” But this, of course, was only part of his training. Another and principal part was his loving study of the best models of our language, especially his favorites— Burke, Lamb, Boswell’s Johnson, Bagehot, Stevenson, and others. All combined to create that finished, sen- sitive, intimate style which he made such a masterly instrument of expression adaptable to any literary pur- pose. His language has all the elegance of classic English and yet it is shot through and through with the phrase and the feel of the man in the street. It was his books and his writings with which he was occupied when the lights in his Princeton study burned late, and the click of his typewriter was heard through the open window by neighbors and midnight wayfarers. But those years of devoted labor gave back a rich fruitage. As scholar, historian, and man of letters his literary productions everywhere reveal a vigorous mind, a fine culture, high ideals, and a broad, sympathetic humanity, ideal qualities in the future leader of a great nation. If Wilson’s health had permitted, the volumes he intended to write would have made a history of his own times that would have been illuminating and invaluable. A few days before the war, speaking to an intimate friend, he outlined that after his term expired he intended to write. He sketched his plan with some detail and with enthusiasm. Some of the chapters, he said, would tell truths that “wouldn’t be complimentary to some indi- viduals.” Years before, visiting his father in Wilmington, N. C., during his illness, Mr. Wilson spoke freely and See =
Ph a SE aetna mm rene otee os EE ae AD Cayo cn eC ’ ee TE TT eT re ts rt Te TT ers -- ey. Oak Se ET IR ROR I SE FO ATE REET EPC CT TS a cp Sa eo a me et ee rc Sa a SN SE WT Prone rd ee nmeeree Spee A a SS MES Ce Ne er re GN re att LS Ror a eR Oe aes ms if eh a 96 WOODROW WILSON the big corporations, particularly the public service companies and allied “big business.””» The Democratic party had long been out of power and “the interests” dominated the Republican state administration and New Jersey was regarded as “the home of trusts.” If the Republicans were the agents of privilege, Democratic leadership held little hope for relief. The “bosses” of both parties were dominant, and there was no insistent and commanding note of revolt in either party, but there was a growing dissatisfaction in the ranks of both parties. Securely entrenched, the Republicans paid no heed to what the bosses contemptuously called a “visionary reformer.” The Democratic bosses, out of power, were looking for an opportunity to win a long desired victory. At that time the name of Princeton’s President was brought forward. Echoes of his fight for educational democracy had gone beyond the campus and had won approval. If this foe of privilege could fight and win for democracy in a college, why should he not be drafted to fight for the rule of the people in Jersey? That question was asked and the suggestion reached ex-Senator James Smith, the recognized leader of the Democratic party. The leaders were looking for a winning candidate. The need was for one who would make a popular appeal, a new man who would catch the imagination of those voters who wished to overthrow their machine-made government. The idea of “the scholar in politics” or high-brow government was no more attractive to many Democratic than to the Republican bosses. But successive defeats and the desire for offices made the Democrats willing to take a chance with the Princeton scholar. They made overtures to him. Some one about that time asked Bob >GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY 97 Davis, the Jersey City boss, if he thought Woodrow Wilson would make a good Governor. “How the hell do I know whether he'll make a good Governor?” the boss replied; but he put his foot on ground he knew how to tread when he said, “But he’ll make a good candidate, and that is the only thing that interests me.” The “bosses” wished to win the election and they saw many county and state offices coming if Wilson could lead them to victory. Still they feared the very thing that did happen to the Big Boss. It was that, if the college president should be elected, he would throw down the organization men. “The Princeton sage is the man of the hour,” ex-Senator James Smith, the Big Boss, was quoted as saying, “and the medium by which the Democratic party is to have its hunger for the plums of victory appeased after so long a wait.” The bosses wished to have the glamour of a scholar at the head of the ticket, but wanted him to be a show- window Governor while they held the real direction of affairs for themselves. Therefore, they asked Mr. Wilson to meet them at a club in New York to talk over the matter of his possible acceptance of the nomina- tion for the Governorship. A leading lawyer, afterwards and always influential as friend and supporter of Wilson, turned to Mr. Wilson in the meeting and said, “Dr. Wilson, there have been some political reformers who, after they have been elected to office as candidates of one party or the other, have shut the doors in the face of the organization leaders, refusing even to listen to them. Is it your idea that a governor should regard himself free of all obligation to his party organization?” That was the crux with the organization men. They a EE EPRI SS SOE ee es ee! a eI ETE Ss Pa SES ae 5 eee aes ee er mrs alae 9 eT en eeepea nae pe ar aha NUE ET ae RAS CSET DCSE Ot ER a Se AONE) OT ree re soars See 3 PDI TIDE RPL RL SASSI IATA RR OE Ta LAA LETTE AA NEES OEE IAAI + Se PtP. PSE STEN AS rn Dad nese acre ase eRe ere earans fe 98 WOODROW WILSON were ready to go down the line for Wilson, but they wanted some assurance that when he was elected he would feel he owed them the right of conference and recognition. Mr. Wilson assured them on this point and enunciated his view of what course a party leader and chief executive (he regarded them as one and inseparable) should pursue. Moreover, it was the policy he marked out for himself as Governor of New Jersey and President of the United States. He said: “Gentlemen: I have always been a believer in party organizations. If I were elected Governor of New Jersey, I would be very glad to consult with the leaders of the Democratic organization. I should refuse to listen to no man, but I should be especially glad to hear and duly consider the suggestions of the leaders of my party. If, on my own independent in- vestigation, I found that the recommendations for appointments made to me by the organization leaders named the best possible men, I should naturally prefer, other things being equal, to appoint them, as the men pointed out by the combined counsels of the party.’ That was on July 12, 1910. On July 15, Mr. Wilson issued a statement that if it were the wish “of a decided majority of the thoughtful Democrats of the State” that he should be their nominee, he would accept. He issued the statement and did not turn a hand to affect the result. The “bosses,” aided by those who felt confident Mr. Wilson would usher in a new day in government, nominated him. However, a large element of the anti- boss Democrats, seeing the bosses favored him, organ- ized to nominate a man not acceptable to the organiza- tion. The speaker who presented Wilson for the nom-GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY 99 ination said Wilson would accept “‘without any private obligations or undertakings whatever.” Nominated by a small majority, when the news reached him at Prince- ton, he responded and drove to the Convention Hall and made a speech that thrilled his hearers and the State, and insured his election. “T did not seek this nomination,” he said. “I have made no pledge and have given no promise. Still more, not only was no promise asked, but, as far as I know, none was desired. If elected, as I expect to be, I am left absolutely free to serve you with all singleness of purpose. It isa new era when these things can be said.” Upon that he was elected. In 1908 the Repub- lican candidate had carried the state by 82,000 majority. Wilson’s majority was 49,150. The Democrats carried the Legislature also, and it had to elect a United States Senator. The story of Wilson’s matchless campaign even now stirs the pulses when it is recalled. The “‘high-brow” candidate in his first campaign speeches captured the voters. It was a triumphal march of compelling oratory. It was in a speech to a packed house in Jersey City where his famous limerick was first given public applause. He was speaking with great earnestness, arousing enthusiasm, when a man in the gallery called out: “Go it, Woody. You are all right. But you ain’t no beaut.” Quick as a flash, Wilson quoted his limerick, and it made a hit: “For beauty I am not a star; There are others handsomer, far; But my face, I don’t mind it, For I am behind it; ’Tis the people in front that I jar.” SST Rp AS ee a a eR ete a Tan a onencwee deals Eee re omen Ra ESTE Te occa SS ee caph pt crea Pf ‘ ; i Ee ters Lb core err I eon reer OATES roel ast Se CRITI OI exc a ma pares Lara tas © Underwood & Underw At Mr. Wilson’s left is Champ Clark, Speaker of the House; and Senator Hughes, of New Jersey GOVERNOR WILSON AT SEA GIRTGOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY 103 people are determined at last to take over the control of their politics. We are going to cut down the jungles in which corruption lurks.” The victories were hard won. One rich concern, which had an employee in the Assembly, threatened him with reduction of pay, and there was a persistent lobby of the interests. One Sena- tor, whose vote was essential for a reform measure, said: “Governor, I would vote for the measure, but my constituents are against it.” “How do you know your constituents are against it? =I will tell you what I will do. I will speak at your county seat next Thursday night for the measure. You speak against it. Then we will ask for an expression of the people. If they are for the measure, you will then vote for it. If they are against it, I will not ask you to vote for it. Do you accept my proposition?’ The legislator voted for the measure without a debate with the Governor before his constituents. The leader of the Democratic organization was invited by the Governor to come to his office to “talk things over.”” He had promised to call in the organization leaders. He was keeping his promise. Soon the leader lost his temper. “I know you think you’ve got the votes,” he ex- claimed in a loud tone insultingly. “I know how you got them.” “What do you mean?” asked Governor Wilson. “Tt’s the talk of the State House that you got them by patronage,” he flung out the insult. “Good afternoon,” said the Governor, pointing to the door. “You are no gentleman,” cried back the enraged political boss. Shes — RE eS ea a SSE AS aa mo =e Ree I TT rs = Sr cA Fae a OT Te peer aeva se iets SN NE ee Te ert ern aenees ae SL SN TA RIAA BEE REEDS nema cs MRS RD A ee aracscaat r ne LAPT RNAI bet a a RRR” S- SORD a ST e seeer semen = Bene se ec aE Rane a DaE NEEA s Fe A ws 7 104 WOODROW WILSON 3 “You are no judge,’ leader made his exit. Wilson had said that a political machine was “a house of cards.”” Soon his statement was proved. That boss, still Democratic State Chairman, who had tried to insult Governor Wilson, was a short time after, with some friends at a dinner in the same dining room with a party of officers of the New Jersey National Guard at Sea Girt. The chairman asked them to join his party in a toast. The diners at both tables rose to their feet. “TI give you,” he cried, “the Governor of the State of New Jersey’’—and all glasses were raised—“‘a liar and an ingrate.”’ Those who had risen to drink the toast upon his invitation lowered their glasses, stupefied by the sug- gested toast. “Do I drink alone?” he asked. He did. The following day a Wilson supporter was chosen State Chair- man. He had “licked the gang to a frazzle.” A study of the record of Woodrow Wilson as Governor of New Jersey convinced the American people that he was the type of man needed in the White House. It was only 163 miles from Trenton to Washington, but there were many bridges to cross before like policies on a larger scale were to have a national application. He had won promotion. was the answer as the angryCHAPTER X THE BALTIMORE CONVENTION WILSON OWED HIS NOMINATION TO HIS PROGRESSIVE PRINCIPLES AND TO HIS APPROVAL OF THE FIGHT TO ORGANIZE THE CONVENTION BY PROGRESSIVES— BRYAN S MAGNIFICENT LEADERSHIP ROUTED THE REACTIONARY FORCES AND THE BOSSES——-WILSON WOULD MAKE NO PROMISES “No man can be just who is not free.” —WILSON HAT do you think of the resolution?” asked William Jennings Bryan of a friend as they started to the Armory in Baltimore for the Thursday night session. He had read to the friend a resolution he intended to introduce at the evening session. “T think,” was the reply, “that it is full of dynamite.” “Whom will it blow up?” asked Bryan. “That is in the lap of the gods,” was the reply. “It may blow up the man who offers it, and it may blow up those at whom it is aimed.” It was an open secret that the bosses were resolved to eliminate Bryan once and for all. Their plan also em- braced unforgiving and unrelenting warfare upon what called itself, for want of a better name, “progressivism.” That element had been man-handled and defeated by the Old Guard in the Republican Convention at Chicago. The Democratic bosses aimed to do likewise at Baltimore. The real fight at Baltimore was not between candidates. It was between opposing ideals of government. 105 —— Set Shee BEE naire a ae cope ren enna neatoraranennern nS ae os a Tn eee eta,: ee Cee tet eto ee eee ea eae eet aeerarated oer al on Sra er ne el MO CCL = ao Ar oO er SR Se eS rhe ty pr Pn at a eat RY BS METRO) Oe St err paras — =r ERRATA SPECI SE Sra ek Oreo perverts ce a ee ota Re ra 106 WOODROW WILSON Bryan was in his happiest mood. He always is when he is fighting against political control by the “interests.” But his heavy jaws were set for “a fight or a funeral.” For days, even before the Convention met on the 25th- day of June,d912, he had been concerned, not about can- didates, but to prevent bosses or Big Business naming the President or writing the platform. The Progressives had staged a fight against the selection for temporary chairman of Judge Alton B. Parker, supported by Tammany and called by Progressives “reactionary.” Bryan sought in vain to defeat Parker’s selection. It looked as if the ‘ Conservatives” or ‘“ Reaction- aries’’ would gain control of the Convention. Bryan felt that they could be unhorsed only by arousing the country to the danger. He resolved on firing a gun that would startle the ““embattled farmers” and others whose hearts were set upon making the Demo- cratic party the vehicle of undoing Privilege. He succeeded. That was a brilliant scene in the Armory as Bryan was recognized. Every seat was occupied. Diplomats and Senators from Washington had come over. Ladies in the gallery in summer costumes in tiers behind the presiding officer lent beauty to the scene. It was no ordi- nary convention, though the quadrennial conventions of the major parties are always the most notable gatherings in America. Here there was unwonted confidence that the delegates were naming, not merely a candidate, but the next President. The Nebraskan was cheered as he moved to the plat- form. There was some objection to his recognition. There would have been more if the delegates had known the character of the bomb concealed on his person. HeTHE BALTIMORE CONVENTION 107 read his resolution, first in silence. As he proceeded the delegates, or some of them, gasped in consternation, and as he finished with the demand for the “withdrawal of any delegate under any obligations to J. Pierpont Mor- gan, Thomas F. Ryan, August Belmont, or any other member of the privilege-hunting and favor-seeking class,” pandemonium broke loose. Ryan and Belmont were both sitting on the floor as delegates. For minutes, so great was the uproar and bitter feeling that many feared Bryan would suffer violence. The partisans of Bryan were cheering, opponents were howling insults, and friends of both Ryan and Belmont were vociferous in their denunciation. During the raging storm Bryan stood unmoved. The debate that followed has rarely been equalled in vigor of attack on what Bryan called “the privilege-seeking” class; in the defense of Ryan and Bel- mont; and in the hostility to Bryan’s injecting the reso- lution into the Convention. Bryan’s resolution was as follows: “Resolved, That in this crisis in our party’s career and in our country’s history, this convention sends greet- ings to the people of the United States and assures them that the party of Jefferson and of Jackson is still the champion of popular government and equality before the law. As proof of our fidelity to the people, we hereby declare ourselves opposed to the nomination of any candidate for President who is the representative of or under any obligation to J. Pierpont Morgan, Thomas F. Ryan, August Belmont or any other member of the privilege-hunting and favor-seeking class. “Be it further Resolved, That we demand the with- drawal from this convention of any delegate or delegates constituting or representing the above-named interests.” EOE ES ee tT seas: eee FO =~ een Sa cr eaeESPEN ES: a ree a eens iF 3 i uh eh SCS ETA SC SE pare bs Ts Son mt Seperate i TW 108 WOODROW WILSON The debate turned chiefly upon argument by Bryan’s opponents denying the right of a Convention to demand the withdrawal of delegates whose credentials had been approved by the Convention. Just before the vote was taken, Bryan withdrew that part of his resolution asking withdrawal of Ryan and Belmont, and the remainder was then adopted by a large majority. Bryan yielded only when satisfied the first and more important resolution would meet the case. rel Before the Convention met, Mr. Bryan sent an iden- } tical telegram to Clark, Wilson, Underwood, and Harmon, all the candidates for President, asking their co- operation i in selecting some well-known Progressive as temporary chairman acceptable to the leading progressive candi- dates. “Eight members of the sub-committee have, over the protest of the remaining eight,”’ he said in his telegram, “agreed upon not only a Reactionary, but upon the one Democrat who, among those not candidates for the Presidential nomination, is, in the eyes of the public, most conspicuously identified with the reactionary ele- ment of the party.” The reference was to Alton B. Parker, who had been the Democratic candidate for President in 1904. Bryan and Parker were brought together. Bryan said to Parker, “I have not the slightest objection to you personally, but I do object to the faction which has chosen you to preside.’”’ He had wired the Presidential candidates, “I shall be pleased to join you and your friends in opposing his selection by the full committee or by the Convention.” Bryan’s telegram was published far and near. It was the crux of the situation. What candidate would take his stand with the militant Progressives? It was a serious question to propound, but the answer of Wilson ———_—.—_—- —__—— —--THE BALTIMORE CONVENTION 109 and the failure to answer by the other candidates had a, large influence on the result. Wilson’s friends were divided. His manager, W. F. McCombs, who had been his student at Princeton, saw no hope for Wilson’s nomi- nation, except by obtaining the vote of New York. If Wilson agreed with Bryan it was a repudiation of New York’s candidate for chairman, and would make it im- possible for Wilson ever to receive the vote of the New York delegation. McCombs therefore advised a telegram to Bryan that was in substance a rebuke to Bryan, in- cluding the statement, “I have neither the right nor the desire to direct the organization of a Convention of which I am not even a member.” It was the belief of many of Wilson’s friends that if he sent such a telegram it would end the possibility of selection to leadership for progressive action and would be fatal to his chances. Wilson rose to the occasion. The reply to Bryan, which he wrote with his own hand, began with “You are quite right.” He added that the Convention was com- posed of “men who are progressive in principle and by conviction.” He went on to say, “‘It must, if it is not to be put in a wrong light before the country, express its con- victions in its organization and in its choice of the men who are to speak for it.” He added further that he felt sure his friends would act to secure such result. The managers of the other candidates were already lined up for Parker. Parker won in the committee with 31 votes; James, supported by Wilson’s friends, received 20 votes, and O’Gorman 2. Wilson’s friends would have been satisfied with either James or O'Gorman. Though James was a supporter of Clark, the Wilson forces favored him because they knew he was truly pro- gressive and eminently fair. Ee S SIRS Saat eect Py gta See SSS aaa SEES ERE See te NN — oe are Sea ae ra Seas RO OOO areas SSE ine neta eee healt a PO Eee earns See = 9 Pe aa een tierane NS PCT we ra rea pao ce ae ap nC 8 ere oe are te EA TO RE EOA TaT o Pern rm =a eens SEE RR URE i ime raae is ter tarry am PI Teh Urceolaria PRT AI Eo Re Au RPP a aye ke ROD ESET aT z Sr oa se Se rd i 4 yy " “i oh y tI hy eee 110 WOODROW WILSON The issue had been clear cut—Wilson was the only ‘man in the field ready to win or lose in boldly taking his ' stand with the militant Progressives. If Clark had repu- diated his managers, as Wilson refused to follow McCombs, there are many who then believed that the twenty-eighth President would have been Champ Clark. One thing is certain; the issue Wilson met so promptly and courageously attracted to him the enthusiastic . support of the progressive and forward-looking people - of the Republic. He lacked the votes to be nominated, or even to control the election of a temporary chairman, but from that moment his ultimate nomination was assured. His boldness and courage attracted the approval of the country, which made public sentiment set so strongly toward Wilson that delegates instructed for others were deluged with telegrams to vote “for Wilson and rebuke Reactionary Bosses.” They poured into Baltimore by the thousands and the tens of thousands. But it was days before the consummation, and Wil- son at Sea Girt did not know the telegrams were going to stampede Clark delegates who voted for Clark steadily. During the balloting, the report reached Wilson that McCombs was promising offices for votes for Wilson. He immediately issued a public statement saying that no one was authorized by him to offer any position to any one. This angered McCombs, who called Wilson up on the ’phone and told him his nomination could only be brought about if he would promise not to appoint Bryan as Secretary of State. Wilson refused to make such a promise and said to Tumulty, his private secretary, “I will not bargain for the office. It would be foolish for me at this time toTHE BALTIMORE CONVENTION 111 decide upon a Cabinet officer, and it would be outrageous to eliminate anybody from consideration now, particu- larly Mr. Bryan, who has rendered such fine service to the party in all seasons.” The fight over the temporary chairmanship was carried to the Convention, where Bryan presented Senator Kern, a progressive. Kern, in his speech, urged Parker to withdraw, said he would do likewise, and in the interest of harmony suggested several names. He made challenge to New York to withdraw Parker. New York would not do so. Then Kern nominated Bryan for temporary chair- man, saying, “There is only one man to lead the hosts of progress, and that is William Jennings Bryan.” Parker won, receiving 579 to Bryan’s 510. But it was a Pyrrhic victory. Bryan’s defeat for the temporary chairmanship was hailed as his final retirement from the counsels of his party. “Incidentally,” wrote a newspaper correspondent who had not sensed the real situation, “his downfall appears to have seriously endangered the Wilson boom, and present indications are that the recently glowing prospect of Wilson’s victory in November has been sent a-glimmering.” Parker tendered the olive branch by declaring that Bryan ought to be chosen Chairman of the Platform Committee. The second big battle of the convention was over the unit rule, Mayor Newton D. Baker, of Cleveland, making the most convincing speech of the debate. Ohio had sent a mixed delegation, some delegates elected and instructed in district primaries and others appointed and instructed by the State Convention. The unit rule, had it been applied, would have denied the district-named delegates the power to carry out the mandates of their constitu- 8 a Pre ne a I ee EET EET Ee Se ip Deo RS a re 2 Pres Banh see Sees Spee ot ES alah Lote wo mcr IE ee a a = TR ST an oe a oer— re ania ~ — = eters Pathe Pt teers Cin os eee eeey _— — PIRSA a a ie Oh 8 er en ec NI a RIT ae os Aa a a ATR TOT ITT TYTN etre tain some Pye pater anlienini iti dine icone retin aiend onli verS ae eee DTT i +h i Ohi Pe 112 WOODROW WILSON encies. By a vote of 56514 to 49114, the Convention abrogated it in all states where the law did not specifically provide that it should apply. This was a victory for Wilson, for if the unit rule had prevailed, he would have received no votes from Ohio. It was a demonstration of the devotion of the delegates to the right of the people to representation, all the more surprising because it showed that the anti-Wilson leaders did not control the Conven- tion. They had opposed it because it gave Wilson important strength. In the South Dakota contest the Wilson delegates also won. Those on the inside believed these two test votes indicated that there were a number of delegates instructed for other candidates who were at heart for Wilson. But this did not appear in the balloting for president until several days intervened. On the first ballot, taken on Friday, the vote stood: Clark 44014; Wilson 334; Harmon 148; Underwood 117 YY. By midnight Clark’s vote had risen to 556 and Wilson’s to 3502. The Clark forces believed victory was in sight. Never before had a candidate, receiving a clear majority of all the votes, failed on subsequent ballots to secure enough to give him the two-thirds necessary to secure the nomination. On Saturday sixteen ballots were taken, the vote on the last being Clark 46314; Wilson 40714; Harmon 29; Underwood 11214. The adjournment over Sunday turned the scales. Hundreds and thousands of telegrams poured in from all parts of the country, par- ticularly from sections where progressivism was strong, demanding that delegates “vote for Wilson and Progress.” Many of them asserted that was “the only way to defeat Privilege and the bosses.” The appeal to Cesar had been made by the Progressives, defeated in their effort to organize the Convention. They responded. TheTHE BALTIMORE CONVENTION 113 spectacle was witnessed of voters thousands of miles away changing the voting in the Convention—in fact controlling the nomination. The Clark forces did not realize the influences at work in the country until it was too late. In fact, after support of Parker, the damage done could not be repaired. The remarkable thing was that the enthusiasm for Wilson was almost wholly spontaneous. Many Clark supporters “back home”’ were disappointed when his managers lined up for Parker instead of James. They grew colder still when they tried to uphold the unit rule. They were astounded when the report went over the country that the bosses were supporting Clark. Clark’s legislative record in the line of progress was sound and consistent. His supporters in the West, or many of them, felt that his managers were responsible for the situation and not Mr. Clark himself. Bryan’s charge that the reactionary forces were behind Clark’s candidacy was bitterly resented by the Missourian. Ex-Senator Dubois, his campaign man- ager, on Saturday had represented to Speaker Clark that his candidacy had suffered by what he called “Bryan’s attack upon his honor,”’ and advised Clark that he should come to Baltimore and make answer. The Speaker took the first train for Baltimore, but the Convention had adjourned before he arrived. Many of his supporters advised him not to appear before the Convention, and he returned to Washington without asking to be heard. They told him no candidate for the presidency had ever appeared before a Convention and his appearance might be misunderstood and would do more harm than good. Speaker Clark accepted their advice and issued a state- ment in which he challenged Bryan for “proof or retrac- ticn.”” Bryan followed with a statement in which he said rat en cn Ne eras ses eas ne IT EIT LEIS GO OE TED, ns <= nO = “2 I TE EDIE STERILE, ere RT Tes TES en tb Ot ee apee ae ote a RN TNE NRE tC ANE TTS) CSE as Or Nt oR eri ea See EE Sera ET ae a a aos rae erie aan alk Spel pena a ee = fi 2 = ee ee an sr in aS NOT RR I CE RETOLD I SO ORO I COTTE nl SRE REE OTR a orn) eer ee 114 WOODROW WILSON he believed Speaker Clark was “right at heart, but had been misled”; and added that the only criticism he had made was not that Clark “had acted wrongfully, but that he had failed to act.” “The contest is not personal,” he said, and added “‘it is between Progressive Democ- racy on one side and Reactionary Democracy on the other,” and in such a contest it was Clark’s duty to take one side or the other. Monday’s ballots showed the decided drift to Wilson. The telegrams pouring in were getting in their perfect work. The Clark forces held firm in the early ballots, but when the last ballot of the day (41st) was taken, Wilson was in the lead. The vote stood Wilson 4992; Clark 424; Harmon 27; Underwood 106. The tide had turned and was setting strongly to Wilson. Five ballots were taken on Tuesday. The certainty of Wilson’s nomination becoming apparent, the opposition melted. After the forty-fifth ballot Underwood’s name was with- drawn, and on the forty-sixth ballot Wilson was nomi- nated, receiving 990 votes. Clark received 84 and Har- mon 12. Thenomination was made unanimous. Thomas R. Marshall, of Indiana, was nominated for Vice-Presi- dent. The gavel fell on the historic Baltimore Convention. The “schoolmaster,” not even a political factor in July, 1910, had on July 2, 1912, been called to the leadership of the Democratic Party. The Democrats of the Republic celebrated the Fourth of July, 1912, in the firm belief that they had named as heir to Jefferson’s mantle another native of the Commonwealth of Virginia. They believed also that they had named the next President of the United States. They had done both. And Wilson led.HOE PEA SOP LIM Ur air sata CHAPTER XI THE CAMPAIGN OF 1912 WILSON’S DIRECTING HAND AT THE START—MADE FEW PROMISES—WILSON AND MARSHALL HAD POPULAR RECORDS—NO DEMOCRATIC DIVISION—ROOSEVELT’S VIGOROUS AND EFFECTIVE ONSLAUGHT— ‘THOU SHALT NOT STEAL’ —PART TAKEN BY LA FOLLETTE AND GOMPERS—WILSON’S BIG ELECTORAL MAJORITY “In the affairs of a great nation we plan and labor, not for the present only, but for the long future as well.’ —W1ILSON OULD Mr. Wilson have been elected in 1912 if there had been no split in the Republican party that year? That question has been answered both ways. ‘The best way to answer it is to compare 1892 with 1912. The Harrison administra- tion had not met with popular approval. Harrison was one of the ablest lawyers who has served as chief mag- istrate in the nation’s history. He obtained the reputa- tion of being cold. The revolt of the farmers in the West he regarded as a temporary sympton of agrarian discon- tent. He lacked the power to deal successfully with the labor troubles in the East. There was no foreign issue to divert the attention of the people from hard times. The Democrats carried the House in 1890 by a large majority. That presaged the Democratic victory in 1892. No third party, except in a few small Western states, affected the result. History repeated itself twenty years later. Taft’s administration did not make a popular appeal. Held in high esteem for his lovable 115 INES ee eenat ra Ee eats eS ae a NE Serre eet a Sere eer Se er al al a ATT 3 a mc sre pO errant aes - | er Rage aN EOESerer a ne pracer~ peepee isuteppvaser ie anecen oeamnansecieetaianemertimmtene ie BSI RT ee RN TDR D RTI LES LTT ALAR DOT Da Dew eae PIED TPS EMCEE PEAS Be een wl eine BEATE) OE tee {3 re fe Paes Pant ESSA ERR 116 WOODROW WILSON qualities and regarded as an able lawyer, the Payne- Aldrich Tariff Act and Ballingerism caused the people to regard it as a reactionary administration. As a result in 1910, the large Republican majority in the House was wiped out and the Democrats controlled the House by a big majority. Uhe Republicans of the West were in revolt. If there had been no Roosevelt and no Progressive Party, Wilson would have been elected in 1912 and for much the same reason that brought about the election of Cleveland in 1892. To besure the majority in the electoral college would have been much smaller. When a President fails to win popular favor and the people are bent on a change, the question of a third party seldom affects the result. This is far from saying, how- ever, that the Progressive Party in 1912 was not one of the most significant and militant political revolutions in the history of America. Led by one of the most remark- able men, it had the impulse of a great moral force. It called itself a party, but it was an organized protest and an army with banners seeking a new order. It has been treated as a mere temporary division of the Repub- lican party. It was more than that, for Mr. Roosevelt drew to his support hundreds of thousands of Democrats who had long admired the qualities for which he was distinguished. Mr. Wilson had the good judgment to understand that many of the supporters of Roosevelt had cut loose from the Republican party because they wished a new day. He recognized that real Progressives, whether supporting him or Roosevelt, were animated by the same alms. Therefore, though urged thereto by some of his supporters, he refrained 1 in his letters and speeches from controversy © with Mr. Roosevelt or other Progressive aTHE CAMPAIGN OF 1912 117 leaders and raised na issues except upon tariff.and the tfust_problem. Even-then-he-refrained from.any_person- _alities.— Indeed, seldom did he at any time inject or take notice of personalities in his campaign. The exceptions were when he felt impelled to do so by some strong cir- cumstance. The wisdom of his policy toward the Pro- gressives is seen in the fact that, when he came to the Presidency and presented his program, most of the measures were supported by Progressives in Congress. A few days after the nomination, the members of the Democratic National Committee visited the presi- dential candidate at Sea Girt, N. J., to confer with him about the conduct of the campaign. They found that he had already given it thought. The suggestion of a national chairman gave concern. Hon. W. F. McCombs had been the pre-convention chairman of the Wilson forces, zealous and active. Mr. Wilson evidently doubted his ability to do teamwork and hesitated to see him in command. And yet he held him in esteem and was appreciative of all he had done. He gave thought to the make-up of the Executive Committee and vetoed some suggestions for its membership. It was agreed that McCombs should be chairman and W. G. McAdoo should be vice-chairman. McCombs did not approve but acquiesced. His strength was not equal to the strain, and McAdoo was compelled for a time to take the lead until McCombs could resume active management. The tension in the campaign due to the ill health and inability of McCombs to do teamwork was to be a thorn in the side when Wilson went to Washington and in making up his Cabinet. Governor Wilson’s hand was seen quickly in the direction of the campaign, selecting only progressives as Se eee ee ee eee ane a eee te ar ee tae a mer es See armen =, Te oa "9 Pr a Se Pe reerTn ate peters ee ee PT aS ter eee aT Ga LS eT RTE OE AITO RD TR CSTR Pa ee a St TIA SE OLE Yet ie Pe AC Ld iC SEL ADIUAT EGP IR ancora i 118 WOODROW WILSON the real managers. The League of College Voters, with yells and cheers, was an inspiring force in the campaign. “The schoolmaster in politics” attracted collegians, and Princeton men were notably active. Samuel Gompers, the veteran labor leader, was an early visitor to Sea Girt, with approval of platform. He left an enthusiastic supporter. He was to be a distinguished co-worker in advancing humane legislation. When war came he was to crown his career as member of the Advisory Committee of the Council of National Defense, and prove himself inspiring, influential, and effective in efforts to win the World War. Wilson told his campaign managers he could not consent for them to accept any large campaign contribution from any source, and under his inspiration the popular appeal for small sums was remarkably successful. Mr. Wilson believed a candidate ought to make few promises and religiously keep every pledge made. He did not wish to arouse hopes that could not be fulfilled. The responsibility of leadership he took seriously and never surrendered to the temptation of promising the millennium. In a heart-to-heart talk to some newspaper men at Sea Girt, before he had written his speech of acceptance, Wilson said, ““When messages are brought to me by friends, of what is expected of the next Presi- dent, I am sometimes terrified at the task that would await me in case I should be elected. For instance, my daughter, who is engaged in social-welfare work in Phila- delphia, told me of a visit she paid a humble home in that city when the head of a large family told her that her husband was going to vote for me because it would mean cheaper bread.”” He paused and said, “Think of the responsibility such expectation creates. I can’t reduceZIGL Ul UOIUSAUOD) [BUOIYEN o1yes00wled PUL, < < = =) a ~ = ° =: D +s) eS oO OQ por = a " ° © ou = ° = < —_ < — = n ° 4 3 oan) © + =< =~ 5 o — 0 © wn. Qu oO ~ 3 OQ mS MOWILIVA AHL Bi Q 2 Z | 3 Z 2 DM eH wn Z } Z *solg unolg *010Yd eee ETS eta ees a eae en > ene seers SEEN ee ts TeasPhoto. Kadell & Herbert 1irman of the National Democratic Committee, who acted € c On the right, the Governor delivering his speech accepting the nomination INCIDENTS OF THE FIRST CAMPAIGN Governor Wilson with Wm. F. McCombs, Jr., Ch as his campaign manager. On the leftTHE CAMPAIGN OF 1912 119 the price of bread. I can only strive in the few years I shall have office to remove the noxious growths that have been planted in the soil and try to clear the way for the new adjustment which is necessary.” The Baltimore platform in its treatment of leading issues made instant appeal to the country. Even greater appeal was made in the personnel of the Democratic nominees. Wilson’s spectacular. and successful victory _over New Jersey bosses, and the record of humane and advanced legislation he had secured, made him a popular Kero.” This was-partieularly~true as to the young and independent voters of the country. They welcomed the opportunity to get rid of old guard and well-greased party manipulation. The nominee for Vice-President, Thomas R. Marshall, of Indiana, had a record second only among American Governors to that of Wilson. The voters studied what he had achieved as Governor of his State and found it progressive and humane. While he had been called upon for no such combat with Boss Rule as Wilson, he had shown the highest quality of inde- pendence and leadership. He had opposed the decree of “the organization” to sidestep the direct selection of a United States Senator. His wise leadership opened the door for the election of Kern to the Senate. The Indiana Senator was chosen majority leader, and he gave proof of the wisdom of the selection. The Democratic leaders did not need to make prom- ises. Their supporters said: “A Governor is President onasmall scale. You can tell what will be done in Wash- ington by reading what has been done in Trenton.” Fortunately what had been done by Wilson had been blazoned on the front page of every paper for a year. The laws he had sponsored were fought at every step by eI Se See Peg ea Pe as eee PET alee Fe San alee ee es - ea a a eeae On peers os eT acess I aca aco Sore nee em oatereeterlnat etter loci arab ee heatpaeeect@mecaos teen Sa atic nan nana iar nee eter Amaia ~ Soro CS OE ON METIO 1) C mt Nes SOO a et coe EE ES Diet een Eee ee ea ea = STE jal ancl POPS Pee sow ye ers Tae aie ren a? ki 7)a —— beer cn we = a 126 WOODROW WILSON the United States. Wilson received 435 electoral votes; Roosevelt 81; and Taft 15. The popular vote was: Wilson, 6,293,154; Roosevelt 4,119,538; Taft, 3,484,980. And the first “‘schoolmaster in politics”’ to be chosen chief executive, made ready to move to Washington. Would he use the Rod, the Big Stick, or Persuasion? Taft had used the last. Roosevelt had used the Big Stick. Did Wilson have the Rod ready? That was the question when a perfect day ushered in the new admin- istration, auspicious of what promised to be a new Era of Good Feeling. Baltimore’s choice was ratified. aac of WT per Acne oun ed nate ee el oa ci en ae ici a ed eee a Oe moe ee at OWN We E 3 Le eae fs Le a io Hee Fe Ss i i i Ree SARS AES Se oe An Nee ¥ Tae yaw peters Seatac et ay Se a Re od oreCuaptTrer XII PRESIDENT AND THE PRESIDENCY “LET THE PEOPLE IN’—A KINDLY THOUGHT FOR THE PEOPLE WHO WANTED TO HEAR THE INAUGURAL ADDRESS—LOOKING FORWARD TO A ““WORK OF RES- TORATION —‘“NOT A DAY OF TRIUMPH, BUT A DAY OF DEDICATION —HIS CONCEPTION OF THE OFFICE OF CHIEF MAGISTRATE—ADDED EXECUTIVE INITIA- TIVE TO INSISTENCE THAT THERE BE NO INFRINGE- MENT UPON THE RIGHTS OF THE EXECUTIVE “‘ The President is at liberty, both in law and conscience, to be as big a man as he can.”’—WiLson ET the people in.” As Woodrow Wilson turned his eyes to the upturned sea of faces on that perfect fourth of March, 1913, before he began his inaugural, he issued his first presidential order to the soldiers in charge of the arrangements. They had roped off a vacant space just in front of him from which the people were excluded. ‘Remove the ropes and let the people in,” was his low spoken direction. It was obeyed. He paused to acknowledge the acclaim as the people passed into the space, crowding near him. Interpreting the occasion, the new President said, “It means much more than the success of a party,” which he declared the nation was using “to square every process of our national life again with the standard we so proudly set up at the beginning and have always carried in our hearts.” He pointed 9 127 a ess SET ee SE Re On a a em eae ae i. ead he are a aid jae A een aa eT eer eeeert Sr Sc ie ee te nee i Sn OE We VET Pera ST eternaRATTAN mead ree ( ~ ”n ° A Qu > a on — © 5 5 cr s = — oO v es D ‘ydeidojoyd siqy, 1 943 uO UIdHv} > uoIsuBuUL Ss, > > 3G Yt GIGI Ul PALS % JBLINOUIEC] BY SMOYS “7 ‘SQOUTULOU O1 AONAGISAAd-AOIA GNV AONAAI "09 Mara auojsfii a it a i {i a: ie ie a ie 1 fre 4 ' Spa. Hitt FIRST INAUGURAL © Harris & Ewing On March 4, 1913, the “Scholar in Politics’? began his career as President of the United States which was to last for eight years and embrace the stormiest period which the world had ever known. He is here seen delivering his inaugural address on the steps of the Capitol at Washington aR et ae a evs bs ' APE pn,CHAPTER XIII CABINET MAKING AND BREAKING PICKING THE CABINET—“I AM SWEATING BLOOD OVER CHOICES,” HE WROTE—THE CABINET A PLACE OF COMMON COUNSEL—TEAM PLAY UNDER SOUND LEAD- ERSHIP—BRYAN 'S RESIGNATION THE FIRST BREAK— WHY BRYAN AND GARRISON RESIGNED, AND WHY LANSING WAS ASKED TO RETIRE “I summon all honest men, all patriotic, all forward looking men to my side. God helping me, I will not fail them.” —WiLson HE election over, the first duty was the selection of a Cabinet. The leisure to make ready for Washington duties was denied him. He was still Governor of New Jersey and had pledged himself to a continuation of reforms. He did not feel free to resign until these measures became laws. He was hampered because the new Legislature was of an opposite political party, but in his message he said of his recommendations: “They are matters which we can approach without party bias or prejudice.” The Republicans responded in equally fine spirit and gave aid in the measures Wilson had most at heart. His last work as Governor of New Jersey was to demand and secure the selection of juries free from political influence. He found time before the Legislature for a brief vacation with his family. A sea trip to Bermuda—he always loved the sea—brought needed rest. The business of selecting a Cabinet and planning his inaugural afforded enough work to give zest to his play. 135 Rea NRO ee Py raps Cees Fine sien Seer ~ NRT IGI SN a Ses eee Ses Deneane ee) ae a aa ST en eee areae Ea RSS a EERIE SRR TRIER SPST ES ED RRR RED Te A NARI ODE TEA ot RN CATO IS SIR AL Se ANI CTL re ed oe one ee Roa at | a i: I a Pe q REE np SSS 136 WOODROW WILSON He was not long in coming to a conclusion as to the two ranking members of his Cabinet. He had not believed in Bryan’s free coinage of silver plank when the Ne- braskan was candidate for President in 1896. He had shared his views against imperialism in 1900. Later, in 1907 he had written to Joline, expressing the wish that Bryan should be “‘knocked into a cocked hat.”’ He had, however, come to have genuine respect for Bryan and admiration for his patriotism. In an address at the Jackson Day dinner in Washington, Mr. Wilson had paid high tribute to Bryan. He had wired, ‘You are quite right,” in his telegram to Bryan on the eve of the Baltimore Convention, when the Nebraskan was demanding that only Progressives be put on guard in the organization of the Convention. When urged by McCombs, who thought such promises would bring sup- port to Wilson for the nomination, to promise he would not invite Bryan to become a member of his Cabinet, Mr. Wilson had refused to make that or any pledge as to his advisers if he should be nominated and elected. Almost immediately upon his election he found, par- ticularly in the East, advisers and supporters who thought Bryan’s selection would be a mistake. Wilson listened, sent for Bryan, and asked him to become Secretary of State. The second selection was quite easy. He had tested the ability and capacity of William G. McAdoo and found that in fiscal policies McAdoo’s mind “ran along with” his. He was resolved that his Secretary of the Treasury should be a man of initiative, independent, courageous, and able to lead in revenue and fiscal reform that would end control of the fiscal policy by the few great bankers of the money centres. The unfounded jealousy ofCABINET MAKING AND BREAKING § 137 McCombs was the only dissent, and it did not weigh. The portfolio of the Secretary of War was tendered to A. Mitchell Palmer, of Pennsylvania, who had been the brilliant floor leader of the Wilson forces in the Baltimore Convention, and a leader in Congress. ‘‘I am a Quaker,” answered Palmer, “and I could not consistently accept.” It was only a few days before March 4 that Mr. Wilson tendered the portfolio of Secretary of War to Lindley M. Garrison, Vice Chancellor of New Jersey, an able lawyer, who resigned after a service of thirty-five months. Palmer would have accepted the Attorney Gen- eralship, to which he was later appointed to succeed Gregory. Mr. Wilson was hard to satisfy in securing an Attorney General. He wished a learned lawyer, who had no corporate leanings and who would be guided by the phi- losophy of law rather than precedent. J.C. McReynolds, of Tennessee, who was afterwards named as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, was tendered the Justice portfolio. Perhaps the fact that turned the scale in his mind to McReynolds was that, after the tobacco com- bination had been found guilty of violating the anti- trust laws, McReynolds, counsel for the Government, declined to approve the sham penalty of division into separate companies. The Secretaryship of the Interior was offered to Newton D. Baker, who declined because he felt impelled to carry out the reforms for which he had been chosen as Mayor of Cleveland. Later, in 1916, he came into the Cabinet as Secretary of War and served during the World War, winning the admiration of Pershing and Foch and Haig. It was not until a few days before the inauguration that Mr. Wilson named Franklin K. Lane, of California, who had made reputation as a member of = cee ESSERE nm nr nna ib eaqlinte: eS ES ES I of a TE a oh ne acerRe Sa aan) Ea a an er a Renee ta tee beso og ries guia ara eee OS RENTS OS Ne Oe parr i Sens FO eC AY Sen areata ae beter meet AGT ST = i) So def Wy SE SNA ANAM Pa Tear) ab Crk eT army 138 WOODROW WILSON the United States Commerce Commission. “J am your Secretary of the Interior,” said Lane to President Wilson, as they entered the White House. They had never met until that hour. The Postmaster Generalship went to Albert S. Burleson, of Texas, long member of Congress, able parliamentarian. Colonel House is credited with having had influence in that selection, but Wilson had himself known Burleson’s qualities and valued him. Josephus Daniels, of North Carolina, was named Secre- tary of the Navy. For Secretary of Agriculture, David F. Houston, college president and staunch friend, was selected. Later, as the best proof of Mr. Wilson’s confi- dence, Houston was made Secretary of the Treasury. For Secretary of Commerce, Mr. Wilson is said to have had in mind the selection of Louis D. Brandeis, of Boston, later named by him as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, but certain Massachusetts Democrats urged that instead a well-known party leader be named if New England was to have a representative in the Cabinet. Mr. Wilson named W. C. Redfield, of Brooklyn. As a member of Congress, Mr. Redfield had won reputation as an authority upon the tariff. He was a successful business man. For Secretary of Labor President Wilson had early selected William B. Wilson, of Pennsylvania. He had served in Congress and as an officer of the American Federation of Labor. He had the confidence alike of employer and employee. Thus officered the Ship of State began its new voyage, March 5, 1913. “Whether strong or weak in its various elements, this is no cabinet of political trade and barter,’ said the New York World. “It was fashioned to placate neither sordid political interests nor sordid financial interests. Every member stands on his own merits.”PPE ree CABINET MAKING AND BREAKING § 139 The first change in the Cabinet was the appointment of Robert Lansing as Secretary of State when Bryan resigned. Upon Lansing’s retirement he was succeeded by Bainbridge Colby, of New York. When McAdoo resigned as Secretary of the Treasury, Carter Glass, of Virginia, was called to that portfolio until he resigned to accept a seat in the United States Senate. Thomas W. Gregory, of Texas, held the portfolio of Attorney General during the World War. He was succeeded by A. Mitchell Palmer, of Pennsylvania. Joshua W. Alexander, of Missouri, succeeded Redfield as Secretary of Commerce. John Barton Payne, of Illinois, succeeded Lane as Secretary of the Interior, and Edwin T. Mere- dith, of Iowa, came into the Cabinet as Secretary of Agriculture when Houston was promoted to the Treasury. Only Burleson, Daniels, and Wilson retained their original portfolios during the entire eight years, Houston remaining the entire period, though shifted from Agriculture to Treasury. If Wilson ‘‘sweat blood,’’ he but shared the fate of Lincoln, who had said that if the Twelve Apostles had again to be chosen, the principle of locality would deter- mine their selection. Lincoln chose his competitors for the nomination and only his patience and greatness stood the strain of their feeling of superiority until by sheer evidence of commanding ability Lincoln converted them into a harmonious unit. Wilson regarded his Cabinet, as he said a Cabinet should be, “‘executive counselors.” The selection of a Cabinet was not easy. “I have been sweating blood over Cabinet choices,” the new Presi- dent wrote to one of the gentlemen who was invited and accepted a seat in the Cabinet. From the inception Mr. Wilson gave the members of his Cabinet free rein in the noon ORT R Te Cee ene ee ea Ce a RR SEE ama Seem Sn SEAT ATT AEA SESH ee Serene E as =e A To Ta EA STO ca ea tasfeet wcities ey og ea eS GRE ERE EEE ARISES I CEO OSES CST ec oll Sea ae SS Th USD ec ree en Pls mm Sek meee led hapa a me oT é Sa a a ee pee meg a ee os LOLA ore Sarr fi 3! fi & Ey noe SaaS ed GEE et Lats SLIT. 140 WOODROW WILSON management of the affairs of their department. No President refrained so much from hampering them by naming their subordinates. Holding them responsible, he gave them liberty, confidence, and co-operation. More than that: he stood back of them when criticized and held up their hands. However, when for any reason a member of the Cabinet tendered his resignation, it was accepted without question. President and Cabinet mem- bers alike felt that if there were differences upon great policies, resignation was the only course. Mr. Lincoln, who did not always have harmony in his Cabinet, read this memorandum at one of its meetings: ““T must myself be the judge how long to retain and when to remove any of you from his position. It would greatly pain me to discover any of you endeavoring to procure another’s removal, or in any way to prejudice him before the public. Such endeavor would be a wrong to me, and, much worse, a wrong to the country. My wish is that on this subject no remark be made nor ques- tion asked by any of you, here or elsewhere, now or hereafter.”’ Cabinet meetings were places of common counsel. Wilson did not, like Jefferson, submit questions to the body and let the majority rule. He did not, as Lincoln is said to have done, permit one member, like Seward, to monopolize his time. He did not, like Grant, leave to Cabinet ministers direction of policies that a President should control. The usual plan at these semi-weekly meetings was, after the greetings (he was always the soul of courtesy) something like this: The President would bring forward the chief matter that was on his mind— state the situation. If he was to send a message to Con- gress, he would read it and invite comment. WithCABINET MAKING AND BREAKING 141 pencil in hand he would note suggestions of change. The members gave their opinions, and debate followed. Discussion ended, he would often say, “To quote a Quaker, presiding at a yearly gathering, I take it to be the sense of this meeting,” stating it. Every Cabinet member by turn, one time beginning with the Secretary of State, and the next time with the Secretary of Labor, was invited to bring up any matter of public or depart- ment interest. ‘“‘I have never,” said a member of the Cabinet, “‘known any man in responsible authority on public affairs who sought and valued counsel as much as Mr. Wilson. He was fond of telling of a conference at Princeton to which he went with certain views and to which others came with opposing views. The whole matter was threshed out fully in discussion and a unani- mous conclusion reached, different from any one of those entertained before the discussion. That happened often in our Cabinet meetings. He made his own decisions, of course, and properly, for the responsibility was his alone, but he always eagerly sought for light.” The first break in Wilson’s Cabinet came on June 8, 1915, when Mr. Bryan tendered his resignation as Secre- tary of State. It was not attended by any lack of cordial relationship and the separation gave regret to both the President and Mr. Bryan. It was a wrench on both sides. The reason that prompted the resignation was plainly and frankly given by Mr. Bryan in these words: “Obedient to your sense of duty and actuated by the highest motives, you have prepared for transmission to the German Government a note in which I cannot join without violating what I deem to be an obligation to my country, and the issue involved is of such moment that to remain a member of the C2hinet would be as unfair to BCE Ere a de aie Pe SSSA EY AIAN ea ee => Se ene ES en te ened ee Se aE ET Se a aa a oor TT ad Fa nc abn ee “ TN ET cep eee taeSee Nae ee artes Ca SO ANI 9 Ce Se ACA Tw e ere SS wee, PENS GRR SERGI ww \ 3 PRE renee ee ee FS nT dena pte ee ATE TRADE TI IGT BMPS ren AOR ADIT OI SE Tm a SET es bas = 8 rm 142 WOODROW WILSON you as it would be to the cause which is nearest my heart, namely, the prevention of war.” The letter breathed warm friendship. In accepting, President Wil- son said in part: “I accept your resignation only because you insist” and “with a feeling of personal sorrow.’ He referred to the fact that their judgments had “accorded in practically every matter of official duty and public policy until now.” “As to the cause,” he said, ‘‘even now we are not separated in the object we seek, but only in the method by which we seek it.” For that reason his feeling was “deeper than regret—I sincerely deplore it.” In all the annals of official correspondence, there could not be found two letters so free from all that is formal or one so permeated by genuine admiration, each for the other. Very different in temperament, each admired the other for recognized sterling qualities. The resignation created a national sensation and was followed by much gossip. Those on the inside knew that the letters contained the true sentiments. Attempts were made to give an air of mystery where none existed. Mr. Bryan hated war—he believed the course of Mr. Wilson would bring war. He could not consistently sign or approve a note that he believed would eventuate in war with Ger- many. As a conscientious man and official, he felt the only honorable course was to retire to private life when he was not in harmony with his chief. He did so with genuine regret. On the President’s part, he hated war. He had been derided for his long-continued attempts to *“keep us out of war.’ But he believed it better to have war, if war should come, than to fail to assert the demands he made upon Germany. He felt then, as he said in his war mes- sage, “the right is more precious than peace,” and he was so convinced he was right he could “do no otherwise.”CABINET MAKING AND BREAKING 143 The separation did not affect their mutual esteem. As Mr. and Mrs. Bryan were leaving Washington ten days after the resignation, the President called at their home to say “good-bye.” Mr. Bryan took an active part in the 1916 campaign, helping in the winning of the West, and Mr. Wilson wrote him a letter of appreciation. After that campaign, Mr. and Mrs. Bryan were lunch- eon guests of the President and Mrs. Wilson in the White House. Mr. Wilson never changed the opinion to which he gave expression at the Jackson Day dinner, 1912, in Washington: “I, for my part, never want to forget this: That while we have differed with Mr. Bryan upon this occasion and upon that in regard to the specific things to be done, he has gone serenely on pointing out to a more convinced people what it was that was the matter. He has had the steadfast vision all along of what it was that was the matter and he has, not any more than Andrew Jackson did, not based his career upon calcula- tion, but has based it upon principle.” The second break in the Cabinet came suddenly. It was upon disagreement over “fundamental princi- ples.” On February 10, 1916, Judge Lindley M. Gar- rison, Secretary of War, tendered his resignation. The reasons given were differences with the President over “preparedness” and the Philippine question. These were the real reasons, but beneath them was a radical difference in the point of view of the twomen. Garrison looked at questions from the standpoint of what Wilson called “‘legalistic.”” He was first of all a lawyer, an able and honorable one, and approached the consideration of public questions from that standpoint. Wilson was never fully controlled by precedent in such matters. More- 10 BRS SS See) ag Se Se EEE Lease eedind waretice enimn ces nla maior bese mn a lon rine aoa momen eK en ya =e ee m= RESALE ARTES SATE ARGO Bat ag eR ER eT NN ca tN te aS a at ee <—or STIS: = SEES pL TSI EOC Beak a eee ee = = SS = ee aN ar reeserhepiesineietatmisalans diana at ASANO PEAT EY ee a eA AS CERO SES tT SS NORE OE Sewers rs A nS Waren Seema Denese Pst Pa et ESL tS tas NR Mei a i th Dek i a H f p 0 3} a ri Saree aaertcecctrerie nen nme ae ee La 144 WOODROW WILSON over, as Garrison said of himself, he was not cut out for teamwork. He was an individualist of the most pro- nounced type. In an interview published April 20, 1913, Garrison said: ““T never could obey orders in the matter of opinion. Universal belief carries no weight with me. Another man’s convictions are heard through politeness or interest, but they utterly fail to convince. I claim no moral or intellectual credit for the peculiar qualities of my mind any more than I can claim responsibility for my height or the color of my eyes. I was born as I am, and the case ends so far as I am concerned. Orders always irritate me. A program of conduct can never be carried out. It was so when I was a boy at school. I became a rebel the moment the teacher said the lesson would be so and so the next day. Going home I would study something else. I wasn’t obstinate, but a task was odious and a command made me an outlaw at once.” In presenting his resignation, Garrison wrote Wilson: “Tt is evident that we hopelessly disagree upon what I conceive to be fundamental principles. This makes manifest the impropriety of my longer remaining your seeming representative with respect to these matters.” Garrison’s program included a considerable enlarge- ment of the regular army and the formation of a reserve bedy of about 400,000 men to be known as the conti- nental army and to be made up, for the most part, of men taking a brief but thorough training to the number of about 133,000 each year. Mr. Wilson, though his mind was open and he was looking for the plan which best met the needs of the nation, was not willing to back Garrison in fighting the plan proposed by the House Committee on military affairs, the distinctive feature of which wasCABINET MAKING AND BREAKING 145 an increase in the number of the national guard and the payment of these bodies out of the national treasury and subject to the call of the President. Garrison had written: ‘I consider the reliance upon the militiafor national defence an unjustifiable imperil- ing of the nation’s safety.”” Mr. Wilson replied: “I am not yet convinced. . . . I feel in duty bound to keep my mind open. ... This is a time when it seems to me patience on the part of us all is essential.”” Agreement with Garrison meant a hopeless break with Congress and a contest and conflict over what Wilson regarded as methods. He had just returned from his Preparedness Tour in the West. He had won the people to a big program. “I am urging Congress,” he told them, to adopt a “‘system by which we may give a very consider- able body of our fellow citizens the necessary training if danger comes.” He was unwilling to dictate to Congress, over the protest of the Military Affairs Com- mittee of the House, the exact “‘system”’. The second difference was over the Philippine ques- tion. Senator Clarke, of Arkansas, a month before had introduced a resolution giving the Philippines their inde- pendence in not less than two nor more than four years at the discretion of the President. Mr. Garrison wrote that he considered “‘the principle embodied in the Clarke amendment an abandonment of the duty of this nation - and a breach of trust toward the Filipinos.” Wilson’s position on Philippine legislation was in keeping with the American position taken at the time the Philippines were purchased from Spain and the pledges of the Demo- cratic party in all its platforms since 1898. Mr. Wilson in his correspondence with Mr. Garrison said he con- sidered the Clarke amendment unwise. Ua een nee ee BONDAGE Aa Bia res er i = cep ee ~~ =< a era a OR eae eee = TRE PTPs 7 Eero a a tee<< Saale tontempal ieertaliamertelaciarete seca eiditate bie pie td a eee ee eee een paren of ST Te a lS Se ans Soe Spr ener at pee coat ar a eaten eee eee aa Ltn Go ANT Ca tees ere erat i sawed Ora a Sees ont sian ANSTO Tet = i ot a Ny oe 146 WOODROW WILSON Writing months afterwards, P. W. Wilson made this comment, applicable to the resignation of Bryan and Garrison: “Like Louis XIV, Wilson was his own Foreign Minister. He lost from his Cabinet, therefore, two men of strong personality. One was Lindley Garrison, his Sec- retary of War, who in 1916, when the country was still neutral, wanted military preparation. The other was William Jennings Bryan, the Secretary of State, who was still for peace. Between the Scylla of preparedness and the Charybdis of pacifism, the President had to steer the Ship of State: and the prophets of both evangels left him.” The third resignation, aside from the normal retire- ments, was the dramatic one of Robert Lansing, who had succeeded to the portfolio upon Bryan’s resignation. When appointed Mr. Lansing was an unknown figure to the general public. He was an “up state” New York Democrat. He had lived for years in Washington, where he practiced law. His practice was largely confined to international law. He had married the daughter of Hon. John W. Foster, a Republican, who was appointed Secre- tary of State when Blaine resigned. Residing in Wash- ington, Lansing had taken no part in politics, and it was incorrectly supposed by many that he was a Republican when his appointment was announced. At the begin- ning of the Wilson administration, he was named Counsel of the State Department. In that post he was capable and efficient to a high degree. The President and Bryan felt every confidence in him. His well prepared opinions and recommendations were received with favor. When Bryan resigned, the President, who, as the reason for Bryan’s resignation showed, felt it his duty to conduct the negotiations with Germany himself, wished the leastCABINET MAKING AND BREAKING 147 change possible in the continuity of diplomatic policy. He, therefore, named Lansing. It was not a popular appointment, nor unpopular. Many people said “the President is resolved to be Secretary of State in all big affairs, and wishes an international lawyer to assist him, and he has chosen wisely.” The President felt that Lansing might incline too much to accepted diplomatic practice, but he was confident, with all the legal questions fully stated by his Secretary of State, that he himself could deter- mine the policies. When Lansing advised the President not to go to Paris, Wilson probably regarded it as pre- suming, but he said nothing. He wished his official family to be free with their advice. Paris saw the beginning of the break. Lansing re- garded his office as entitling him to primacy. The diplo- mats and press representatives in Paris regarded Colonel House as ranking next to Wilson. This was not agreeable to the Secretary of State. But that was only a pin- pricking incident. Wilson had his heart set upon a Covenant for Permanent Peace to be inseparably bound up in the peace treaty. He had promised that to the boys as they went to France. He had pledged it in his War Message and in almost every utterance before and during the war. He regarded any other treaty as no better than the miserable war-breeding Vienna treaty. The armistice had been agreed to by the Allies and Ger- many on the basis of the Fourteen Points and his ad- dresses that pledged a League of Nations. It was his belief that only such an association could avert the debacle into which the world has fallen. Not long after reaching Paris it began to be talked by the newspaper men gathered there that Lansing was SiS eaaraencin OR see Se SE GREE IE LSA EE A EE as SSR Cen re EE FE are ae Sep a EEE 7 ees == = od TE a I are eee eeAT eT Pde ae SA a NEES) OM a reer SS Sel SE i oe ee TiS eee a ra trae nS —— = Pare at eile ee ena nas ee SES ee yi se i ee er ~ Pen A ints 2 Ce ee er tSL > Ie is ~ a SG NN RT TS MR RE A CTT Fae 148 WOODROW WILSON not in harmony with incorporating the League Covenant into the Treaty. “When we were in Paris I found that Lansing and others were constantly giving out state- ments,” the President is quoted by Tumulty as saying to him a few days before he was stricken, “that did not agree with my viewpomt. When I had arranged a set- tlement, there would appear from some source I could not locate, unofficial statements telling the correspondents not to take things too seriously; that a compromise would be made, and this news, or rather news of this kind, was harmful to the settlement I had already obtained and quite naturally gave the Conference the impression that Lansing and his kind were speaking for me, and then the French would say I was bluffing.” That statement was made, so Mr. Tumulty says, after Bullitt had testified that Lansing had told him that “the League Covenant was thoroughly bad and in his belief, if the Senate thor- oughly understood, it would reject it.” When that statement appeared, just a few days before Wilson was stricken, he was heroically, and despite phys- ical weakness, engaged in seeking to arouse the people to the supreme importance of ratifying the treaty. Lan- sing sent a telegram which was regarded as a virtual admission he had said in substance what Bullitt quoted him as saying. That angered Wilson. He had suspected Lansing’s lack of co-operation and support and of opposi- tion. “‘Lansing’s own statement is a verification of the very thing (disloyalty) I have suspected,” Tumulty quotes Wilson as saying. ‘Tumulty says he was con- vinced that “‘only the President’s illness a few days later prevented an immediate demand for the resignation of Mr. Lansing.” That was the middle of September. The next week (September 26) the President was strickenCABINET MAKING AND BREAKING 149 and returned to Washington. For some weeks he was very ill. On October 3, Lansing went to the Executive office to talk to Tumulty about the President’s condition. Tumulty thus describes the interview: “He informed me that he had called diplomatically to suggest that in view of the incapacity of the President, we should arrange to call in the Vice-President to act in his stead as soon as possible, reading to me from a book which he had brought from the State Department, which I afterwards learned was ‘Jefferson’s Manual,’ the following clause of the United States Constitution: “““In case of the removal of the President from office, or his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve upon the Vice-President.’”’ Tumulty says, “I coldly turned and said: ‘Mr. Lansing, the Constitution is not a dead letter with the White House. I have read the Constitution and do not find myself in need of any tutoring at your hands of the provision you have just read.’” Tumulty says he told Lansing that he would be no party to certifying to the President’s “‘disability,” and that Dr. Grayson came in at that time and “left no doubt in Mr. Lansing’s mind that he would not do as Mr. Lansing suggested.” Tu- multy adds that he also told Lansing that “if anybody outside of the White House circle attempted to certify to the President’s disability, that Grayson and I would stand together and repudiate it.” Mr. Lansing’s statement differs. He says that on October third, “the newspapers under ‘scare’ headlines carried alarming reports concerning the President,” and he went over to the White House to see Mr. Tumulty. Sen nn ere ee = ploleste tained Sec ea SODAS TE SPAR BIGISS a PDP ERTIES eneeaT ~ i arr SSL ees Da eS Se Tatas ER of aD a a ee eea ree So P 5 Fa Se ee ae Sa a a a a a a= ata Cd Cre oar ecm aR koe La SS ec ae aa aaa RS ace ea Sa r H cat a i { iG 1 + oy oe 150 WOODROW WILSON “He told me that on Wednedsay, October 1, the Presij- dent had become much worse,” says Lansing. “I asked him in what way. He did not answer me in words, but significantly put his right hand to his left shoulder and drew it down along his left side. Of course, the implica- tion was that the President had suffered a stroke and that his left side was paralyzed.” Grayson came in, Lansing goes on, but “was extremely reticent as to the President’s malady, giving no indication of any trouble other than a nervous breakdown.”’ Lansing adds, ‘‘We decided (including Grayson and Tumulty) that the Cabi- net ought to meet and confer about the matter.’ Later, Lansing says, he talked to Secretaries Baker and Lane who approved of calling a meeting of the Cabinet; the call was issued, and it met October 6. He continues, “Admiral Grayson and Tumulty were present during the early part of the meeting, and Grayson gave a very encouraging report on the President’s condition, which, he said, showed decided improvement and seemed to indicate a speedy recovery.” Lansing added: “We, therefore, asked Grayson to convey to the President our felicitations and best wishes.” Nothing else was heard of “disability” of the President in his official family, though Senators later visited the White House and satis- fied themselves that the President was able to discharge the duties of the office. Though the Cabinet met weekly, Secretary Lansing did not bring before it his wtimatum sent to the Mexican government November 20, 1919, in connection with the arrest of W. O. Jenkins, who was a consular agent at Puebla, Mexico. It was reported that he was captured by bandits who demanded a ransom of $150,000. While payment of the ransom was reputed to be in—" WILSON’S THREE CABINETS Top, the first cabinet: Around the table, left to right: President Wilson, William G. McAdoo, J. C. McReynolds, Josephus Daniels, D. F. Houston, W. B. Wilson, W. C. Redfield, F. K. Lane, A. S. Burleson, L. M. Garrison, and W. J. Bryan. Center, the war cabinet: Robert Lansing has succeeded Mr. Bryan; T. W. Gregory has succeeded McReynolds; Newton Diehl Baker has succeeded Garrison. Bottom, the last cabinet: with Bainbridge Colby succeeding Lansing, John Barton Payne succeeding Lane, D. F. Houston succeeding Carter Glass, who took McAdoo’s place in 1918; A. Mitchell Palmer succeeding Gregory; and E. T. Meredith succeeding Houston ADA IER a SEERA % oe ak nt OE NS OTS SISOS Es etereteieie el ao err aae ose AS tec pts peered So aneSST cere oro © U. & U. 1913 DANIELS November 29 T PRESIDENT WILSON AND SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, JOSEPHUS Taken in the Presidential box at the Army and Navy football game in New York, onCABINET MAKING AND BREAKING 151 process of arrangement, Puebla state authorities arrested Jenkins on the charge that he was in collusion with the bandits. There was conflict of testimony and much uncertainty. In the midst of it all Secretary Lansing sent a note “demanding the immediate liberation of Mr. Jenkins.” The President had not been consulted. When the tenor of the note became known to him, he took the matter out of Lansing’s hands and virtually repudiated his warlike demand. ‘That was the moment when Mr. Lansing ought to have resigned, if he had not felt con- strained to do so in Paris or when the Bullitt incident disclosed his attitude of opposition to the cause dearest of all causes to the heart of his chief. On February 7, President Wilson addressed a letter to Secretary Lansing and asked: “Is it true, as I have been told, that during my illness you have frequently called the heads of the executive departments of the government into conference?”” He went on to say that “under our constitutional law and practice, as developed hitherto, no one but the president has the night to sum- mon the heads of the executive departments into con- ference.” Lansing answered, February 9, that it was true, that “certain members of the Cabinet, of which I was one, felt that, in view of the fact that we were denied communication with you, it was wise for us to confer informally together.” He said it had never entered his mind that such action was “unconstitutional or contrary to your wishes,” and that he had “no intention to assume powers and exercise functions exclusively confided to the President.” He added that it had been his “constant endeavor to carry out your policies” and “to act in all matters as I believed you would wish me to act.” Concluding, Lansing said: “If, however, you think See ee as Ss FT PSI TN TPCT a Sees ee ENR ee et ed erent pe ene Oe ae eet ey SSIS Lae RR aces ae, mS ee earena et ee NCI SOTO CT oa) Oo ed n= aera capers SS BR canoe RPENSN ASS ene Neen ee eee nn ae a ae an 152 WOODROW WILSON that I have failed in my loyalty to you and if you no longer have confidence in me and prefer to have another to conduct foreign affairs, I am, of course, ready to relieve you of any embarrassment by placing my resig- nation in your hands.” Wilson answered, February 11, that he was “‘very much disappointed” by the answer, said “‘no action could be taken without me by the Cabinet,” and went on to say: “This affair only deepens a feeling that was growing upon me. While you were still in Paris I felt, and have felt increasingly since, that you accepted my guidance and direction on questions with regard to which I had to instruct you with increasing reluctance, and since my return to Washington I have been struck by the number of matters in which you have apparently tried to fore- stall my judgment by formulating judgment and merely asking my approval when it was impossible for me to form an independent judgment because I had not had an opportunity to examine the circumstances with any degree of independence.” He would, therefore, says Wilson, “take advantage’ of the suggestion of resignation, saying it “would relieve me of the embarrassment of feeling your reluctance and divergence of judgment” and “afford me an opportunity to select some one whose mind would more willingly go along with mine.” He added, “I need not tell you with what reluctance I take advantage of your suggestion, or that I do so with the kindliest feelmg. In matters of transcendent importance like this the only wise course is a course of perfect candor where personal feeling is as much as possible left out of the reckoning.”’ Usually the President ended his letters “Faithfully yours.” This ending was “‘Sincerely yours.” >CABINET MAKING AND BREAKING § 153 In formally tendering his resignation, February 12, Lansing denied he had attempted to “forestall” the President’s “judgment” or “usurp” power in calling informal meetings of the Cabinet. He said “ever since January, 1919,” he had “been conscious of the fact that you no longer were disposed to welcome my advice pertaining to the negotiations at Paris, to our foreign service, or to international affairs in general,” and that he would have early in 1919 resigned, but wished “to cause you no embarrassment in carrying forward the great task in which you were then engaged.”’ Later, in the latter part of July, 1919, he withheld his resignation only because “I felt loyalty to you and my duty to the ad- ministration compelled me to defer action.” He closed by saying he left the office “with only good will toward you and a profound sense of relief, forgetting our differ- ences and remembering only your kindnesses in the past.” The President in accepting the resignation said his “best wishes will always follow you” and that “it will be a matter of gratification to remember our delightful per- sonal relations.” The President was well within his rights in asking Mr. Lansing to retire from the Cabinet, but the ground upon which the resignation was called for was not re- garded by the public as justifying the President’s demand. The act (calling the Cabinet) he specified was, doubtless, in the President’s mind an inseparable part of Lansing’s suggestion to Tumulty of the President’s “disability”’ to perform the duties of his office. Seeing that the call for the first meeting of the Cabinet followed the sugges- tion of “disability,” the President evidently regarded the two as one joint act. In the words of his letter, however, the President named only the calling of the SE I ne —meTE a FSA SS ee aa ae Seo cea pe Necro Cnt oD Ns LIT. eae a Ie Geis ind ee panera NPN : F ee ie | ee se A ae ars 154 WOODROW WILSON Cabinet as the reason for desiring Mr. Lansing’s retirement. The people, who had known for weeks that the Cabi- net was meeting regularly and had approved their coming together, could not understand why this course of Lan- sing’s warranted a demand for his resignation. They did not know of his visit to Tumulty to suggest that the Vice- President should exercise the duties of chief executive. If the President had given the Bullitt incident or the Jenkins incident or the lack of co-operation at Paris, or if he had given no reason at all, he would have been in a position that would not have justified the severe and widespread criticism that followed. When Mr. Lansing’s book appeared, disclosmg how widely he was at variance with the President upon the one issue that meant more than all others to Mr. Wilson, it was seen that he ought long before to have withdrawn from the Cabinet. “In other countries there are cushions upon which such men fall,’”’ wrote P. W. Wilson, former member of Parliament. ‘‘The United States usually offers the pavement, and in the case of Mr. Lansing the blow of the boot was heard throughout the planet. What Wilson in health would have managed with a smile, Wilson from his sick bed only accomplished with the mailed fist.” Cabinets were made for unity!CuHaPreR XIV TARIFF REFORM, FIRST STEP TARIFF LEGISLATION AND EFFECT ON POLITICS—DID NOT MAKE CLEVELAND’S MISTAKE—DRIVES OUT TARIFF LOBBY—ABOLISHES ““EVERY SEMBLANCE OF PRIVI- LEGE’—INCOME TAX INTRODUCED—REFUSES TO SANCTION GOLD BRICK FOR RELIEF OF FARMERS “We must abolish everything that bears even the semblance of privilege or of any kind of artificial advantage.’ —WILSON ARIFF changes have been held responsible for political successes and failures. To go back no further than September, 1890, when the McKinley Act was passed, the party responsible for it met a dis- astrous defeat in the November election. Its author, Mr. McKinley, who owed his subsequent promotion as President to issues not related to his tariff bill, was defeated. The Democrats carried the house in 1890 by a majority of 148, the Republicans electing only 88 members. ‘The women shoppers did it,” explained Thomas B. Reed, Speaker of the House, alluding to the increased prices charged by retail dealers immediately following the passage of the McKinley Tariffs bh not only gave the Democrats control of the House of Repre- sentatives, but presaged the election of Cleveland in 1892 and the control of the executive and legislative depart- ments of the government for the first time since 1856. Even earlier, the friends of Grover Cleveland asserted that his famous tariff message of 1887, “it is a condition and not a theory that confronts us”, was responsible for (155) Se be bl ea ee ee sous. Pode eee tae sai en ry ee ee Se Se ee ete a ee ato ers Pi Ain de sete es - -: A Ra pep OD TIE— . sas setstel E a) Snr vt ro erspea aeeecee tne roetuena tecletetaane alae aiieemnateannemrmanaeiaeel Seeeneaenen aunty Creer aa ye ea ee Pa OP mT TC =e reat emai teat eer Crewe re Ant POSE NE TE 1 De ORL REAL SS ASCE LS eee Pee Tet mas he j rn ia a a han EE AATEC OE RES 156 WOODROW WILSON his defeat in 1888. They also attributed his second election to the fact that the people had, in the four years between his message and his re-election, decided he was right, as McKinley’s friends asserted of his position when he became President in 1896. When Cleveland was inaugurated in 1893, he made a tactical mistake in post- poning tariff legislation. If he had called Congress in session in April, 1893, to reduce the tariff in accordance with his great message of 1887, the abortion known as the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act, which became a law without his signature, would not have called forth his statement that it represented “‘party perfidy and party dishonor.” When, afterwards in his term, Mr. Cleveland’s party had become hopelessly divided on the money question, he had lost the opportunity to obtain the sort of tariff measure upon which he had set his heart. On the very day that he was elected, the matter of early tariff legislation was discussed by the President- elect with two friends, who afterwards became members of his Cabinet. Wilson was advertent to the disappoint- ment of Mr. Cleveland. A short time after the election, and weeks before his inauguration, Mr. Wilson made a public statement that he would call a special session of Congress to reduce the tariff. It heartened the tariff reform forces of the country and guaranteed the victory which followed that summons. It was said to be a theory of Theodore Roosevelt’s that the party which meddled with the tariff would meet defeat at the next election. Whatever his reason, it is certain that during the seven years that he was in power the tariff schedules were not changed and he made no move to have them changed. Mr. Wilson would have used all his influence for the revision of the tariff down-TARIFF REFORM, FIRST STEP 157 ward even if it had been definitely known that it would mean his defeat. He was as far as the poles from holding that platforms are made to get in on rather than to stand on. The first plank in the Democratic platform upon which he had been elected read in part: ‘““We favor the immediate downward revision of the existing high, and, in many cases, prohibitive tariff duties, insisting that material reductions be speedily made upon the necessaries of life. Articles entering into competition with trust-controlled products and articles of American manufacture which are sold abroad more cheaply than at home, should be put upon the free list.” Mr. Wilson early had strong convictions about the effect of a high tariff, as was shown when, having drawn the “Protection” side in a debate at Princeton, he declined to advocate a doctrine he did not believe sound. He said in his speech of acceptance that the rank and file of the people found life very hard to sustain and he was convinced that mistaken government policies had some- thing to do with the fact. In his inaugural address he had renewed his own pledge and given further approval to his party pledge to seek to cure defects in government policies. He often said that of the possessions of man- kind justice was the most precious. A protective tariff was, in his eyes, rank injustice to the great body of the people. A tariff which “cuts us off from our proper part in the commerce of the world, violates the just principles of taxation and makes the government a facile instrument in the hands of private interests,” found in him a sincere and effective opponent. Moved by his own convictions and with his personal and party pledges as further incentive, Mr. Wilson went into the tariff struggle with all his might. He saw reduc- Beater eee Seen ranen oa Stans Seen SST NT ES PU ee coerce mene re igang ints any Se NT Oe OS Sp ae ere eee - ns 1 IS ere= = — ee eee mere wag meena eninlin sean te es BS ete eee LS Ln edd et yt al eee — AAS E EPIL RTA ASS SEE SAR RR EO LAA NANI ETE EEE NAS AA AAS eres a Cn TE 22 pronase DTU nee rete oa lanl see rgelianh cio nie eer e ay tape nt alegre inseeseon ee stag Ne a aay onthe aera ta eee eta 3 k= ao ra * SEIS © eas we Sa 5; rr dacs Pre ri mens ay os EE RAE ECE | 1 a ac ny ty 158 WOODROW WILSON tion of the rates as a practical means of proving his party a real servant of sound economics. There was such a strong sentiment in Congress for tariff reform that the compelling and driving force of the President did not have to be invoked to as great a degree as in some matters afterwards. But 1t was incumbent upon him to keep his party keyed up to its task and ready at all times to turn a deaf ear to the siren song of the interests which wanted a continuance of special privilege. Indeed, every one was familiar with the conditions at Washington, when the sugar, steel, and other lobbies came down on Washing- ton “like the wolf on the fold.” The scattering of the tariff lobby by Wilson was as wholesome as it was sensa- tional. It freed legislators from the importunity of paid men and insured the writing of tariff schedules by the legally elected agents of the people rather than by those who were to be the beneficiaries of high rates. All records of tariff-legislation were broken. Mr. Wilson displayed genius of leadership in carrying out this first big policy of his administration. Instead of any division in the party, or the predicted “shipwreck on the tariff rock”? which had come to so many administrations, Mr. Wilson emerged with high prestige. It was on April 8, 1913, a month after his inaugural, that Congress met in extraordinary session. On that day Mr. Wilson broke the precedent of executives sending their messages and appeared in person to deliver the first message Congress had heard a President deliver since 1796. That fact, added to the distinction of the occasion, helped to emphasize the significance of the message. He compressed into that message the philosophy and wisdom of tariff reformers of all time—John Bright, William L. Wilson, John G. Carlisle, William J. Bryan, GroverTARIFF REFORM, FIRST STEP 159 Cleveland, Roger Q. Mills, David A. Wells, and a host of others who had sounded the clear noite against public taxation for private profit. Mr. Wilson declared “a duty was laid upon the party now in power, at the recent election, which it ought to perform promptly, in order that the burden carried by the people under existing laws may be lightened as soon as possible, and in order that the business interests of the country may not be kept too long in suspense as to what the fiscal changes are to be, to which they may be required to adjust themselves.” He continued: The sooner the tariff is altered, the sooner our men of business will be free to thrive by the law of nature—the nature of free business—instead of by the law of legislation and artificial arrangement.” He went on to say: “We have seen tariff legislation wander very far afield in our day—very far, indeed, from the field m which our prosperity might have had a normal growth and stimulation. No one who looks the facts squarely in the face or knows anything that lies beneath the surface of action can fail to perceive the principles upon which recent tariff legislation has been based. We long ago passed beyond the modest notion of ‘protecting’ the industries of the country and moved boldly forward to the idea that they were entitled to the direct patronage of the Government. For a long time—a time so long that the men now active in public policy hardly remember the conditions that preceded it—we have sought in our tariff schedules to give each group of manufacturers or producers what they themselves thought that they needed in order to maintain a practically exclusive market as against the rest of the world. Consciously or uncon- sciously, we have built up a set of privileges and exemp- 1l Ue GPS SS PEON eT ean ee ry ates See 5 oe pe I NIA ee ee he 5 - Me a San eee= ——— = a = at —— ee Sar er creer a i Seg A ET EAS TAL AEB OAL | Ses nano lis TEESE Sila cme ps —= 8S eee nn eo REA NAP LITA NREL Fal ERASE A RR EEE MONEDA TE ITE CMT TO etc DO A ER Tet rd AC TALS ESS cE rt mee eid Ser bean ne Pe a peta pment insincere le lS pecan DONS One ~ — tay Sewn ot Cir ate Bet PTS ETE tre aes) eS Ral AS aca a tea chat cin 160 WOODROW WILSON tions from competition behind which it was easy by any, even the crudest, forms of combination to organize monopoly; until at last nothing is normal, nothing is obliged to stand the tests of efficiency and economy, in our world of big business, but everything thrives by concerted arrangement. Only new principles of action will save us from a final hard crystallization of monopoly and a complete loss of the influences that quicken enter- prise and keep independent energy alive. “It is plain what those principles must be. We must abolish everything that bears even the semblance of privilege or cf any kind of artificial advantage, and put our business men and producers under the stimulation of a constant necessity to be efficient, economical, and enterprising, masters of competitive supremacy, better workers and merchants than any in the world. Aside from the duties laid upon articles which we do not, and probably cannot, produce, therefore, and the. duties laid upon luxuries and merely for the sake of the revenues they yield, the object of the tariff duties henceforth laid must be effective competition, the whetting of American wits by contest with the wits of the rest of the world.” Wilson was no iconoclast, who would fail to recognize conditions. “It would be unwise,” he said in that message, ““to move toward this end headlong with reckless haste, or with strokes that cut at the very roots of what has grown up amongst us by long process and at our invi- tation. It does not alter a thing to upset it and break it and deprive it of a chance to change. It destroys itself. We must make changes in our fiscal laws, in our fiscal system, whose object is development, not revolution or upset or confusion.” He declared that the remedies must be “genuine” but also said, ““Remedies may be heroic.”TARIFF REFORM, FIRST STEP 161 He signed the measure at the White House on October 3, 1913, and upon attaching his signature, in the presence of the Chairmen and members of the com- mittee, cabinet and others, Mr. Wilson felicitated them upon their first step toward unfettering business. It was hailed as the best tariff measure since the one enacted in 1846 of which James G. Blaine in his “Twenty Years of Congress”’ said it yielded “abundant revenue” and “the business of the country flourished under it, and seemed, for the time, to be so entirely vindicated and approved that resistance to it ceased.” The average rate of duties was reduced from forty to twenty-six percent. The measure reduced or abolished tariff duties on practically all the articles entering into the cost of living. On all such articles the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act, which it replaced, levied heavy duties with the effect of discouraging any competition from abroad and enabling home manufacturers, by combination and other- wise, to exact exorbitant prices. Naturally relieving the people of part of the tariff tax resulted in a reduction of the treasury receipts. The platform on which Mr. Wilson had been elected had demanded an income tax. Provision for such a tax had been incorporated in the Wilson-Gorman tariff in Cleveland’s last administration. It had been declared unconstitutional when, as Senator Vest stated, “a judge changed his mind over night.” From 1896 until it was adopted, there had been an organized fight for the adop- tion of an amendment to the constitution authorizing the levying of an income tax. Its advocates believed that the expenses of national government ought not to be borne entirely on the basis of consumption, as the tariff tax imposes its burdens, but the cost of government ought Te a ei erent eine ae Ce = AS SEER tape oo Sas SESS 2 tine nh ERPS ae e SIT ode eat iat Sn pI te a os ——s a ee rabreed ooo ENN NT TES ure Lol Cou aoe So) nT hen RO ESET NP IE NY NER RPT NEE oe Se SS Oar Te aera eras Serre at poate '. i 4 162 WOODROW WILSON to be apportioned in accordance with ability to pay. Of the $627,000,000 the Government received from the tariff and internal revenue taxes in 1913, only a comparatively small part was paid by those in receipt of large incomes. The imeome tax afforded the best measure of ability to pay. On February 25, 1913, an amendment to the con- stitution was adopted, giving Congress the power to levy a taxonincomes. This power the framers of the Under- wood-Simmons Act availed themselves of and a graduated income tax was incorporated in the measure. When the demands of war called for the raising of billions of dollars, the basis for securing taxation from incomes was ready at hand. Professor Taussig, a tariff expert and impartial critic, gave this statement on the tariff measure: ‘“‘The pertinent sections of the tariff were rewritten. That they were substantially improved was the judgment of specialists competent on this intricate subject.” Wilson had never claimed perfection for them, much less that there was any- thing in schedules too sacred to be changed. In fact,a non- partisan tariff commission was later created with ample power to obtain and report to Congress the facts essential to tariff making. This was to be no executive usurpation of the exclusive power of Congress to levy taxes. That was not the Wilson conception of the way to go about securing changes. A new agency, composed of competent specialists, was given the duty of ascertaining the facts by scientific investigation, and these were to be available to the executive for recommendation and to Congress in levying taxes for the support of government. It was recognized in 1916 that two years of war brought about economic changes and that the government should be ready to wisely alter its tariff and other revenue laws toTARIFF REFORM, FIRST STEP 163 meet changed or changing conditions. The facts obtained by the commission, to quote Wilson, were “for the guid- ance alike of our business men and our Congress.” “For,” he added, “American energies are now directed toward the markets of the world.” “Laws explicitly to remove any ban supposed to rest upon co-operation among exporters in seeking and secur- ing their proper place in the markets of the world”’ opened the way for the marvelous expansion of foreign trade. “We have barred monopoly,” he declared, and insured ‘peace in the business world, and, with peace, revived confidence and life.” The attempt in 1920 to relieve agricultural distress with the gold brick of high tariff, after the Senate had definitely kept the United States out of the concert of world powers, received no countenance from President Wilson. Farmers had made their crops at large ex- pense. When the “bottom dropped out”, they peti- tioned Washington for relief. The Republican lead- ers said, “A high tariff on wheat will insure you profitable prices. We will give it to you.” They hurried through the Fordney Emergency Tariff, levying a tax of thirty cents a bushel on wheat and increasing the rates on other agricultural products. Wilson, in substance, saidey met high tariff on farm products the price of which is fixed in foreign markets, will bring no relief.” On March 4, 1921, on the last day he was chief executive, President Wilson sent one of the very few veto messages he ever wrote to Congress. “The situa- tion in which many of the farmers of the country find themselves,” he said in this message, “cannot be remedied by a measure of this sort. There is no short way out of existing conditions, and measures of this sort can only oor POR ne eee Qe TIS Site ake aes Ste RE a alas ome ratlntones TI IT. raters any Se LIE sa ee ree eae nfs Pr aS ee a= sani RNAI TO SRE DEC See US UES Shee ce epg FT ETN DRIER LFA G TIERS DS ERD II RPE nO AN ANNA ALLELE DED AAAI eS hh Ht +P 4 dit 2 168 WOODROW WILSON line with this admirable chart which he gave to those who were to frame it and pilot it through Congress. President Wilson did not, of course, write the Federal Reserve Act. Senator Glass said that the “one man more responsible for the Federal Reserve System than any other living man is Woodrow Wilson. It was his infinite patience, it was his clear prescience, it was his unsur- passed courage, it was the passion of Woodrow Wilson to serve humankind that overcame every obstacle, that surmounted every difficulty, and that put the Federal Reserve banking system on the federal statute books of this country.” After its preparation, but before final conferences with the leaders in Congress, he submitted it to Mr. Bryan for his suggestions and indorsement. As drawn, the measure would have permitted the banks to issue their notes. Mr. Bryan quoted the declarations of several Democratic platforms to the effect that the issuing of money was a government function and should not be exercised by banks. Wilson and Bryan went into the matter fully. Wilson examined the evidence which Bryan presented. He was convinced that the change suggested by the Secretary of State was wise. It was made, and the bill, as introduced and passed, provided for the loaning of Government notes to the banks instead of the issuing of bank notes. This agreement on the Federal Reserve System by the two leaders of the party insured a practically solid support in Congress. Looking back upon the benefits of the Federal Reserve System and the universal approval of the policy (criticism has been heard only of its administration, and the people must be careful to see that those who ad- minister it carry out the spirit of the system as stated by Wilson when it was proposed), it might be supposedCURRENCY SYSTEM 169 there was the same unanimity of sentiment when it was under consideration. Far from it. There was no such visible lobby in evidence fighting it as had gathered in Washington when the tariff was in the making. Wilson had driven them out as with a whipcord as polluters of the civic temple. But if the lobby was not so much in evidence, it was none the less present and active. During the long-drawn-out fight in the Senate, a few of the most influential big bankers of the country arrived in Washington one night. There was no announcement of their arrival. They found quarters at the Army and Navy Club. Senators and others called for conferences. Why were these magnates at the Army and Navy Club? That question interested a young naval officer. He casually mentioned their presence to a member of the Wilson administration holding an unimportant position. The names of all the visitors and the length of their stay were reported to the White House. Soon the big men, accustomed to dictate national financial policies, saw that in Wilson they had measured swords with the victor in the contest—the contest to determine whether the Govern- ment or private financiers should rule. Sensing defeat, and hoping to secure some change in the measure, they requested a conference with the President. It was declined. He sent them a studiously polite and frigid reply that he knew of their futile efforts to defeat the measure, that he had the fight won, and did not care to discuss the measure with them. It was in rather more crisp language. Perhaps the words were curt. They meant: “You tried to lick me. I have licked you to a frazzle and will accept nothing but complete victory.” The favorite weapon in legislative antagonism to a measure is to “kill it with kindness” —that 1s, to propose oa Gai eae acir B e SSS SER TTY EI ew Sets a erbp its tr tines ~S Sees =< ETI SS Peete mene Din eo paca re ep eR a Ne oS SE ~ eine rs - Set a A, Pea aJ eee En, . pines pte Paar oo re een ee te a Coe eR IP ra bg be oR a eC eon ss ae ere) SALAS = on a = ee a a ae en i a A LEED PIONEERING CMP IR SE SEES EE ESTE Sa RE SCG AE Sein rei pee Nera Rec EC Se: SA ee Dre er SOT et arene as Se ee eT TTS PRC ae srr ma IPO RO YR es SE ows a ESTE Peet o> Brel ee A a COS NED hte 170 WOODROW WILSON some unobjectionable amendments along with a battalion of amendments that are barbed with destruction. That was the plan of opposition determined upon by the foes of currency reform. Some excellent amendments, after- wards incorporated in the measure, were offered by Sena- tors seeking sincerely to perfect the bill. But in some great banking houses, where a Reserve system, with twelve Federal Reserve headquarters in all parts of the country to decentralize financial operations, was not received with favor, men were busy writing amendments calculated to cut the heart out of the Wilson plan. They were fired down to Washington. Some of them found their way into the hands of Senators and were offered on the floor. Ex-Senator Aldrich, whose measure had been turned down by a previous Congress, came to Washington to oppose it. Appearing before the Senate Committee, he declared the Glass-Owen measure was “an important step toward changing the government from a democracy to an autocracy.” Senators who had defeated the Aldrich plan had declared they opposed it because it would give to Wall Street dominance of the financial life of the nation—an autocracy of unregulated private wealth controlling the currency and banking of the country. If they were in any sense right, and if Aldrich had any right in his contention, the difference was this: The Aldrich measure practically created an autocracy of finance by bankers not governed by law, whereas the Glass-Owen measure placed the entire control of the currency of the nation in the hands of officials selected and paid by the Government. If it should become “autocratic”, the people’s representatives can regulate and change.CURRENCY SYSTEM 171 Heads of strong banking institutions voiced opposi- tion. For example, Frank A. Vanderlip, of the National City Bank of New York, speaking before the American Bankers’ Association, October 30, said: “It starts the country on an issue of fiat currency. There is no case in our history when a nation has started an issue of fiat money but the result has been a complete breakdown of the financial system of the country.” That expressed the attitude of most of the heads of the big banking institutions and that point of view was voiced by Senators in long continued debate. Experience proves they were wrong and Wilson was right. Vanderlip, on the last day of the Victory Loan, taking him by the hand, said to Carter Glass, then Sec- retary of the Treasury: “Glass, I want to say to you, that but for the Federal Reserve System we would never today be consummating a Victory Loan.” Wilson’s guiding and determining hand was seen from the writing to the passage of the measure. Senator Carter Glass, of Virginia, Chairman of the House Com- mittee on Banking and Currency, gives an illuminating statement of Wilson’s superior wisdom. Glass originally believed the banks of the country should have minority representation on the central board at Washington which supervises the entire system. “JT thought,” he said, “+hat inasmuch as the banks owned the system, the government not being required to put up one dollar of government funds, the stock-holding banks should have the right to name minority representation on this central board.” Glass thus describes Wilson’s contrary point of view and the result of a conference in the White House: ie a Set aoe Aoi eee rsa acini eee Se a a reprising aan PSST a Se ieee TT ae Dera f Pa aaaoe = — 7 = rf Ot tye ee eS ce Le eS ee Sekeenn eS AR ae oo Fn ra sigs SMPTE TS Serer Eee Tae ee NS Re en Et nd mere is eee ae Oe py eT a a ee WOODROW WILSON “But the President of the United States did not think so. I regarded his decision in that respect for a while as politically inexpedient and fundamentally wrong. I thought it was politically mexpedient because I con- ceived the notion that it would be impossible to get the legislation through if we did not let the banks have repre- sentation upon this central board. It was hard enough to get it through anyhow; it was the most terrific fight that ever was had. We got it through in the face of the opposition of nearly every bank in the United States. “The President did not agree with me. I did not sleep any that night, and before I dressed the next morn- ing I wrote him a letter telling him exactly what I thought about it. I don’t reckon he ever got such a letter before in his life. His reply was that he was ‘not at all disturbed about the political expediency of the proposition’; he did not propose to apply politics to the problem at all. But if I could convince him that it was ‘fundamentally wrong, then he would change his mind. And I tried to convince him. “About two days afterwards I arranged for an inter- view with him with seven of the greatest bankers of the United States, and headed the procession to the White House to convince Woodrow Wilson that he was wrong about this thing. They stated their case with great fervor, force and persuasiveness. I said nothing, because I had written all I had to say on the subject. When we were through, Mr. Wilson quietly turned in his chair and said, “Gentlemen, I challenge any one of you to point to a government board, in this country or anywhere in any other civilized country, upon which private interests are permitted to have representation.’ “In other words the Federal Reserve Board is anCURRENCY SYSTEM 173 altruistic body representing all the people of the United States, put there for the purpose of supervising this great banking system and seeing that no section and no class is discriminated against in its administration. Its members are not permitted to have any banking affiliation or con- nection at all. They are not permitted to own bank stock of any description. There is no single element of acquisitiveness in the whole formation of that board or in its operation. The Board is there to represent the people of the United States; and you might as well talk about giving the railroads of this country the right of minority representation on the Interstate Commerce Commission, appointed to supervise the railroads, as to talk about giving the banks minority representation on the Federal Reserve Board—and I didn’t have sense enough at first to see it.” The fact that, after the measure carrying all the essential provisions Wilson insisted upon was enacted, leading financiers in the country co-operated to make it the great success it has been demonstrated, is proof of the best American spirit. The long-drawn-out fight consumed three whole months. The measure reached the Senate on September 18. It was not until December 23, at 6 o'clock, that the President signed the epoch-making measure. ihe 13 @ Christmas present for the American people,” its sup- porters declared as the chief executive attached his name to the act. During all the hot days of summer and the long contest that ran through the autumn and into the winter, President Wilson never yielded in his determina- tion to secure legislation that would put an end to the concentration of reserves, a policy which had been found to operate to the advantage of the speculative interests ee ee HS nr eas Ree e ee a Sees an os PES a ——— el ea lester eae eae EE aie Siro os pT ea ~ esRTE pO a em ENS ad Roe SRLS eat been 59 He RSE oa re ct CERES eR ee ea 174 WOODROW WILSON at the expense of the farming and commercial interests. For a long time there had been demand for better credit facilities for farmers. Under Wilson’s leadership the Congress met this need by enactment of the Federal Farm Loan Act. Under it the farmer could for the first time negotiate loans on a long-term basis. By the terms of the act twelve Federal land banks were created, loans to be made to farmers for productive purposes only, through national farm-loan associations. Provision was also made for private land banks under government supervision. ‘The new rural credits system is directed by a Federal Farm Loan Board on which President Wilson appointed capable officials. It has been calculated that if fully availed of, the rural credits legislation would save the farmers of the country sixty-six million dollars a year. Credit was set free.CHAPTER XVI THE WILSON POLICY IN MEXICO “Ie T AM STRONG, I AM ASHAMED TO BULLY THE WEAK” —rAFT HAD “NO SYMPATHY WITH EXPLOITATION” —WILSON REFUSED TO APPROVE ELECTION BY ASSASSINATION—-NO RECOGNITION FOR HUERTA— VERA CRUZ LANDING FOLLOWED BY HUERTA’S FLIGHT —Ppolicy OF ““WATCHFUL WAITING’ BORE FRUIT IN BETTER SITUATION IN MEXICO “We are glad to call ourselves the friend of Mexico.” —WILson ss HERE is one thing I have got a great enthu- siasm about, I might say a reckless enthusiasm, and that is human liberty. I want to say a word about our attitude toward Mexico. I hold it as a fundamental principle that every people has the right to determine its own form of government; and until this recent revolution in Mexico, until the end of the Diaz reign, eighty per cent of the people of Mexico never had a ‘look in’ in determining who should be their governors or what their government should be. Now, I am for the eighty percent. Itis none of my business, and it is none of your business, how long they take in determining it. It is none of my business, and it is none of your business, how they go about their business. The country is theirs. The liberty, if they can get it, and God speed them in getting it, is theirs. And so far as my influence goes while I am President nobody shall interfere with them.” This was the defiance Mr. Wilson hurled at the 12 (175) eS ee rT ca De FEA es op ss me IO ea oeos ree sans bem —o ee een re en reer rere nfm rottweiler seer ae are el aceon aC PE RI RRS IE sa a NS TEE TTY SSE EP Pac cyte CR pe IER Dabo ean Gre oo epee Ahead mC © FSCS ASGART eee ee ee aa mine arte wie pds CRS a at Tae ienital a Sloe eas 3 OANA CSN ESS [ a 4 176 WOODROW WILSON critics of his Mexican policy im his celebrated Jackson Day speech at Indianapolis, January 8, 1915. He went on to say: “I am proud to belong to a strong nation that says: “This country which we could crush shall have just as much freedom in her own affairs as we have.’ If I am strong, I am ashamed to bully the weak. In proportion to my strength is my pride in withholding that strength from the oppression of another people.” He took this shot at his critics: “‘When some great dailies thunder at watchful waiting, my confidence is not shaken fora moment. I know the temper and principles of the American people.” Mr. Wilson inherited the Mexican problem. When he came into office he found that his predecessor had sent war ships to Mexican waters where they remained. The revolution in Mexico that ended the long sway of Diaz had given hope that Francisco Madero, elected president October 2, 1911, would be able to organize a democratic government for the weal of the Mexican people. The usurpation of Gen. Victoriano Huerta and the proclama- tion on February 18, 1913, by the troops under his con- trol that he had been made Provisional President, was followed next day by a military-controlled election by the Mexican Congress. Four days thereafter, Madero and Suarez, deposed president and vice-president, were assassinated—shot dead “‘while attempting to escape,” as the assassins caused it to be stated. These events, occurring upon the eve of the expiration of his term of office, President Taft deemed it just to the incoming administration to leave it a free hand. In a statement made February 26, a few days after Huerta had caused the assassination of Madero, President Taft said: “‘We must avoid in every way that which is called intervention, andTHE WILSON POLICY IN MEXICO 177 use all patience possible, with prayer that some power may arise there to bring about peace throughout that troubled country,” and added, “‘But I have no sympathy —none at all, and the charge of cowardice does not frighten me—with that which prompts us for purposes of exploitation and gain to invade another country and involve ourselves in a war, the extent of which we could not realize, and the sacrifice of thousands of lives and of millions of treasure.” That utterance of Taft’s was in line with Lincoln’s when he declared for the same “‘for- bearance and generous sympathies” toward the Mexicans which Wilson later exercised. In a message to Congress, August 27, 1913, President Wilson reviewed the circumstances existing in Mexico, and told how he had in May, 1913, sent ex-Governor John Lind, as his personal spokesman and representative, to the City of Mexico, with instructions to endeavor to secure a satisfactory settlement on these terms: (a) An immediate cessation of fighting throughout Mexico, a definite armistice solemnly entered into and scrupulously observed; ““(b) Security given for an early and free election in which all will agree to take part; “(c) The consent of General Huerta to bind himself not to be a candidate for election as President of the Re- public at this election; and ““(q) The agreement of all parties to abide by the results of the election and co-operate in the most loyal way in organizing and supporting the newadministration.”’ President Wilson had refused to recognize Huerta though Henry Lane Wilson, the American Ambassador, appointed by Taft, favored recognition. Later he had declared, “So long as the power of recognition rests with ere ra Sc " cs eNO PES SE wa cae aes ETE ear eae ea rot ee meen a a Teaares ae) H i ee ie | Feo Q :. i i ie ' rr eo be a a ee LT LR PIE TOES ES TTT EY Sahat ——— Pr Cm I aN eA A Sh DC SANTIS) CL as STE TOC LOIS — aa a sa Aa CRAM RR SIE = + , if 134 tt vay Jf Shay ae rae 178 WOODROW WILSON me, the Government of the United States will refuse to extend the hand of welcome to any one who obtains power in a sister republic by treachery and violence.” The proposals were rejected by ‘“‘the iron-handed”’ Huerta, as he was termed. Mr. Wilson said the rejection was probably due to misunderstanding of our position, and so long as it continued, “‘we can only await the time of their awakening to a realization of the actual facts. We cannot thrust our good offices upon them,” though it was “our duty to offer our active assistance.” He declared that “impatience on our part would be childish.” He believed ‘‘we should earnestly urge all Americans to leave Mexico at once, and should assist them to get away in every way possible—not because we would mean to slacken in the least our efforts to safeguard their lives and interests, but because it is imperative that they should take no unnecessary risks when it is physically possible for them to leave the country.” As to Americans remaining in Mexico, “we shall vigilantly watch their fortunes” and “‘shall hold those responsible for their sufferings and losses to a definite reckoning.” He said he would ‘“‘see that neither side to the struggle now going on receives any assist- ance’ by “forbidding the exportation of arms or munitions of war of any kind from the United States.” He concluded his message with these words: ‘The steady pressure of moral force will before many days break the barrier of pride and prejudice down, and we shall triumph as Mexico’s friends sooner than we could triumph as her enemies—and how much more hand- somely, with how much higher and finer satisfaction of conscience and honor!”THE WILSON POLICY IN MEXICO 179 In his message to Congress, December 2, 1913, he declared ‘There can be no certain prospect of peace in America until General Huerta has surrendered his usurped power.” Huerta had “‘declared himself dictator.” A popular election had been set in Mexico for October 23, to elect a Constitutional President. On October 10 Huerta had sent a strong force of soldiers to the halls of Congress in Mexico City and arrested 110 members of the lesser chamber, making himself supreme and render- ing the election farcical. “Every day,” said Wilson, ‘“Huerta’s power and prestige are crumbling and the collapse is not far away.” He followed that review by saying, ‘We shall not, I believe, be obliged to change our policy of watchful waiting.” His critics seized upon these last words to seek to destroy his policy by ridicule but that policy continued without change. In January, 1914, John Lind reached Washington. After conferences with him, Mr. Wilson was more than ever convinced that the force opposing Huerta represented the popular will in Mexico, and he made known to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations that he intended to raise the em- bargo on the shipment of arms into Mexico. March 14, 1912, President Taft had issued an order forbidding all export of arms except to the government of Madero. President Wilson, on assuming office, had issued an order for a complete embargo. He had made up his mind, after that careful and searching study which marked all his decisions, that the time had come to deliver a stroke that would hasten the coming of better times in Mexico. His statement accompanying this order is interesting as showing how the President’s sympathy was always quickly enlisted when he saw what he re- garded as a real movement toward a government based rar Se 2 Bares eens aes ER Fe a OL, EES PP PE ED eS ea ee a ee ee er a oes a 7 SI eae = es a el= aera co * ree Pc tl ne EC AM WN POT RTT Af STP TY DIET CT ree Sh a Se re es PI tr Sel SCORER LS a SS OE <= = AE SIEGE SE RNR RST 4 “EAL anes 180 WOODROW WILSON on “consent of the governed.” ‘“‘There is now no con- stitutional government in’ Mexico,” he said in this state- ment, “and the existence of this order (the one for- bidding the shipment of arms) hinders and delays the very thing that the government of the United States is now insisting upon, namely, that Mexico shall be left free to settle her own affairs and as soon as possible put them on a constitutional footing.’ On April 4, Paymaster Copp of the U. S. S. Dolphin landed at the Tiurbide landing at Tampico with a whaleboat and boat’s crew to get certain supplies for his ship. While engaged in loading the boat the Paymaster was arrested by an officer and squad of men of General Huerta’s army. Neither the Paymaster nor any of the crew was armed. Two of the men were in the boat when the arrest was made, and were obliged to leave it and submit to being taken into custody, notwithstanding the boat carried, both at her bow and her stern, the flag of the United States. The officer who made the arrest was proceeding up the street of the town with his prisoners when met by an officer of higher authority; he was ordered to return to the landing and await orders. Within an hour and a half from the time of arrest, orders were received by the commander of the Huertista forces at Tampico for the release of the Paymaster and his men. The release was followed by apologies from the commander and also by an expression of regret by General Huerta himself. General Huerta urged that martial law obtained at the time at Tampico, that orders had been issued that no one should be allowed to land at Iturbide bridge, and that our sailors had no right to land there. Our naval commanders at the port had not been notified of any such prohibition, and, even if they had, the only justTHE WILSON POLICY IN MEXICO § 181 and free course open to the local authorities would have been to request the Paymaster and his crew to withdraw and lodge a protest with the commanding officer of the fleet. Admiral Mayo regarded the arrest as so serious an affront that he was not satisfied with the apologies offered, and demanded that the flag of the United States be saluted with special ceremony by the military com- mander of the port. After thus recounting the situation, President Wilson, jn a special message to a joint session of Congress, April 20, said, ‘““The incident cannot be regarded as a trivial one, especially as the ten men arrested were taken from the boat itself—that is to say from the territory of the United States; but if it had stood by itself, it might have been attributed to the ignorance or arrogance of a single officer,’ and he went on to say that “ Unfortunately, it was not an isolated case”’ and he proceeded to relate a series of incidents showing that ‘“‘the Government of the United States was being singled out, and could be singled out with impunity, for slights and affronts in retaliation for its refusal to recognize the pretensions of General Huerta to be regarded as the Constitutional President of the Republic of Mexico.” He pointed out that “‘such offenses might grow from bad to worse until something happened of so gross and intolerable a sort as to lead directly and inevitably to armed conflict.” The Presi- dent said he had felt it his duty to “sustain Admiral Mayo in the whole of his demand and to insist that the flag of the United States should be saluted in such a way as to indicate a new spirit and attitude on the part of the Huertistas.” The President said, Huerta having refused, he had come to Congress “for approval and support in the course I now propose to pursue.” He Sp hen SIR go PO PhP POLE Tey alee Hawg toda pep RE OO ea ea SoS oo Cae SR A A " or arma ey ee. Ses A OA SO ere mea ey ted nets a am ~ eh a SE PET TT TREO TP EIDE sere cat eno ca exp fc oe SS ne Sa aera ae rent meena eet area peewee Snncr S CBS EUR pen Ki ie He hay —— te 192 WOODROW WILSON Mr. Wilson coupled with announcement of the passage of the act with the definite assurance that this step had been taken “with a view to the ultimate independence of the island and as preparation for that independence.” He de- clared: “‘By their counsel and experience, rather than by our own, we shall learn how best toservethem and how soon it will be possible to withdraw our supervision.” The Jones Law, passed in response to the President’s recommenda- tion, in its preamble, declared that “‘it is, as it has always been, the purpose of the people of the United States, to withdraw their sovereignty over the Philippine Islands and to recognize their independence as soon as a stable government can be established therein.”’” For the first time the Filipinos had cause to rejoice at the policy of the American government, and for the first time the principle of self-determination had a chance in those islands. Under the governorship of Mr. Wilson’s appointee, Francis Burton Harrison, the provisions of the Jones Act were carried out in friendly spirit and with the best results. The Governor gave it as his opinion that “‘by temperament, by experience, by financial ability, in every way, the ten million Filipinos are entitled to be free from every government except of their own choice. They are intelligent enough to decide for themselves.” The Danish Islands of the West Indies came under the American flag during the Wilson administration. The paramount advantage to be gained by the United States from its acquisition of these islands was the large measure of safety they confer upon the Panama Canal. The strategic wisdom of gaining control of the islands lay not so much in the need of the United States of a naval base located in one of the harbors. It was the danger to the safety and amicable relations of the United, oh eon AIA; ISLAND TERRITORIES 193 States which would result from the acquirement of the islands by some other power. Toward Porto Rico and Hawaii and all territories separated from the continent, Wilson’s attitude was expressed when he said, “We are trustees.” They “are ours, indeed, but not ours to do what we please with.” His whole attitude as to them and the Philippines was thus stated: ‘‘Such territories, once regarded as mere possessions, are no longer to be selfishly exploited; they are part of the domain of public conscience and of service- able and enlightened statesmanship. We must administer them for the people who live in them and with the same sense of responsibility to them as toward our own people in domestic affairs.” “Dollar Diplomacy” as practiced on this continent, which had been assailed in 1912, found no support from President Wilson. Consular officers, indeed, were alert and were encouraged to advance America’s good offices to promote trade in Latin-America, but no diplomacy directed to secure purely commercial advantages to favored Americans was even winked at. In the presence of the diplomats from Latin-American countries, Presi- dent Wilson, in his famous Mobile speech October 27, 1913, opened the way for the better understanding with those neighbor nations. He was speaking at the time of the opening of the Panama Canal, and predicted an “emancipation” of those states from “subordination to foreign enterprise.” He pointed out that they had “harder bargains driven with them in the matter of loans than any other peoples in the world,” and he declared, ‘“we ought to be the first to take part in assisting in that emancipation.” He then laid down this doctrine with which all his subsequent actions squared:~ ~ sears Se 5 Sn ae arene Se arr Ao Eee eae Sern Le A FE mire tinaaieay A TC TIE Derr Etec PEERS Ge eo ee tee gh ap Groner p a peer ici mniynamaiay eet iron opemaR Te Bre ey Necro a Oran Le ee eae ELE ENR I CIE Hf A eR ve Pr ra Ney 194 WOODROW WILSON *“We must prove ourselves their friends, and cham- pions upon terms of equality and honor. You cannot be friends at all except upon terms of equality. We must show ourselves friends by comprehending their interest whether it squares with our own interest or not.” The Pan-American Conference and the tender and acceptance of the mediation of Argentina, Brazil, and Chile in the Mexican controversy were but two of the outstanding practical evidences of the growth of lasting understanding and friendship with Latin-American nations, which in the World War blessed mankind. The spirit of the Monroe Doctrine that no European country may add territory on this continent caused the President in 1914 to direct the Navy Department to bring about tranquillity in the neighbor island of Haiti and San Domingo. It was necessary for this government to take action in those lands to prevent European countries landing to protect what they regarded as jeopardy of their interests by repeated revolutions. As to Haiti the aim of the United States in connection with the landing of Marines by the United States and the seizure of customs houses and their administration by American officials was well set forth in a statement issued by Secretary Lansing August 25, 1915, in which he said: “We have only one purpose—that is, to help the Haitian people and prevent them from being exploited by irresponsible revolutionists. . . . The United States Government has no purpose of aggression and is en- trely disinterested in promoting this protectorate.” Similar purposes animated the Government in its establishment of a temporary protectorate in San Domingo. No selfish aggression.CHAPTER XVIII REDEEMING THE PLEDGES LEGISLATION FULFILLING PROMISES—REPEAL OF THE PANAMA CANAL TOLLS AN EARLY TEST OF POWER— CLASH BETWEEN RAILROADS AND THE BROTHER- HOODS—ANTITRUST LEGISLATION—CRIME IS PER- SONAL’ —““THE MOST ADEQUATE NAVY IN THE WORLD” “Tt isa record of extraordinary length and variety, rich in elements of many kinds, but consistent in principle throughout.’ —W11LsoNn HE story of 1913-1921 is a story of redeemed pledges. Woodrow Wilson was chary with promises. His word, once given, was better than a bond. Perhaps the best test of Wilson’s leadership in obtain- ing legislation was in securing the repeal of the law giving American ships freedom from Panama Canal tolls. The act exempting vessels engaged in the coastwise trade of the United States had passed Congress August 24, 1912. It had been received with apparent general approval as encouragement to the American Merchant Marine and had passed Congress in the face of contention that it violated the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty. Its repeal was stubbornly fought. In his shortest message to Congress, Mr. Wilson urged repeal “with the utmost earnestness of which I am capable,” and closed by saying: “I ask this of you in support of the foreign policy of the administra- tion. I shall not know how to deal with other matters of greater delicacy and nearer consequence if you do (195)tee Se ESET cee ea a See TP Go TE a eC Oe i a eB a rr ae mS RO AL a SO A Foote PTE ETL A AT Sed SSS a ee 31 ere ert aae Ts baeeeae Ee a ca PTE AR RA Fai Sue Nee a 196 WOODROW WILSON not grant it to me in ungrudging measure.” He did not enter into legal and technical questions that had been raised or into the effect upon American shipping. “What- ever may be our own differences of opinion concerning this much debated measure,” he said, “‘its meaning is not debated outside the United States. Everywhere else the language of the treaty is given but one inter- pretation, and that interpretation precludes the exemption I am asking you to repeal.” His appeal was to “deserve our reputation for gen- erosity and for the redemption of every obligation without quibble or hesitation.” It was not, however, “‘granted”’ without bitter opposition and the charge that it was “‘a surrender to Britain” and the “‘encouragement of British shipping at the expense of America’s merchant marine.” How often opponents charged Wilson with favoring the British and how often he was assailed for being so hard upon them! Conscious that he was neither “pro”’ nor “anti” but wholly for what he regarded the right thing, no matter what nation was helped or injured, he heard such charges unmoved. In the Panama tolls contest a favorite argument by the strong opponents to repeal was: ‘‘The Panama Canal was built upon territory secured by Americans; it was built by American money and American ships are entitled to an advantage.” The answer was that in the Hay-Pauncefote Treaty we had pledged there should be no discrimination. President Wilson urged that our word was plighted and, therefore, there could be no de- bate as to our keeping faith. ‘“‘We consented to the treaty,”’ he said. “Its language we accepted, if we did not originate it; and we are too big, too powerful, too self- respecting a nation to interpret with a too strained orREDEEMING THE PLEDGES 197 refined reading the words of our own promises just be- cause we have power enough to give us leave to read them as we please. The large thing to do is the only thing we can afford to do—a voluntary with- drawal from a position everywhere questioned and misunderstood.” The repeal carried in the House by a vote of 247 to 162, and in the Senate by a vote of 50 to 35. From the day of his inauguration President Wilson regarded himself as industrial as well as political leader of the nation. If there were threatening clouds he did not wait for the storm to break. He moved to avert disturbance to business and the distress from unemploy- ment. The severest challenge to this wise leadership came in August, 1916, in the midst of his campaign for re-election, when a clash between railroad brotherhoods and the roads over hours and wages became acute. He was counselled that the poker was hot at both ends and that he should let the railroad companies and their employees “fight it out.” No timid course or shifting of responsibility appealed to him. Four hundred thou- sand trainmen had demanded an eight-hour day with no reduction in the pay they were receiving for the ten-hour day. Conferences with the railroad managers and employees failed to result in an agreement. In a refer- endum, 90 per cent of the trainmen voted to strike. The United States Board of Mediation and Counsel failed in efforts to avert the strike. President Wilson called a conference of the disputants at the White House on August 13. He proposed as a basis of settlement: That the eight-hour day be conceded, that the overtime demand of the trainmen and certain demands of the railroads be postponed awaiting inquiry, and that in the ee se eS on naa iota ee pos a ee = SES Se ees PATIL BELTED LRP nee oN Oe ee ee peste Sista a on ee Seige tie Sarto s ea at Rane Pe Det EN eee as wwe eit Tree A ne Pee OE aL oe eee ae me ed 5 al aa ST ca ngsaeic oven Spe eater TCA emr ath eo D Sena coeNr = cee 7 ral ‘ Rnerer ene eee PTS ne hae oe me Ne ee SES LN a oma oe OY WO nt TY en PE RTE SE aL RS OL CC SOC ee ray en ee ere a es UK +a Pa Ca Say 198 WOODROW WILSON meantime Congress authorize him to appoint a commis- sion to observe and report on the results. The trainmen accepted this proposition, but it was rejected by the railroad managers. President Wilson then called the railroad presidents to Washington. They declined to adopt his suggestion and made counter- proposals. In the meantime the labor leaders, distrusting any other remedy, issued a strike order to take effect September 4. The President requested the withdrawal of the order, but was informed that the committee of brotherhood chairmen, which had already dispersed, was the only body empowered to withdraw it. After several conferences with Jeaders in Congress—always ‘‘common counsel”’ in big matters—President Wilson recommended immediate legislative action. He suggested the legal recognition of the eight-hour day, the creation of a commission to study the effects of the change and related legislation. But as the immediate task was to avert the strike, Mr. Adamson, of Georgia, chairman of the House Interstate Commerce Committee, brought in a bill covering only the two points mentioned and provid- ing for the wage to remain in effect until thirty days after the report of the commission of inquiry. While there was sharp criticism of Wilson’s course, the legislation he approved passed the House September 1 by a vote of 239 to 56, showing that most of the members of both parties approved the necessity and wisdom of prompt and effective action. Such Old Guard leaders in the House as ex-Speaker Cannon gave it their support, though Leader Mann opposed it. By the time it had reached the Senate the Republican leaders thought they saw in it a winning campaign issue. Of the Republican Senators only La Follette voted for it. The Republi-REDEEMING THE PLEDGES 199 can campaign speakers denounced it in the closing days of the campaign and most Democrats defended it, but not all. There was no unanimity. The country as a whole believed that Wilson had found a way to prevent the prostration of business. They were more influenced by desire for industrial peace than by any hostility to the method employed. What effect did it have on the election? Wilson lost all the big industrial states where it was predicted his action would aid him, but the labor vote in the West undoubtedly swelled his majority in the states that determined the result. He permitted no political considerations, however, to affect his action. Preparedness legislation before this country entered the war received its stimulus from President Wilson. Writing from Cornish in the summer of 1915, he requested the Secretaries of War and Navy to give study to the methods to strengthen both branches of the service, and have a program ready for his consideration so it could be presented to the coming session of Congress. When Congress assembled in December of the year, he gave chief place in his message to urging the passage of the measures to put the Army and Navy in shape for national defense. In his tour of the West, in the early part of 1916, he declared “The United States should have the most adequate Navy in the world,” and the meas- ures adopted by Congress, if they had been carried out, would today give this country primacy in capital ships. Like insistence upon proper coast defense and increase of the army had brought increased appropriations. “‘Crime is personal.”’ That sentence challenged attention more than a decade ago. Woodrow Wilson, college president, was speaking about the wrongs of combinations in restraint ~ Sees FNS, z8 Se ee! TT nce mal aytt- ee Be ee nner eta tee RRS Rete ee CS alo Cot Cee ee Sei bs Lal 5 re rc atl See Te a a a ea I = sc ea oD ee PEPE EEE STE OS ear e ap pe msi over ier aeash esata ol deals aed ip hevtara Sapper eDidee oa hoheoe eoaNN ia ecm ne ee Gee SCE Tae iota = mS SS EL re Sel CSE LS OSES Soe pepe S see a Chas PR amare Sea 200 WOODROW WILSON of trade. There had been suits or prosecutions brought against corporations charged with violating the anti- trust laws. He was the first man in America to fix atten- tion to the fact that you can never reach the root of the disease until the guilty man, not the corporation, is brought to account. He made it clear that the crime complained of must have been committed by some man. ““Get the man,” was the substance of his speech, for he went on to say the laws will be violated as long as the individual can hide behind the corporation. When he came to the Presidency, he felt the need of additional legislation to prevent restraint of trade. He secured the co-operation of Congress in the enactment of the Clayton anti-trust law. For the first time there was secured the legal recognition of the fact that “labor” is not a commodity. It would convey a wrong impression to let it be in- ferred that Mr. Wilson would stand for any injustice to business because it was big. On the contrary, he believed all protection should be thrown around large independent enterprises. ‘It isa mistake,” he once said, “to suppose the great captains of industry are engrossed in a vulgar pursuit of wealth.” He said: “These men are not fasci- nated by the glitter of gold. The appetite for power has not got hold of them. They are in line with the exercise of their faculties upon a great scale. They are organiz- ing and overseeing a great part of the life of the world.” He would end all monopoly based upon privilege. Among the outstanding achievements of his first term, in addition to tariff and currency reform, was legislation for the construction of the Alaskan railroad, authorized by act of Congress, March 12, 1914, which was the initial great step taken to make possible theREDEEMING THE PLEDGES 201 development of that Territory since its purchase by Andrew Johnson, and the Merchant Marine act which passed May 20, 1916. The Alaskan railroad measure had support from all parties, but the attempt to give the United States a place in the ocean-carrying commerce, after fifty years of stagnation, was fought at every step by the almost solid Republican vote in Congress. Aided by a handful of Democrats, by a filibuster they postponed the passage many months. That delay in construction of ships proved most injurious when the first and insistent demand was for ships. Because this country had few ships, the owners charged “‘all the traffic would bear” and three hundred million dollars represented the annual ocean freight bill paid to the foreign owners of ships by American commerce. If there had been no filibuster, the United States would have found itself better equipped with ships when war came. In addition to this wise foresight, Wilson secured provision for greater safety of life at sea by an international conference; the Seamen’s Act, designed to end high sea slavery; the Ship Registry Act; and the war risk insurance for merchant ships. As a result, in 1916, for the first time in history, the United States became the foremost ship-building country in the world. All this in pursuance to Wilson’s declara- tion after he had secured tariff and currency reform: “We can develop no true or effective American policy without ships of our own—not ships of war, but ships of peace, carrying goods and carrying much more; creating friend- ships and rendering indispensable services to all interests on this side of the water. They must move constantly back and forth between the Americas.” He had declared when he was a candidate for the Presidency in 1912: meagan woe e et enh en oe ROARS TT al ea RT STEER Fe een TE et tetera! eee ES OI Ser Peer RET E i a : is i 4 0 fl is aSands a esac orem Spat tec ata tee ate rl tear ean Gali meee tnee Conoco SE Bete beta carer etna hong pec oma ae with ana lipin ca 7 Te meas = noe Or any aon ni TTC Prt as : {eae sores ae Soe eth ea aN nar nr Be PTS ul CLD a an naan eat ans as aN Hd iy 14 Ny Chay Cy . 202 WOODROW WILSON ““Without a great merchant marine we cannot take our rightful place in the commerce of the world. Our industries have expanded to such a point that they will burst their jackets, if they cannot find a free outlet to the markets of the world; and they cannot find such an outlet unless they be given ships of their own to carry their goods—ships that will go the routes they want them to go—and prefer the interests of America in their sailing orders and their equipment. Our domestic markets no longer suffice. Weneed foreign markets. That is another force that is going to break the tariff down. The tariff was once a bulwark; nowitisadam. For trade is recip- rocal; we cannot sell unless we also buy.” To these outstanding measures of progress must be added the legislation for the improvement and extension and protection of agriculture, the safety of railway em- ployees, the anti-injunction measure, creating the Federal Trade Commission and Tariff Commission, the ratifica- tion of the amendment to elect Senators by the people, the act that began the great program of building hard surface roads on a large scale, and other progressive measures to promote the welfare and prosperity of the people. This unprecedented success in reform measures in so brief a period implied hearty co-operation and team- work by the executive and the legislators. The legislation necessary for the carrying on of the war, the mobilization of resources, the conservation of food and the regulation of the price of essential products, the taking over and operation of the railroads because private operation had broken down, the large powers of the Overman act, the creation and administration of agencies for all needed purposes—all these reveal the grasp and wisdom of the man at the helm.REDEEMING THE PLEDGES 203 The record of victories in Congress is unparalleled. Every measure which President Wilson urged upon the legislative branch was enacted into law until he was stricken on his Western trip in September, 1919. The White House was the centre of initiative and leadership. Mr. Wilson had cordial relations with Congress. He sought and secured co-operation by the only methods he knew of conducting public business—direction, frank- ness and persuasion. If members of his own party were not disposed to carry out pledges, he was not averse to persuasion. But he respected the rights and power of Congress as he was tenacious of the rights of the executive. If he had marked success in his recom- mendations to Congress, it was because what he urged appealed to their judgment and because he consulted freely with chairmen of all committees dealing with legislation he favored. Every promise kept. Seer ree oe eens Ite eo eee eae ean LE i . Sh hi Be ‘ ut i uh + t : i i F i & q i i a : Gar i. ra pai ot Se eee ae Ca en ern Co ge eee aa Ta Gr a aa iI LS nee eC ST Se ae PT Oe a eee SS er ed ee oe i 4 i ra a) see ee t j ° Cuaprer XIX PATRONAGE AND MERIT SYSTEM BEGAN BY DECLINING TO SEE ANY APPLICANT FOR OFFICE —ALWAYS ASKED: “IS HE THE BEST MAN FOR THE PLACE? ’—FIRM IN SUPPORT OF CIVIL SERVICE REFORM —WOULD HAVE NO COALITION CABINET—CALLED PROMINENT REPUBLICANS TO IMPORTANT SERVICE “Tf our predecessors have played politics with the diplomatic service, is that any reason why we should do likewise 2” —WILSON N March 5, the day after his inauguration, with many “deserving Democrats” in Washington wishing to see the new President and present their claims for appointment to office, Mr. Wilson almost took away their breath by this statement: The President regrets that he is obliged to announce that he deems it his duty to decline to see applicants for office in person, except when he himself invites the interview. It is his purpose and desire to devote his attention very earnestly and very constantly to the business of the Government and the large questions of policy affecting the whole nation, and he knows from his experience as Governor of New Jersey—where it fell to him to make innumer- able appointments—that the greater part both of his time and of his energy will be spent in personal Interviews with candidates unless he sets an in- variable rule in the matter. It is his intention to deal with appointments through the heads of the several executive departments. (204)PATRONAGE AND MERIT 205 To that policy Wilson adhered throughout his two terms. Patronage did not interest him. He needed his time for policies. He trusted the members of his Cabinet to make appointments and recommendations. The course he had pursued in the selection of his Cabinet indicated his policy of selecting officials of the United States Government. Perhaps for the first time in the history of the country the Cabinet contained no member from New England, an omission which later cost Mr. Wilson support he might otherwise have received. The great pivotal Middle West was not represented. He paid no heed to the criticism that “the South was over- favored,” made by those fond of seeing sectionalism where none exists. McReynolds, Burleson, Daniels and Houston were from the South. McAdoo was born in Georgia, but had long lived in New York. President Wilson was little influenced by place of residence. He would have named all his Cabinet from one state if he had found what he regarded as the fittest and most suit- able men in one commonwealth. He had no bias in favor of or against any man because of race, place of residence or creed. ‘‘There is neither Jew nor Catholic in the cabinet,” was a criticism. He had wished to invite Brandeis, a Jew, but yielded his wishes to Massa- chusetts opposition. Later he made him Supreme Court Justice, and named such Jews as Baruch, Morgenthau and Elkus to high position. As Private Secretary he chose Joseph Tumulty; Frederic C. Penfield, Ambassador to Austria-Hungary; John Burke, Treasurer of the United States, and assigned hundreds of other Catholics to places of trust. But he never named any one for office, or refrained from naming any one, because he was or was not Protestant, Jew, Catholic, native or foreign- Sa ERS ESSE ae eaten ee boas ES Be tr iain ai lal wnt ain Satin SP ee ea a Sn na A reat eters ee rae = Eee mn wen eee rece po na is ane a = IPO IIE ee eae Se Ss ose aan a see, 4 aig lata SO pci TTI Tele cokes a a ree ae— ~ : sieeamsneiciae ; — - A — Se a a nO = LE ER ALDOR DOR RT CO SS Ce hea i a He ay 206 WOODROW WILSON born. He was wholly free from race or religious prej- udice. He held that the right to the freedom he claimed for himself must be enjoyed equally by every other American, and that it was impaired if any were either denied or given preference because of their convictions. It did not matter to him where a man lived or what was his religion. The question he made paramount was: “Is he the best man for the place?” It was upon that principle that he acted. President Wilson’s mistakes in appointments to office—and he was not free from them—were mainly due to his absorption in “‘the large questions of policy.”” He had no interest in finding “places” for men desirous of public service. In most cases, except as to Ambassadors, Judges, and like positions, he left the selection of ap- pointees to the head of each department. But he was quick to make an exception if there seemed a principle involved. He removed all diplomatic officials, except Ambassadors and Ministers, from appointment other- wise than by certification through the Civil Service Com- mission. Even as to those, distinguished service led to preferment. He stood firmly for promotion on merit. When he came to the Presidency most places in the diplomatic service were filled by Republicans appointed by previous administrations upon recommendations by Congressmen or politicians. Urged to make enough changes to give Democrats equal representation, he declined: “If our predecessors have played politics with the diplomatic service, is that any reason why we should do likewise? Moreover, unless somebody ends making such service a matter of party reward how will the merit system ever be secured?” This was not popular with many men “on the Hill,” who had constituents theyPATRONAGE AND MERIT 207 wished to see appointed, particularly in the early days of his administration. He believed in the long run that his policy would demonstrate its wisdom. He was not even deterred from it when Ambassadors reported that some of the under officials in the embassies were disloyal and were fond of criticizing Wilson’s policies. It is to their discredit that men he retained in positions of trust, particularly abroad, abused his confidence, and were dis- loyal to the policy of their country. The most signal proof Wilson gave of his devotion to the merit system and the exclusion of political con- sideration in making appointments was with reference to naming postmasters. Postmasters had almost always been appointed, since Jackson’s day, on the principle “to the victors belong the spoils.” There had been, of course, many exceptions and in parts of the country Roosevelt had put into effect the civil service method in selecting postmasters in small places. Wilson introduced the plan of selecting all by civil service examinations. The practice in 1913 was for the Civil Service Commission to send the three highest names to the Postmaster General, who would confer often with the Democratic Congressman for that district and usually recommend for appointment the one the Congressman favored. That method required the appointee to pass an approved examination, but still left the selection to political considerations. Mr. Wilson sent consternation into the ranks of those who believed political service should have controlling weight in naming postmasters when he directed the Postmaster General to send to him the name only of the applicant who had passed the bestexamination. “But,”said Congressmen, © this will in many cases give Republicans postmasterships under a Democratic administration.” Wilson’s reply was that 14 eae ne ee nr er eT re ~ Ee eer ato Eee , Me NT oe Te a fe OS a a ee a 7 eras ILN RI PPI ET, IE ER ti peas ey — ee eee ee pare ee ne oe ny wee es cet ane ra >In cr > > O STM RE PLE I TOTES ESTES SCE Ree es mearnsii pale BEE re el ELST SSS ys ome Peres eae ras ad RASRIAR RS SIR RES i a af Lay 208 WOODROW WILSON if the Republican applicant showed most proficiency the merit system required that he be given the appointment. President Wilson stood like a stone wall against the attempt to force a Coalition Cabinet when war came. This was not because he was unwilling to call Republicans to places of trust. It was because he was convinced that unity in the inner council was as essential as unity on the field. He resented the spirit in Washington behind the Coalition advocacy, as expressed by Senator New, appointed Postmaster General by President Harding after his defeat for re-election to the Senate. “This is the war of no political party. This is the country’s war, ’’said New, ‘and we charge and deplore that the party in power is guilty of practicing petty partisan politics.” The selec- tion of Republicans to high station disproved New’s calumny. Pershing was given supreme command. If he had any politics, it was believed Republican, but consid- erations of that kind had no weight with Wilson in his vigorous prosecution of the war. Among the many (Democratic leaders thought too many) Republicans in high place were Herbert Hoover, Charles Schwab, Charles B. Warren, Harry A. Garfield, Frank A. Vanderlip, Bene- dict Crowell, E. R. Stettinius, Julius Rosenwald, Howard E. Coffin, Edward A. Deeds, to mention only a few of many. In the diplomatic service like recognition was given, and at the Peace Conference on the various 1m- portant boards many Republicans were chosen. Grover Cleveland won fame by the utterance “public office is a public trust.” Woodrow Wilson practiced that doctrine and ele- vated the merit system to a place higher than it had been given by any of his predecessors. Fitness the test.CHAPTER XX WILSON AS A POLITICAL LEADER MOST SUCCESSFUL POLITICIAN OF GENERATION—RE- GARDED HIMSELF AS THE CHOSEN LEADER OF THE PARTY—JACKSON DAY SPEECH—APPEAL FOR DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS—HAD NO MACHINE AND USED NO PATRONAGE—HUMOR IN SPEECHES “‘My ambition is to add something to the statesmanship of the country, if that something be only thought and not the old achievement of which I used to dream when I hoped that I might enter practical politics.” —W1LsON ss OODROW WILSON is the most successful politician of his generation,” was the dictum of a trained journalist of Washington who had known all the political leaders from the seventies. If this journalist is correct, to what is to be attributed his success in politics? He never attended a party convention, and never served on a political committee. His part began and ended with what the average voter would call “high-brow” discussion of government as a science, exposure of governmental errors, fight on un- worthy political machines, and life-long zeal for better- ing government processes and administration. These are not usually the steps that lead to undisputed leader- ship of a great political party, the governorship and the Presidency, and a career of triumphs which terminated only when he was stricken with illness. What is the explanation? It was not due to the creation of a machine, to the activity of political friends, to wide acquaintance, to having anything to give in (209) eae SE SERRE FP ae ee teense Stee se SE a a aons ~= Se ooo CO a ee) SaBREY a ea SS ET SSIES TIT a gle anemery fie ee are Bn te tne ea Tn Fa ET aE OS a RR a yriareen Twa heparan et Rae ee a a ne RC MND MCSA Sp Dad NRE Lat LD pe ae. RU ae i ea tt iF J 210 WOODROW WILSON the way of patronage. Even when Governor and President, he would not employ patronage to advance measures he had deeply at heart. During his campaign for Governor of New Jersey, a brilliant succession of victories on the platform, Judge Hudspeth said to him: “Dr. Wilson, you need not be surprised that some time during your trip about the state, some exuberant voter will slap you on the back and say, “Come, Woody, old man, let’s have a drink.’ ” He laughed heartily. ‘“‘The intimate introduction is all right, but I could draw the line on liquoring up,” Wilson said. “You know, I have the reputation of mak- ing or having few intimate friends. I suppose it is because of the atmosphere I have passed the greater part of my life in. It is unfortunate for a man to have such a reputation, particularly in politics.”” Hudspeth subsequently said: “That was not true, so far as there was an implication that he held himself aloof from his fellow-man or was unapproachable. He loved companionship and eagerly coveted the friendship of men whom he admired and had confidence in.” The advertisement of a whiskey, ‘‘Wilson—That’s All’, in days before prohibition sent it into what Mr. Cleveland called “innocuous desuetude,” was greatly overworked by presiding officers when Wilson was a candidate for Governor of New Jersey. It became a habit, with a wink and a shrug of the shoulder, for the introducer to say, waving toward the nominee, ‘‘ Wilson —That’s All.’ On the eve of the election Mr. Wilson was scheduled to address a meeting in Hudson County. The chairman was a German-American citizen. As he walked through the wings to the stage with the President he said to him:WILSON AS A POLITICAL LEADER 211 “You know, Mr. Veelson, that vee never say any- thing in Hudson County now but ‘Veelson, that’s all.’ ” “My!” answered Mr. Wilson, “that has a dissi- pated sound.” “Only a person who was actually but a little lower than the angels,” said a bystander, “could reply so composedly after hearing that ancient wheeze so often.” In an address in Washington, upon the unveiling of the equestrian statue of Phil Sheridan, of New Jersey, Wilson said: ‘His soldiers always showed fondness by referring to him as ‘Phil.’ I have always wished I had a name people might shorten without making me ‘wood.’ ” On one occasion, claiming great things for the Democratic party, Mr. Wilson told a story showing his sense of humor. It was of the condition of a negro who fell sound asleep on a train, his head back, his tongue out. A man near by shook some powdered quinine on his tongue. The negro presently closed his mouth, woke up with a start and called to the con- ductor in great excitement: ‘“‘Is dere a doctor on dis train, boss? I done busted my.gall.” ‘“‘T haven’t quite busted my gall,” remarked Mr. Wilson, “but I haven’t the audacity to go too far in claiming any particular virtue for any party.” Upon becoming Governor of New Jersey, Mr. Wilson stated he had been chosen “the leader of the Democratic party in this State.” When he became President he made the same statement as to the leadership of the national party. He assumed that leadership as Gover- nor, but found it was questioned seriously when he got to Washington. This was no assertion of personal desire to lead. It was born of a conviction that a party must eee ee Ee wasnt eM eee ene SP Sa NN arsenal aisle meats ae oS EE tea: eS i a aes RS eye, Fee Seknao rade ts —_ Be, eT ae erasSST SRaEE SSIES seen Ese neice casero ieee se eae SES SOT a mm a= 5ST i itll lin aceon Se 7 YS LSC me, hee EES ESS a Se Bens bear .~Ee on Pe as am SEPT LIRA ER SII i A AG 3h at a6 die 212 WOODROW WILSON have a leader. If not the man who is chosen executive, where would he be found? That principle he had expounded long years before the politicians had even heard of the schoolmaster. ‘“‘The President,” he had said, ““may be both the leader of his party and the leader of the nation, or he may be one or the other. If he lead the nation, his party can hardly resist him.” That was the opinion of Wilson, the student of govern- ment. What of it when he became President? In his message to Congress, June 23, 1913, shortly after his inauguration, he asserted for himself what he had long before declared was the function of a President in a government by parties. “I come to you,” he said, “as the head of the Government and the responsible head of the party in power.” Many who approved of his exercise of power as national leader in upholding principles, balked when he went so far as to call upon the people of States to defeat Senators who had not supported the policies he had championed. There was resentment in many quarters, when he told the people of Mississippi, for example, as a conspicuous instance, that if they re-elected Senator Vardaman, “I should be obliged to accept their action as a condemnation of my administration.” ‘The mass of the people of all parties, seeing that Vardaman had opposed the war and been antagonistic to Wilson’s plans, were glad to see the President throw his mighty influence in the scale and retire the Mississippian, even if the exercise of that power in ordinary cases would have been criticized. In the late spring of 1911, Governor Wilson’s friends persuaded him that he ought to accept the many invi- tations to speak in the West and to make “a swingWILSON AS A POLITICAL LEADER 213 around the circle” preliminary to his candidacy for the Presidency. He was not pleased with the suggestion. He did not like the idea of being a candidate. He would not solicit support for the great office. Wisconsin Progressives and Texas Democrats and Oregon Forward- Looking men deluged him with invitations. Princeton alumni all over the country added pressure. He accepted an invitation to speak in Pennsylvania, then to Wis- consin and could not resist the appeals to the Pacific slope, traveling 8,000 miles before he got back to New Jersey. The welcome was cheering. The people wanted to hear what “the scholar in politics” would say. They had followed his course in New Jersey and it gave them hope that like reforms and revolutions might be wrought elsewhere. Neither on that trip nor ever after did he “speak down” to the people. He believed too much in them to patronize them and would have lost his respect for himself if he had failed to give the best that was in him to any audience. The high plane upon which he had pitched his campaign for Governor of New Jersey was not changed. His natural fund of humor and his candor and plainness of speech attracted. Moreover, he had the refreshing quality of willingness to admit that he could learn. When he reached Oregon, he was frankly interested in the system of initiative and referendum and recall in operation in that commonwealth. He said afterwards that his visit to Oregon had been a liberal education to him. “For fifteen years I taught that the initiative and referendum would not work. But they do work,”’ he said. In New Jersey he had often said: “Back of all reform lies the means of getting it.” He was willing to try new ways, all the more ready because in the nolemece Sere ee ————— ey See So re NN NS ENED BET a Se ET EE nian =: — RE SI Ae 5 ~ 9 my 6 Ps ire Se ARS bale Ne te — ee eee Tas ae 2; - STE en cetee ET | oes eee ere a nc na re ie a a aR EERE RCD SEO I we nn oth SC eX SO Hane me Sen re ee omy i ie ta ait hat er a ae 214 WOODROW WILSON Eastern states, as he had put it, ““we have been living under the delusion that it is a representative govern- ment. That is the theory. But the fact is that we are not living under a representative government; we are living under a government of party bosses who in secret conferences and for their private ends determine what we shall and shall not have. ‘The first immediate thing that we have got to do is to restore representative govern- ment.” He declared that the people are waiting “‘to have their politics utterly simplified. They are realizing that our politics are full of secret conferences, that there are private arrangements, and they do not understand it.” Then he asked: ‘“‘Who are the captains? Where are the orders?” Wilson was a stout partisan when the battle-lines were drawn. Until the issue was made up and the eall to battle sounded, there was nothing in him of the hard-and-fast partisan for a cause. He kept his mind “in debate”? and was singularly open to reason from any source. Tolerant of difference of opinion, he accorded to men of opposite faith the same sincerity he claimed for himself. He believed men of all parties were equally patriotic and honorable. Mr. Wilson, after his New Jersey campaign, was recognized as an effective political speaker. The two occasions when he revealed himself the party leader most tellingly and in a way to “draw blood,” so to speak, were his Jackson Day speech at Indianapolis, January 8, 1915, and his appeal to the voters on October 24, 1918, for a Democratic Congress. In the first he was in his happiest mood. Like a boy let loose from school, he was speaking in the spirit of the day to members of his own party in a state whereSoaig oy} apiseq qyuept “UO}SUIYSBM A[JAOYS ‘UOSTIAA ‘SIT PUB JUEPISA LOGILNVY NY juapIsolg OL, > BUISSO} ST i= = og Bue So. 5 bs Dy cH Hy Tp 299 =O 5° as 5 =—5 S08 — So mer 53 nM oO po 1 Sn -_ Lv = & nN IO 35 n ° 5 © yiBq onBveyT UBolUry el} 48 1294S N [DUoyDdUsa}UT *O}0Ud aimyord oy} JO 39] 94} 4 ul SaIuuOM OILVINOTdId WHOA a Sa I ONS TTT am, lege av samen 0" ot Tae fi | 3 id a ie wer©U. & U. Chairman Shipping Board Sitting on second row, left to PRESIDENT WILSON AND HIS WAR ADVISERS > Herbert Hoover, Food Commissioner; Edward N. Hurley, Standing, from left to right: , , ary of the Navy; é bsence at the war front is a uker in h Josephus Daniels, Secret ecretary B Bernard M. Baruch, Chairman of the War Tadustnes Board. arfield, Fuel Commissioner. vA G Harr Benedict Crowell, Assistant Secretary of War, representing $ > usury; President Woodrow Wilson g c ov _ 3S o a — © o oO _ 3 oe a © < fH _ 8 tm eae re qj ~ 323 ~ _ Sao bh 6) Ba Oo ts N Oo a ° * oO a — ee = < | oO i — ° er S scm o Go qq S © .. @ === BONS PaneWILSON AS A POLITICAL LEADER 215 politics is a 365-days-a-year profession. He had gone there to cheer the faithful. He spoke without notes and with the utmost freedom, often in a light vein. In a sense it is the best disclosure made of himself as a party leader and speaker, and of his readiness to “poke fun” at the opposition party. He had on his fighting clothes. He began by speaking of the “compelling influences”’ of Jackson Day. Jackson was a “forthright man,” who believed in “fighting in earnest,” and he said, “that is the only sort of man worth thinking about.” Then he declared: ‘You will notice that whenever the United States forgets its ardor for mankind, it is necessary that a Democrat be elected President.” “The trouble with the Republican party is that it has not had a new idea for thirty years,” he asserted. Then he paused while the Jacksonians applauded, and commented: “I am not speaking as a politician; I am speaking as an historian. I have looked for new ideas in the records and I have not found any proceeding from Republican ranks.” That declaration raised a contro- versy which lasted a year. The Republican speakers and editors disputed the statement. The Democrats replied with a challenge to name the “new ideas.” But Wilson did not stop there in his indictment. “The Republican party,’’ he went on, “is still a covert and refuge for those who are afraid, for those who want to consult their grandfathers about everything. They will not trust the youngsters. They are afraid the youngsters mav have something up their sleeves.” " He told his hearers “the country is guided and its policy is determined by the independent voter.” As to his own position he said: “I am not an independent voter, but I am an independent person. I want to say a ee es aE a Se oa, =o s se ss et a oc SLEPT ETE EEE ae ae See ee TE AES ESSE IOI NT € ie ct OST OC IE ant ne ee a ee ne Rene eee —— == SOs rs eee - os a a eresx en = a ee — = es 2 ree ee ee Rw ib =~ Or aed — SPSS I I aR NERD PTE EEE ER a NRE NEARER Soh teen BS SIR ETP rims At) RI Pa Oe Nath > A NTs ITS a ae an! nay oe oe exces fat errs TE ae <= rd Hn SI tay 216 WOODROW WILSON this distinctly: I do not love any party longer than it continues to serve the immediate and pressing needs of America. I have been bred in the Democratic party; I love the Democratic party; but I love America a great deal more than J love the Democratic party, and when the Democratic party thinks that it is an end in itself, then I rise up and dissent.’’ Which party should the independent voter use? He said only one-third of the Republican party is progressive and two-thirds of the Democratic party is progressive. “Therefore the inde- pendent voter finds a great deal more company in the Democratic party than in the Republican ranks.” He suggested that he would like to see every independent voter become a Democrat. “It is a little cold and lonely out where he is. . . . I want him to come in where it is warm.” He called attention to the fact that it had been reported that Republican senators “mean to talk enough” to prevent the passage of the shipping bill. He challenged their right to “stand in the way of the release of American products to the rest of the world!” And he declared with vigor: “The reason I say the Re- publicans have not had a new idea in thirty years is that they have not known how to do anything except sit on the lid.” Thereafter he entered upon a serious and illuminating discussion of the situation of the Mexican problem and other lesser issues, with a strong plea to help Mexico and not covet her resources. The other significant utterance in a political cam- paign was Wilson’s appeal to the country in 1918 to elect a Democratic Congress. It was nothing exceptional for Presidents to appeal for support for the party in power in the crucial days of war. Lincoln had urged¢ the people in 1864 not to “swap horses in midstream.” Lincoln wrote to General Sherman asking him to arrange for the soldiers in Indiana to vote. In 1898 McKinley pleaded for victory for an administration in “critical times.” Roosevelt said, “‘A refusal to sustain the President this year, will in their eyes (Europeans) be read as a refusal to sustain the efforts of the peace com- mission.” Benjamin Harrison to the same effect had made a like plea, saying, “If the Democrats score a telling victory, Spain will see in it a gleam of hope.” The same reasoning, if sound, called for the election of a Democratic Congress in November, 1918. Mr. Wilson, therefore, in that spirit made an appeal to the voters “in the most critical period our country has ever faced or is likely to face in our time,”’ to elect “‘a Demo- cratic majority in the United States Senate and House.” He prefaced this by saying, “If you have offered me your leadership and wish me to continue to be your unem- barrassed spokesman in affairs at home or abroad.” He said he had no thought of “suggesting that any party is paramount in matters of patriotism,” and he “felt too keenly the sacrifices which have been made in this war by all our citizens, irrespective of party affiliations,” to “harbor such an idea.” The “difficulties and deli- cacies of our present task” called for “undivided sup- port under a unified leadership.” He went on to say that the Republicans in Congress had “unquestionably been pro-war, but they have been anti-Administration. ” He added, ‘‘Unity of command is as necessary now in civil action as it is upon the field of battle.” The publication of that letter was the signal for the pouring out of the vials of wrath upon the head of Mr. Wilson. Many were made to believe he had reflected WILSON AS A POLITICAL LEADER 217 ROS Re phn SEE Nae CR Rp: ene ee eee apni Eee mm nen THe —————— eee NO Sn nS SEE SSE Paiaraionfion sais Cae eee f a ES ettera — = I TET ROE eT Te ax JERE ——— — ——— eS AEN eS an LASSI, RR a ena Se aC Sar et er rapt reas ro oe Coen it OE = or San Re eam nano a tanneries cl EET CIS ty ep ew Pe ae AN Ta oe Re rong Regn ea ORO REY yan hg wae pate aat hare be Trt EL) St ovement 7 a ~ oar Se fe Ht Hi ha Lid Gi 224 WOODROW WILSON ago, a lady of fifty took a seat while waiting for her husband at the close of a brilliant reception. A White House visitor reminded her of the rule and told her it was regarded as lese majeste. President Wilson upon all formal occasions made no change in rules. One evening when the receiving party were gathered in the library upstairs awaiting the signal to descend the stairs in the “grand march” as it is called, a member of the Cabinet and a lady house guest drew up their chairs by the fireplace for a cozy chat, all unmindful that the President was standing. The wife of the Cabinet officer, who was standing and engaged in conversation with the President, gave the wifely command by her eyes to her husband. He obeyed it and came to his feet immediately. Seeing this pantomime, the President walked over to the Cabinet member, placed a hand on each shoulder, pressed him back into the chair, saying with a smile, “Sit down and behave yourself,’ and, turning to the wife, added that no matter what the policy at formal occasions, no office could make him forget his right to be a gentleman at his own fireside. “Mr. Bryan was saying to me,” said President Wilson at an early meeting of the Cabinet—he repeated the remark that the Secretary of State had made, in a low tone of voice, before the Cabinet session had actually begun. Other members were talking and Mr. Bryan had chosen the moment when the others were so engaged to speak of a state department matter which was not important enough for discussion. “I am _ repeating this whispered message,”’ President Wilson went on to say, “solely because when I read the ‘Diary of Gideon Welles’ I was impressed by the resentment felt by the other members of the Cabinet when Seward would takeA BREAKER OF PRECEDENTS 225 the President aside and talk with him alone, while the other members sat by wondering why they could not be let in on the conversation between the President and the Secretary of State.” That precedent of private conferences obtaining in Lincoln days was not followed. One precedent which had been established from the beginning was that the President of the United States should not go beyond the borders of his country. Some indeed had an idea that it was prohibited by the Consti- tution or the laws. Therefore, when Wilson decided to go himself to Paris to take part in framing the peace treaty, there was a great outcry that he was not only smashing tradition and breaking precedent, but he was also violating the proprieties. So fierce was the criticism that an outsider would have supposed that Wilson was breaking all the Ten Commandments at once. Mr. Lansing, Secretary of State, whose mind was not open to departures from custom, says in his book, ‘‘I felt it to be my duty, as his official adviser in foreign affairs, and as one desirous to have him adopt a wise course, to tell him frankly that I thought the plan for him to attend was unwise and would be a mis- take.’ The assumption that it was Lansing’s duty “os official adviser in foreign affairs” to protest against Wilson’s going received no rebuke from the President, showing he was often a patient and long-suffering man. “The President, listened to my remarks without com- ment and turned the conversation into other channels” was the entry Lansing made in his diary after the inter- view, and again in his diary Lansing says he wrote at the time: “I prophesy trouble in Paris and worse than trouble here.” On the other hand, the New York Tvmes succinctly Seana a = ee Sen An AT ESTILO en ee SS ee a nn note Ct a ee Sse ee os oS = 7 PITS aT aa aesreo | a Sat aie ra Fotos e< seeesaeneetoneht aeatiean one denetaaarinbeceetaataeremmean atin sniatenh teins gn iene eienmine canieianirae re LAE SRA re ee eee eG Eee oe lis I ALN RE SSS ae ene Set a rt tal lala phone ze an ae 14 3 ne he ay , id 226 WOODROW WILSON said Wilson’s going to Paris was “one of four times when Wilson fell up stairs.” At the Conference of Governors held in Annapolis, December 18, 1918, Secretary Lane gave this effective answer to the criticisms of Wilson’s going to Paris: “Tt have seen criticisms of the President and so have you for going across the water at this time. The spirit which animates him in going is the spirit of the new day. It is the spirit of giving your hand to your neigh- bor. It is the spirit that would make this war the end of wars. “The man who stands as the representative of the foremost democracy of the world goes to Europe, not that he may march down the Champs Elysees, not that he may receive the plaudits of the French multitudes. But he goes to Europe as the champion of American ideals because he wants to see that out of the war comes something worth while. He would have been derelict, he would have been negligent, he would have been false to our ideas of him, if he had not stood in Paris in person as the champion of that principle which we love and those institutions which we hope to see spread around the world. “To me, Woodrow Wilson in Paris represents not the ambitions of Napoleon, striving to master the world by force, but of the greater Pasteur, the healer of the nation who comes to bring peace, happiness, and to secure gratitude from those whose lives and homes he makes secure.” Every reader of Wilson’s ‘“‘Congressional Govern- ment” should have known he would go to Paris to the Peace Conference. “When foreign affairs play a prom- inent part in the politics and policies of a nation, itsA BREAKER OF PRECEDENTS 927 executive must of necessity be its guide; must utter every initial judgment, take every first step of action, supply the information upon which it is to act, suggest and, in a large measure, control its conduct,” and he added: “He must always stand at the front of our affairs, and the office will be as big and as influential as the man who occupies it.” * After all,” he said to the Englishmen in the Man- sion House at London, when he visited there in De- cember, 1918—‘‘after all, the breaking of precedents, though this may sound strange doctrine in England, is the most sensible thing to do. The harness of precedent is sometimes a very sad and harassing trammel. In this case the breaking of precedent is sensible for a reason that is very prettily illustrated in a remark attributed to Charles Lamb. ‘One evening, in a company of his friends, they were discussing a person who was not present and Lamb said, in his hesitating manner, “* *T h-hate that fellow.’ ““¢Why, Charles,’ one of his friends said, ‘I did not know that you knew him.’ ‘© ” a OS neem =— ae a ceeterts areca oI Le aay fr A oS ranranes 5 ARS <7 — See arene price irerertnar seen seein — — aoe rt a hl eee epee ar Poe cael ap ei) nme GPL Te op ETS NG eet mor =< fis 1 ee See en Se eae =O a aera eeRAST 260 WOODROW WILSON sacred immunities of non-combatants.” He therefore stated he had said to the Imperial German Government that “‘if it is still its purpose to prosecute relentless and indiscriminate warfare” there would be no choice but to sever diplomatic relations with the Government of the German Empire altogether. He added as the reason that had impelled him ‘‘with keenest regret to this course,” this statement: “We cannot forget that we are in some sort and by the force of circumstances the responsible spokesman of the rights of humanity, and that we can- not remain silent while those rights seem in process of being utterly swept away in the maelstrom of this terrible war.” The result of this note and message was that the German Government in a long reply gave the promises and assurances demanded. In its note Ger- many expressed the confidence that the United States would demand that the British Government should observe the rules of international law. To this on May 8, the United States Government answered, accepting Germany’s “declaration of its abandonment of the policy which seriously menaced the good relations” and announcing that it would “rely upon a scrupulous execution of the new and altered policy.”’ It added that it could not “for a moment entertain, much less discuss, a suggestion that respect by German naval authorities for the rights of citizens of the United States upon the high seas should in any way, or in the slightest degree, be made contingent upon the conduct of any other gov- ernment affecting the rights of neutrals and non-com- batants” and concluded with the pregnant sentence: “Responsibility in such matters is single, not joint; abso- lute, not relative.”’ Wilson had won the victory. Sees CO ah a oe eae oT ITS ——— RRMA UN OI a a a a eee eee ti tess = Re EET cS RAIN vn Germany had sur- vs rest a Oe er rece ser Reape ro TRIE TTS he ~ mine BR es ana Aa as i 18 ee i i rh tp nee i )NEUTRALITY 261 rendered. The pledge that merchant vessels would not be sunk without warning and without saving human lives was observed from May 4, 1916, to January 31, 1917. Wilson had indeed been “‘very patient,” but he had never altered his ultimatum made on May 13 that the American Government “would not omit any word or act”’ to secure what Germany at last pledged its honor to do. For nine months the promise was kept and the summer and fall of 1916 gave hope that the submarine menace was a thing of the past. Wilson was so encouraged that on December 18 he sent a note to the belligerent govern- ments, suggesting to each that they state the terms on which peace would be acceptable. The responses were somewhat encouraging, and on January 22, 1917, he addressed Congress on the essential terms of peace in Europe. That olive branch, which at first seemed to be well received, was followed shortly by Germany’s breaking its word and its renewal of the unrestricted submarine warfare. In that situation, as in every crisis, Wilson conferred with congressional leaders. Senator Robinson thus relates what happened: ‘When the German Government announced its purpose to resume submarine warfare, the President went to his room in the Capitol, summoned a number of Senators and said: “You know the situation in all its details. I wonder what you are thinking I should do?’ “One Senator replied: ‘Give the German Am- bassador his passports and order him forthwith to leave the country.’ “Another declared: ‘I heartily approve of that suggestion.’ ‘“A third Senator, however, suggested that perhaps oe me ee aon See ; PEC geo ES LOO a eee Soa hal SR LG a ep ROPE RITA Nae LANL STE TNS ass = ats Sy eens —— Eee ete ae A EEE a nee a a genie aera ae Oe ace oe eels = “ ms GEN aaa —c rn mt my. Te er roenere —R C gerne neem a aaa ere aC bo ee GS era ere) a are rN EO = — Rept Oot ee OES Tres eres oS cng re ere SS RSs SOS so Ce IS a aS a wd Soest Fe Neca a a in ia ead ose seten ; ‘ rt $4 a r ‘ i fi i: He “eS 3 262 WOODROW WILSON it might be well to dispatch a communication remon- strating against the avowed purpose of Germany. Presi- dent Wilson’s jaws snapped. His features became pale and rigid. Drawing himself erect and casting a stern glance upon the crowd which had gathered while the consultation was in progress, he said, in substance: “Let us be done with diplomatic notes. The hour to act has come. We scarcely can hope that Germany will recede. The German Ambassador will be advised that unless immediate abandonment of the submarine policy is announced, his further presence in the United States is not desired.’ ”’ President Wilson in a message delivered to Congress on February 3, 1917, reviewed the circumstances and stated that he had taken steps to sever all relations with the German Empire. He added that the American Ambassador at Berlin would be withdrawn, and the German Ambassador at Washington would be handed his passports. He still hoped the “overt act’ would not occur. If, however, ““American ships and American lives should be sacrificed,’’ Wilson added, he would come to Congress again “to ask that authority be given me to use any means that may be necessary for the pro- tection of our seamen and our people in the prosecution of their peaceful and legitimate errands on the high seas.” He closed with the declaration that he proposed to “vin- dicate our right to liberty and justice and unmolested life,’ and made this prayer: “God grant we may not be challenged to defend them by acts of wilful injustices on the part of the government of Germany!”’ ““Has the Navy the guns and gunners to arm and man merchant ships?”’NEUTRALITY 263 “How soon can you put guns and gunners on mer- chant ships?” President Wilson asked these questions of the Secre- tary of the Navy at a Cabinet meeting early in the year 1917. He was told the Navy could arm them as fast as the ships were ready. The Central Powers had announced that after March 1, they would treat armed enemy merchantmen as ships of war. Prior to that, on February 15, a state- ment was given out to the press by the administration that merchantmen had a legal right to carry armament for the purpose, the sole purpose, of defense and that the right of American citizens to travel on such vessels should not be impaired. Wilson believed he had the right to arm merchantmen, but on February 26, in an address to both houses, he requested Congress to *sup- ply our merchant ships with defensive arms, should that become necessary, and with the means of using them, and to employ any other instrumentalities or methods that may be necessary and adequate to protect our ships and our people in their legitimate and peaceful pursuits on the seas.” A bill to that effect, introduced at once, promptly passed the House by a large majority, but failed in the Senate by reason of a filibuster conducted by a handful of Senators whose continual debate pre- vented the bill from coming to a vote before the end of the session of Congress, March 4. It was that filibuster which called forth the President’s denunciation of the “little group of wilful men” who had, with utter dis- regard of the necessity of action, prevented the legis- lation. He also suggested a change in the rules of the Senate so as to make it impossible for a small group to defeat the will of the overwhelming majority of Se Te a anypeaganapeee na ease x Sl at la etn oe Sane ene eran (ee = se Dn ssn er rn I cae aioe ete te5 oa: = asd me ee ah meme enn amr Sere oa Rat = Pe oT Sa mae ar a a OS aT = amen PO TTT SSSR a ere ra ce er or FO ne a ae el liam Sane 5: cs if Ope Pern Penner TUT ae irae 264 WOODROW WILSON Senators. The need for such protection of American merchant ships called for no delay. Before adjournment, a large majority of the Senators signed a document, stating that they favored the bill to arm American merchantmen, and would have voted for it, if they had been given the opportunity. Confident that he had the power under the Constitution, and a large majority of both Houses of Congress having expressed willingness to grant him specific authority, President Wilson, on March 12, directed the Secretary of the Navy to furnish guns and naval gunmen to American ships. In two days guns were installed in the Manchuria, St. Louis and Aztec; four days later the New York and St. Paul were equipped. The Manchuria sailed for England March 15, and thereafter a constant succession of merchant ships, carrying armed guards, left our ports for Europe. Up to this time the majority sentiment of the country had seemed to be averse to America’s partici- pation in the European war. In November Mr. Wilson had been re-elected by a popular majority of 590,785. A militant and growing minority had been critical of Wiulson’s policy. But sentiment for action was crystalliz- ing, and when Wilson brought the matter to a head by asking Congress to “‘supply our merchant ships with arms” that naval gunners might give protection to them, there was such response as to show the country was behind its President in his resolve at any cost to give protection to American lives on the high seas. His measure had passed the House by a vote of 403 to 13 and only the “‘little group of wilful men” in the Senate stood against the course he had marked out. Solemnly as he had called the nation to war, after exercising every possible means to avert its entrance,NEUTRALITY 265 consistent with devotion to humanity and duty to America, President Wilson welcomed release from the longer impossible attempt to preserve neutrality. From the sinking of the Lusitania, there had been a growing feeling in the country that the United States could not avoid participation. Wilson, when urged to keep the nation “‘out of war,” in his earnest desire to do so con- sistent with duty, had reminded the people that conditions might at any time arise when it would not be possible to do so. On April 2, all efforts for peace having proved unavailing, Wilson delivered his famous war message to Congress, advising that Germany’s course be declared war against the United States. Neutrality was ended. War was on. Sy eee pipes eee ec sy sn oe eee ee ne oa ye eee SR ES ares me a aaa ae Bi Hi : te AY i i nme 7 > ee RS Pe roess yanstxan eee RT eee owe bil eel Se AI TE OTS EET RS Ee BT eet Fe mew na oiaraene Cetceaeinmiiedaeagina ta iciaiaiiat sana alee ror rene comet Cote re eee ST ET re eS CRN LI elas Se ee Ts = ARR RTE ARE TSS ro en i ie a < i v7 “f rh CHAPTER XXIV RE-ELECTED TO THE PRESIDENCY PAULINE REVERE RODE OUT OF THE WEST, BRINGING VICTORY—THE HYPHEN ISSUE LOOMED LARGE— WILSON SCORNED DISLOYAL VOTE—“HE KEPT US OUT OF WAR’ —HUGHES INDULGED IN PETTY CRITI- CISMS—THREATENED RAILROAD STRIKE AVERTED “Tf you think too much about being re-elected, it is very difficult to be worth re-electing.”—WILSON r “HE year 1916 was critical in the political life of Woodrow Wilson. In the election of 1914, the bulk of the voters, who had joined the Progres- sive party in 1912, gave their suffrage to Republican nominees. ‘This was in the face of the fact that their representatives in Congress had supported most of the measures of reform and progress initiated by Wilson and approved by the platforms of both the Democratic and Progressive parties. The big Democratic majority of 1912 had shrunk to a bare majority after the 1914 elec- tion. Wilson found 290 Democrats and 127 Republicans in the House, and 51 Democrats and 45 Republicans in the Senate when he stood up to deliver his first oral message in 1913. When he came to the same duty in 1915, there was a Democratic majority of only 33 in the House, though the majority in the Senate remained the same as in 1913. This presaged what followed: a close election in 1916. The result showed that the Progressive party had lost its representation in Congress. Would it (266)RE-ELECTED TO THE PRESIDENCY 267 be a factor at all in 1916? That question was debated, but when the Republican and Progressive National Con- ventions were announced to be held in Chicago at the same time, it was accepted that there was to be a merger. Still there were many Progressives who had no mind to return to the Republican party. This element demanded that Roosevelt accept a re-nomination and carry on the fight. In an enthusiastic, but not otherwise impressive, convention, the Progressives nominated Roosevelt, with John M. Parker of Louisiana as his running mate. Roosevelt declined the nomination to the undoing of the Progressive party, and Parker later took the stump for Wilson. The remarkable organization which, in 1912, had polled 4,119,538 votes, dissolved. The bulk of its Republican membership, who had joined it as a revolt against what they regarded as reactionary policies, elected to return to their old party allegiance along with their brilliant leader. The Democrats who had supported Roosevelt likewise returned to their old party. The election of 1916 hung largely upon how the minority, or as they called themselves, “conscience Progressives, ” would vote in November. The Republicans nominated Charles Evans Hughes, who had won high place in popular regard as Governor of New York, and who was then serving as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. The average prognosticator east of the Mississippi River looked for an easy victory for Hughes. If he could hold the Taft vote, which seemed certain, and if Roosevelt, who gave him support, could bring him the Progressive vote; the election was already won. And he would have been elected but for one thing: “Oh, East is East, and West is West, And never the twain shall meet.”’ SS oats a Peers cE a cree me RIE T e ten e RSA ELA aaa “ Ss REA eam Spe na ws Sane os oa eea ae beret ror oo L e ee are aban ree ranr oe = rrr rT a ened ee ee ee arr re Pr ry Sede ad a UU NT POTTS oS Inner ES RT ee iearenren ati ere eer ees Re ee ea Sw eae FOOT REE ee a5 CM Green Bere ot ae a aeciaaeiay a a a APPA be toss Cee 0 ta" ‘8 ee AG ani my BAG aha ee aE Geer 268 WOODROW WILSON For the first time in a presidential contest the parties felt called upon to stress the doctrine of Americanism. The outstanding slogan had relation to the newly empha- sized word “hyphen.” Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Wilson joined in their demand that the hyphenated citizenship should end. The Republican platform appealed to “all Americans, whether naturalized or not, to prove to the world that we are Americans in thought and in deed, with one loyalty, one hope, one aspiration.” It was in these words: “Tn 1861 the Republican party stood for the Union. As it stood for the Union of States, it now stands for a united people, true to American ideals, loyal to American tradition, knowing no allegiance except to the Constitu- tion, to the Government and to the flag of the United States. We believe in American policies at home and abroad. Such are our principles, such are our purposes and policies. We close as we began. The times are dangerous and the future is fraught with perils. The great issues of the day have been confused by words and phrases. The American spirit which made the country and saved the Union, has been forgotten by those charged with the responsibility of power. We appeal to all Americans, whether naturalized or native born, to prove to the world that we are Americans in thought and in deed, with one loyalty, one hope, one aspiration. We call on all Americans to be true to the spirit of America, to the great traditions of their common country, and, above all things, to keep the faith.”’ The Democratic platform rang out clear and strong, without possibility of being open to any doubtful meaning or any appeal to the un-American policy of “looking two ways’ as was possible in the Republican declaration:RE-ELECTED TO THE PRESIDENCY 269 “In this day of test, America must show itself not a nation of partisans but a nation of patriots.” It made vigorous denunciation of the activities of any agencies that owed first allegiance to any other country. That declaration, in the spirit if not the actual words of Woodrow Wilson, read thus: “Whoever, actuated by the purpose to promote the interest of a foreign power, in disregard of our own coun- try’s welfare or to injure this Government in its foreign relations or cripple or destroy its industries at home, and whoever by arousing prejudices of a racial, religious or other nature creates discord and strife among our people so as to obstruct the wholesome process of unification, is faithless to the trust which the privileges of citizenship repose in him and is disloyal to his country. We, there- fore, condemn as subversive of this Nation’s unity and integrity, and as destructive of its welfare, the activities and designs of every group Or organization, political or otherwise, that has for its object the advancement of the interest of a foreign power, whether such object is pro- moted by intimidating the Government, a political party, or representatives of the people, or which is calculated and tends to divide our people into antagonistic groups and thus to destroy that complete agreement and soli- darity of the people and that unity of sentiment and pur- pose so essential to the perpetuity of the Nation and its free institutions. We condemn all alliances and com- binations of individuals in this country, of whatever nationality or descent, who agree and conspire together for the purpose of embarrassing or weakening our Gov- ernment or of improperly influencing or coercing our public representatives in dealing or negotiating with any foreign power. We charge that such conspiracies among Pee ON DI ee aS ~ Es pp CG VOGT TIES ey SS a - a 4 oS aaa270 WOODROW WILSON a limited number exist and have been instigated for the purpose of advancing the interests of foreign countries to the prejudice and detriment of our own country. We condemn any political party which, in view of the activity of such conspirators, surrenders its integrity or modifies its policy.” This was interpreted and intended as a rebuke of the propaganda by German organizations which approved the sinking of the Lusitania and which, backed by the Gore and McLemore resolutions, were in sympathy with the Von Papen and Boy-Ed plots, or ready for the sabot- age which, when it appeared, was suppressed only by Wilson’s strong measures. It was also aimed at Repub- licans who were flirting with the leaders of the hyphenated voter. Always Wilson separated the loyal Americans born in other countries from those who loved some other nation and served it more faithfully than the nation that gave them home and sustenance. “We do not wish,” he said at Arlington on May 30, “men to forget their mothers and fathers, their forbears, running back through long, laborious generations,’ and he added the criticism of “men who have allowed their old ardor for another nationality to overthrow their ardor for the nationality to which they have given their new and voluntary allegiance.” Emphasizing the same truth in his Flag Day speech (June 14), he uttered this indictment and condemnation: “There is disloyalty active in the United States, and it must be absolutely crushed.” He arraigned the disloyal who poured the poison of disloyalty into the very arteries of our national life; who have “sought to bring the authority and good name of our Government into contempt, to destroy our industries wherever they thought it effective for their vindictive A a] ac catia nS aoe a Ba ee = eee nn enn NOL DETAR A IEDR LEDER RR LPR OS PSPS TE EET ee een os SN a ree = a nL aT SPRATT an Fes Neoecree ee aae Px yA te Hi Wt csRE-ELECTED TO THE PRESIDENCY 271 purposes,” and to “debase our politics to the uses of foreign intrigue.” In his speech of acceptance Wilson had said: “I neither seek the favor nor fear the displeasure of the small alien element amongst us which puts loyalty to any foreign power before loyalty to the United States.” Later as the campaign progressed, Wilson stressed that position. A few weeks before the election, after Maine had gone Republican and the New Jersey primaries presaged the Republican victory in November, J eremiah O’Leary, who had been vicious in his denunciation of Wilson, wrote the President an offensive letter. As soon as he saw the letter, Mr. Wilson made this answer: “T would feel deeply mortified to have you or any- body like you vote for me. Since you have access to many disloyal Americans and I have not, I will ask you to convey this message to them.”’ Never had more scorn been compressed in so few words. That bold rebuke was warmly approved. It was what hunters call “a gut shot.” It electrified the country and emphasized the issue Wilson kept to the front, to the confusion of those who were trying to carry water on both shoulders. It was one more evidence that Wilson never trimmed, never evaded, never permitted his position to be clouded. He hit from the shoulder! The Democrats in the beginning placed their claim for Wilson’s re-election mainly upon the record of achieve- ment in domestic policies and upon their Big Brother attitude toward Mexico. The latter probably had been assailed with the harshest condemnation by the Republi- cans in their platform, but without presenting any con- crete Mexican plan of their own. The Democrats also asked for the support of the country upon Wilson’s policy 18 EP EN ee ol es aE A eet ~ anne ene NN aa ae See ne Pee a Ps Ot wa Ee ERIE ICTY EL ee [ieletietiee cS Dk et rea oe ee aE a ms 1 mF Oe aa maa SSS er adPeers res) eT ene ere , ais OATS ES St FEARS: eae manana Seg ha ee eee eis oles re sated eat Baal RL der Re ye Ie ET CIEE : wena’ a ates San eae be ros et rae eerste ars re a as no SS I Bi He Bl a Me aby ye 272 WOODROW WILSON of neutrality with insistence upon the protection of American rights on land and sea which the Germans had promised to respect. The war in Europe and the threat of hyphenism at home swallowed up all other issues. As the campaign progressed, the hyphen issue and the ques- tion of America’s future duty toward the World War became paramount. People paid no heed to the criticisms leveled by Mr. Hughes at the men and measures of the Wilson administration. They paid little, if any, more to the Democratic story of the reform measures Wilson had put in operation. It is safe to say that by October these matters, which seemed so important when letters and speeches of acceptance were being framed, were forgotten by the voters. In the East the feeling that America must enter the World War had been strong from the day of the sinking of the Lusitania. Many had been held back from advocacy of declaring war by the promises Wilson extorted that the men guilty should be punished and acts of destruction on the sea should end. But the feeling that America should enter the war against Germany was strong and growing. However, it was far from com- pelling and no considerable number of Congressmen had sought to commit the country to war. In the main, the sentiment on the Atlantic seaboard was critical of Wilson. Hughes made no promise to go in, so that no direct issue was made there. Roosevelt, who was opposing Wilson more than he was supporting Hughes, wished America to join forces with the Allies. Candidate Hughes contented himself with criticism of Wilson without a clear-cut policy of either going in or staying out. The Republican platform had declared: ‘“‘We desire peace, the peace of justice and right, and believe in maintaining a strict and honest neutrality between the belligerents in the greatRE-ELECTED TO THE PRESIDENCY 273 war in Europe.” It aimed this dart at Wilson: “We believe that the peace and neutrality, as well as the dig- nity and influence of the United States, cannot be pre- served by shifty expedients, by phrase-making, by per- formances in language, or by attitudes ever changing in an effort to secure groups of voters.” What would the Republican party do if given power? It promised “a firm, consistent and courageous policy” of—what? It did not say, except such as had “always been main- tained by Republican Presidents. ”’ Nothing more, except “we believe in the pacific settlement of international disputes, and favor the establishment of a world court for the purpose.” In the West, where the sentiment to enter the European war was much less than on the Atlantic sea- board, Wilson’s policy was more generally approved. In fact, the prevailing sentiment was strongly against en- trance into the World War. Indeed, it was so strong that “he kept us out of war” became a slogan, obtaining its inspiration in the keynote address of Governor Martin H. Glynn, temporary chairman of the Convention that renominated Wilson and Marshall. In that address, referring to the policy of neutrality and insistence upon American rights, Governor Glynn was given long ap- plause when he said: “This policy may not satisfy those who revel in destruction and find pleasure in despair. It may not satisfy the fire-eater or the swashbuckler, but it does satisfy the mothers of the land at whose hearth and fire- side no jingoistic war has placed an empty chair. It does satisfy the daughters of this land from whom bluster and brag has sent no loving brother to the dissolution of the grave. It does satisfy the fathers of this land and - a PES Ttae eae een eg er ee Sener ae ero dora er oe ae " ae : al NaS er eee= —" = eae ee rcp nia ce EE lp ee SS SR EET a ane orale Ce a aR EYE ONL SET SE St EE PT Sa ee ee arr ——— retract CCT ST SAUTE - a re rr a nel ea ina sate a oe gp ene aS Aa a eect bre CROC TIT sao eae ta SI Yan tas corm ee ictea aw aegtte bs imagine aretha me ey .ea 7 ie 4 Hh ra ate a Nea) Q74. WOODROW WILSON the sons of this land who will fight for our flag and die for our flag when reason primes the rifle, when honor draws the sword, when justice breathes a blessing on the standard they uphold.” The slogan, ‘‘He kept us out of war,” so generally used in the 1916 campaign, was not of Wilson’s making. He wished peace, but in every discussion of what the future held in store, he made it clear that the issue of peace or war was not in his keeping. During the campaign, except for a few short trips to the West and his final speech at Long Branch, Mr. Wilson remained at Shadow Lawn, N. J., while Mr. Hughes spoke in all parts of the country. Every Saturday afternoon Wilson delivered an address from his porch, dealing in his own telling way with every issue that arose. The country was surprised at the rather petty criticisms with which Mr. Hughes started his campaign. Mr. Wilson’s only comment on the criticisms were: “If you will give that gentleman rope enough he will hang himself. He has for- gotten many things since he closeted himself on the bench and he will soon find himself out of touch with the spirit of the nation. His speeches are nothing more or less than blank cartridges and the country, unless I mistake the people very much, will place a true assessment upon them.” That expressed his real sentiment and when he was in a fight Wilson had a way of saying what he thought, even if it had a sting. The vicious and petty pin-pricks of Hughes justified an answer in kind. As the campaign progressed, however, Mr. Hughes discarded the advice of small partisans and discussed larger issues and more ably and pitched appeals upon the questions presented in his platform. But he was hazy at what he would do if elected. Mr. Wilson’s campaign speeches were among his best, 3RE-ELECTED TO THE PRESIDENCY 275 always bold and on the offensive. He charged and never was on the defensive. In September the threatened rail- road strike called for action. Wilson met it with cus- tomary directness, secured the passage of the Adamson law, prevented a break-down of transportation, and con- founded those who thought his courageous course would defeat him. If, however, the two distinguished candidates in the main observed the amenities, so much cannot be said for many of their partisans. It is perhaps true that no cam- paign in the history of the country has been quite so marked by viciousness, bitterness and invective. All the elements of hate and misrepresentation were brought into play. . While most leading Democrats in the East looked toward November with apprehension, Wilson looked toward it with both confidence and philosophy. He never doubted the verdict of the people. If it was not right today, it would be right tomorrow. So he slept soundly the night before the election. He always declared he played for the verdict of history. The election of 1916 was one in which both parties celebrated victory. By nine o’clock on the night of election day it was apparent that the normally pivotal states—New York, Indiana, C onnecticut and New Jersey —had gone for Hughes. The great newspapers support- ing Wilson conceded the election of Hughes, who was congratulated. He went to sleep believing he was the President-elect. Wilson went to sleep believing he had been defeated. ‘The morrow was to tell another story. Westward the course of pivotal states had taken flight. Ohio had gone for Wilson and so had Kansas. It looked as if Minnesota and California and practically every state west of the Mississippi had voted the same way. ‘The Prt! a ee ee os Peery an Ae ata ie ares mons EET TA sansa Stipes Sa EES a an RE es ore ee Sens Pitts pT EEO ee eee eet Seventeen oo a Ta ct Sas a SI ea S atA *. . ne ee ahem emeret ram “14 is not an army that we must shape and train for war; it 1s @ nation.” —WILSON ‘Sw T is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war, into the most terrible and disas- trous of all wars, civilization itself seeming in the balance,” declared Woodrow Wilson toward the close of his war message of April 2, 1917. These words cor- rectly described his feelings. It was ‘“‘a fearful thing,” but he was upheld by the thought next presented: “But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts.” The setting was fitting. The most distinguished gathering in the life of America looked down upon him, as President Wilson entered the House of Representatives that evening. Every member of both houses of Congress was in his seat. The Supreme Court, headed by the venerable and patriotic Chief Justice, occupied seats near the Speaker's desk. Diplomats from every nation, *n official robes, looked down from their positions of (277) a eee rr i ee I Oe eee an PF ILLES can Se at as ee Se neti IT ty i 4 PT a ncaapsa I ieee eae er en. a PS I er ms a peels pate epee nena a Pan TS NEE IEE oT: Sennen Cnn rN ti ema ae San aa —: COR PSE SE TET ee es aoe Ts eae aS Co) ee OES ee a ee rh ee KEI aaa ts CANS od Sener sf ee aaa = On? Peper ty Hi i fi i i 4 278 WOODROW WILSON vantage. The press gallery was crowded, great editors present with the regular correspondents. Army and navy officers in their uniforms suggested the coming of war. Mrs. Wilson and wives of Cabinet officers, flanked by hundreds of wives of legislators and diplomats, lent distinction and color to the scene. There was an air of expectancy and consecration. The tense feeling left no place for trivialities. The applause that greeted President Wilson as he entered the chamber was rather giving vent to suppressed emotion than to personal compliment. It was an occasion too sacred for plaudits to any man. ‘There were mothers there with blanched cheeks, already feeling the pangs of the supreme sacrifice their sons must make. Light and color and glory shone on the surface. Consecration, sacrifice, grim duty reigned in their hearts. “The President of the United States,” said Speaker Clark as the echo of the gavel died away. The grim Speaker had contested with the President for the high honor. Both were walking through Gethsemane. The high call made them comrades. Any stranger would have chosen Wilson as the Leader if he had looked down upon that gathering of the great. Erect, with a sense of stern responsibility, face drawn with determination, eyes giving cheer and confidence, there was a gravity and distinction about his bearing that marked him for what the world soon hailed him: The Voice and Inspiration of the Crusade for Righteousness and Peace. But before the goal of victory was the conflict of battle. He stood there every inch the fighter. The days of debate and forbearance were adjourned. It was to be war “without rancor and without selfish object,” andACCEPTING THE GAGE OF BATTLE 279 without revenge. The spirit of the Covenanter was upon him as with firm and solemn voice he made clear “there is one choice we are incapable of making: we will not choose the path of submission and suffer the most sacred rights of our nation and our people to be ignored or violated.” The chamber breathed its approval and dedication. In clear tones rang out the shibboleth and aim: “The world must be made safe for democracy.” This chal- lenge lifted the Cause to the heights. The “force to the utmost” must not be for conquest. Why must we fight? “For democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own govern- ments, for the rights and liberties of small nations, for a universal dominion of right by such concert of free peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free.” As this noble conception was unfolded, the hearts of men and women went out to the leader who had phrased for them the high purposes of their own souls. There was the hush of accord and gratitude that no hint of hate marred the solemn declaration. It seemed that the benediction of the God of Right and Justice rested on that assemblage where no small or unholy thoughts could live. It was as if there had been a rush of wings and the voice of the angels stilling and strength- ening for the days ahead. Would Americans be equal to the challenge for such a blessing for mankind? The Leader lifted his voice. It was the voice of faith and devotion—his own and that of all the people. Every ear was strained to catch the closing words and their significance. “To such a task,” rang out the final note that ee ere Soetoro ees aa Er ene et See SLs mle ae en = Se ETE xg ie TEE aa oar " fs a Ef an eee meas ae a ean ee GPS ara eenes mtSRI S Cope ee Ce ee OS elie aes me bs ie as ene wis — Sante Rebtsererseces “ cw ea 280 WOODROW WILSON summoned to whole-hearted espousal, ““we can dedicate our lives and our fortunes, everything that we are and everything that we have, with the pride of those who know that the day has come when America Is privileged to spend her blood and her might for the principles that gave her birth and happiness and the peace which she has treasured.” And then came the prayer that was upon every tongue in the crucial days: “God helping her, she can do no other.” The die had been cast. The echo of the cavalry on Pennsylvania Avenue, as the Commander-in-chief was escorted to the White House, broke the silence. It was the reverberation of what was to become a familiar sound in the months ahead. War was on.CHaptrR XXVI THE WORLD WAR THE DRIVING POWER OF THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMY AND NAVY— FORCE TO THE UTMOST’ —‘pno THE THING MOST AUDACIOUS TO THE UTMOST POINT OF RISK AND DARING’ —REAL COM- RADE AND SHIPMATE TO FIGHTING MEN—WINNING THE WAR—VICTORY MESSAGE TO CONQUER “ The supreme test of the nation has come. We must all speak, act, and serve together.” —WILSON AR was declared by Congress April 6, 1917. A resolution carrying the President’s recom- mendation that Congress declare the recent course of the Imperial German Government to be, in fact, nothing less than “war against the Government and people of the United States”’ was adopted in the Senate April 4, by a vote of 82 to 6. The House completed action at 3 o’clock on the morning of April 6 by a vote of 373 to 50 and President Wilson promptly affixed his signature. It was at the Cabinet meeting on March 20 —it might be called the Day of Decision—that every member of the Cabinet counselled President Wilson that war was inevitable and the call was made for a special session of Congress “to receive a communica- tion by the Executive on grave questions of national policy which should be taken into consideration.” The business of carrying on war became the only business in America. The War and Navy Departments, anticipating the event, had made every preparation con- sistent with the national policy. From the moment (281) eae erent Se erro Poona wade ata a nen eae oe. a qpcevesy NT Ea tame an RS, Set Fe Sal ; en eT a SE eNO FP A SEO TEA RSET RT PETIT EE ES = Cpe SEE OL aed eR SCN Tae Tay 2 aE an BRT A a oss ran ARRAN LEE TS. a : F n H f | By a] 282 WOODROW WILSON the United States entered the war, Wilson’s resolute policy carried on under high pressure was, as he stated: “Force! Force to the utmost! Force without stint or limit! The righteous and triumphant Force which shall make Right the law of the world, and cast every selfish dominion down in the dust.” Two decisions of Wilson indicate his militant leader- ship. Hardly had our soldiers begun to land in France before there came urgent insistence from Allies that they be used as “replacement troops.’’ Some short- sighted Americans abroad joined in the unwise sug- gestion. Pershing had been sent across by Wilson and Baker to command an “American Army.” He had no patience with the replacement propaganda. When Baker brought the matter up in the Cabinet, Wilson declared with great emphasis: “No, we will leave to General Pershing the disposition of our troops, but it must be an American Army, officered and directed by Americans, ready to throw their strength where it will tell most.” And he added in substance: “It may not be impossible before the war is over that we may have to bear the brunt. We must be prepared for any demand with all the agencies necessary to supply our army and secure victory.” The replacement dispersion was nipped in the bud. It was largely due to Wilson that the weakness of divided command was ended and Foch became the Commander-in-chief of all the forces engaged in the war. Even before the United States entered the war, he criticised the lack of unified command. Immediately upon our entry, in concert with Lloyd George, he threw his powerful influence for the new organization that gave coherence and new power to the allied forces.THE WORLD WAR 283 In the field of preparation and conduct of the war, and in strategy too, he demonstrated ability. Mili- tary men came to lean on his judgment, and in strategy he showed that a military chieftain was lost when he gave himself to letters, to study of government, and to statesmanship. He was not only the commander-in-chief in name, but in deed also. He early saw the necessity of war mobilization of every industry and activity. He welcomed the organization of the Naval Consulting Board in 1915 which made the first survey of industry for war. Before war began he created the Council of National Defense. He brought into being the War Industries Board, the War Trade, Food, Fuel, Labor, Shipping, Welfare, Publicity, and other agencies, with- out which the mobilization of all American power for the successful prosecution of the war would have been impossible. He not only called them into being. He kept in close touch with their work, and gave prompt and effective co-operation. Once every week at the White House he held conferences with what came to be called—it had no official name—‘“the Super War Cabinet or Council,” composed of the Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of War, Secretary of the Navy, Bernard M. Baruch, Harry A. Garfield, Herbert Hoover, Edward N. Hurley and Vance McCormick. This body was the clearing house. To it he brought grave questions for consideration and all the members brought their perplexities for his clear counsel and direction. Concurrent with the practical direction and inspec- tion of his captains in these practical fields, he was in close touch with the allied powers, receiving and con- ferring with delegations from all the Allied and Associated nations, and keeping in close touch with every movement mE IST EES Ep PRET pe EE RP NE DO Ee eee One eee re _ ay >) aac a= mem PETS ns in ete Ses mI pepipign gripe arate Sey Ae ilo tance OE Oeoe wr < een ne a AN ATT RAR REE MENIAL Mae aa Pr Pn ieee eae AOE ET EEN TT eT en! PRES ESS SINAC Saat es Seta pa ete ne ee ‘ aes sea na eee TRC ARRIETA STF iva fe i 1 i (ae Ca} rh 284 WOODROW WILSON in the Cabinet or on the field. He read practically all the cablegrams that came to the Army and Navy Depart- ments and followed the active operations of both arms of the service in France and afloat, giving suggestion and direction, with commendation to wisdom and courage. He was in closest touck with the State Department directing the weighty foreign policies and problems, all of which went to him for determination. Neglecting ne agency, his chief interest was international. In the midst of the prosecution of war he kept his mind on the time he felt sure would come when the United States might couple world deliverance from war with the con- clusion of peace terms. By messages to Congress, by letters, by addresses to fighting men, to organizations and political bodies he stimulated deeper patriotism and greater consecration. He marched down Pennsylvania Avenue, scorning to ride, and down Fifth Avenue in great parades planned to give enthusiasm to the Liberty Loan and other drives. All the time he must be in touch with the leaders of Congress, give impulse to their fine desire to afford all means and assistance to win victory, and pilot emergency legislation. The legislation providing for the Selective Draft was the outstanding constructive new method of securing recruits to carry on the war. This made it democratic to the core, calling upon all men to render the service most needed. It could not have been put through Congress except by the driving force of Wilson and his irresistible arguments. It was the first time in history that a plan of obtaining soldiers through the good offices of civilian boards had been undertaken. It was so justly administered by patriotic citizens, selected with greatTHE WORLD WAR 285 care, as to convince even those who had been hostile to departing from the voluntary system. Under it every man was commandeered to the khaki, to the factory, to the farm—wherever he could render best service in winning the war. A departure that was distinctive was the greater care for the health and morale of the soldiers and sailors. Safety zones were created wherever men were in training and immoral houses were banned. Cities were called upon to repeal segregation district laws. Welfare agencies contributed to the comfort, health and clean living of the fighting forces. The medical care was un- equalled and the self-mobilization of surgeons and physicians and nurses reduced sickness and the death rate. In all these agencies President Wilson took the deepest interest and gave the most cordial support. War-time prohibition demonstrated the wisdom of its adoption. President Wilson was the inspiration of naval achievement. Early in his administration he had said: “We shall take leave to be strong upon the seas,” and early in 1916 he declared for “the most adequate navy in the world.” Before this country entered the war he thought the British ought to convoy their merchant ships and “shut the hornets up in their nest.” He took that position in advance of naval officers in Britain or America. He gave support when our Navy adopted his suggestions, and was impatient because the British Navy delayed its approval of the barrage across the North Sea. The total number of men who served in the Army was 4,272,521. The story of its distinguished service is the glory of America. Under the direction of the able Secretary of War, Newton D. Baker, supported at every eT tet aes IA DE ET 4 FT aa ca a oeOR a a aaa is es Coe een Snake oe TESST vars ACAI ae ean a WOODROW WiLSON urn by President Wilson, the American Expeditionary Foree made possible the victory in France. The selec- tion of ie eral Pershing, who had proved his fitness in Mexico, by the Secretary of War and approved by the President, guaranteed efficient leadership. The appli- cation of Theodore Roosevelt to go overseas in high command, declined by the President, caused much criti- cism, which Mr. Wilson’s letter somewhat mitigated. Roosevelit’s subsequent death proved he ras not phys- ically up to the task, though in heart and spirit atriotism he had the courage of youth. It was neces- o to run counter to the request of Ganerille Leonard Y or a command in France. In war there must be @ supreme commander. General Pershing did not ask for Wood. He did ask for Liggett and others. In that, as in all else for the successful prosecution of war, the President and Secretary of War gave to Pershing full support. “No such movement of troops ever took place before across 3,000 miles of sea, followed by adequate equip- ment, and carried safely through extraordinary dangers 3 , said President Wilson in his Victory ee ess December 2, 1918. He pointed out t ve months the Army had enlisted, equipped an anode and sent overseas 1,950,513 men, an average of 2,542 each month, rising to 307,182 in the month of “Of all this movement,” he said, “only 758 men e lost by enemy attacks—630 of whom were upon a single British transport which was sunk near the Orkney Teleaee Five minutes after the President signed the war resolution, orders were given for the mobilization of the fleet. So completely was it prepared that Admiral a) oO E ) kip 9 cr cr 9 O —_ y e bed Pu FS O © = Q a f 4 oD ——~ Cad fed CP OR et fy <| = re 9 = Gide &. 4 rq eP VvTHE WORLD WAR 287 Henry T. Mayo, Commander-in-Chief of the Naval forces then and throughout the entire war, said he “did not have to give a single order to pass the fieet from a peace to a war basis and that it was in a better state of preparedness than it had ever been and there was a feeling of confidence in the personnel of being able to cope with any emergency.” The Navy made ready In every possible way. Before the declaration of war it had increased its enlistment to 87,000, which it increased to 533,000 officers and men during the war. Never at any time from April 6, 1917, till the Armistice was a ship eady (and the number was increased to 2,000) wher officers and men were not promptly furnished to man it. The first military order of the war was made by th Secretary of the Navy April 14. It was, “Fit out fo long and distant service” sent to the Commander of the Eighth Destroyers Division. This had been done imme- diately after a conference in Washington with the naval representatives of the British and French Governments which agreed upon the plan of co-operation. Upon the o re arrival of the first division of destroyers in Europe, the British Admiral asked the Commanding Officer: “‘When will you be ready to go to sea?” “We are ready now,” was the answer. That was the record of the American Navy through- out the war. Its record was such as to justify Senator Lodge in saying on the floor of the Senate in June, 1918, 1 when U-boats appeared on the Atlantic seaboard: “The Navy has been doing the greatest possible work every- where. It has not failed in conveying the troops. it has not failed in its work mm the Baltic and in the Channel and the Coast of France and the Mediterranean, and it Was 19 bE. eee SS ae nt Sore Reet tos Se ies ee Se of fs 4 AS eae ataNTN ieee TREE ET ETH convene jreminta mains ian = Pa a aie 288 WOODROW WILSON will not fail here. It will do everything that courage and intelligence and bravery can possibly do.” The outstanding achievement of the Navy was that it kept the road open to France so that of the 2,079,880 men in the Army sent overseas, not one soldier on an American troopship lost his life on the way to France. “We fully realize,” said Pershing, “‘that had it not been for the Navy, which kept watch and guard night and day over our transport fleet, the American effort in France would never have been successful.” Of its collateral work, of assistance in relief, Hoover said: “I do not see how we could have carried on the work without the wonderful help of the Navy.” The second outstanding achievement of the Navy was the laying of the barrage across the North Sea. Only nine days after war was declared the Bureau of Ordnance outlined the plan which had to its credit when the war ended 814 per cent of the total number of enemy sub- marines put out of business. The barrage was in oper- ation only in the last few weeks of the war. The most remarkable address of the war, certainly as it related to the Navy, was made to the assembled officers of the fleet from the quarterdeck of the Pennsyl- vania, August 11, 1917. President Wilson told the officers to “leave out of your vocabulary altogether the word “prudent’,” and counselled them, “‘Do not stop to think about what is prudent”; and “Do the thing that is audacious to the utmost point of risk and daring.” In his Victory Message to Congress, December 2, 1918, President Wilson made this appraisement and paid this tribute to the spirit and achievement of the Ameri- cans in the World War: “= am proud to be the fellow-countryman of men ofHe ICRA EaT EURO THE WORLD WAR 289 such stuff and valor. Those of us who stayed at home did our duty: the war could not have been won or the gal- lant men who fought it given their opportunity to win it otherwise; but for many a long day we shall think our- selves ‘accurs’d we were not there, and hold our man- hood cheap while any speaks that fought’ with those at St. Mihiel or Thierry. ‘The memory of those days of triumphant battle will go with those fortunate men to their graves; and each will have his favorite memory. ‘Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot, but he’ll remem- ber with advantages what feats he did that day.’ “What we all thank God for with deepest gratitude ss that our men went in force into the line of battle just at the critical moment when the whole fate of the world seemed to hang in the balance and threw their fresh strength into the ranks of freedom in time to turn the whole tide and sweep the fateful struggle—turn it once for all, so that henceforth it was back, back, back, for their enemies, always back, never again forward! Aiter that it was only a scant four months before the com- manders of the Central Empires knew themselves beaten: and now their very armies are 1n liquidation. “And throughout it all how fine the spirit of the nation was! What unity of purpose! What untiring zeal! What elevation of purpose ran through all the splendid display of strength, its untiring accomplish- 1°? re Nae et ae SE ment “Thus the war came to an end.”aS en SS i tf in i H i a ec aie peel ey CHAPTER XX VII PEACEFUL PENETRATION MORAL OFFENSIVES UNDERTAKEN—THE FOURTEEN POINTS ACCEPTED—THE ARMISTICE SIGNED—RACE BETWEEN WILSON AND HINDENBURG—GERMAN OPINION AS TO WILSON’S DEMAND—IT MEANT UNCONDITIONAL SUR- RENDER—FOCH SAID THE ARMISTICE OBTAINED THE REMEDY FOR WHICH THE WAR WAS WAGED “We cannot be separated in interest or divided in purpose.” —WILSON ILSON had other weapons which he brought \ into play to win the war. While never letting Y up In the least upon the use of “force without stint or limit” he forged effective weapons in the form of moral offensives. He always separated the people of Germany from the Imperial German Government. There was criticism at home for this differentiation. In the Central Empire it was recognized as an effort to show the rank and file that America had no hate and no desire to crush the German people. Wilson believed that if the mass of fighters and civilian population could be made to see that we were not waging war for their destruction, but truly to relieve them from autocratic sway while securing the rights of all nations, they would demand a cessation of war. He, therefore, undertook a series of moral offensives. Cur “war aims,” stated in terms so plain and so Just that they were approved by the people of all nations, were the weapons of peaceful penetration. The neutral countries were won to friendship by Wilson’s broad and humane declarations; the allied forces saw in them a (299)PEACEFUL PENETRATION 291 new era. Sent by cable and wireless and translated into every tongue, they became hope to those who sat in darkness. More than that: translated ito the German language, they were broadcasted all over the German empire. As the people read Wilson’s program of peace, his freedom from passion, his pleas for world fellowship, many hearis turnec d toward his ideals. His “Fourteen Points” set th in his message to. Congress, January 8, 1918, was like a ray of light in a world of loom. Followed by his Mount Vernon Fourth of July ‘ y speech and his New York address of September 27 these all together made Wilsons Magna Charta of World Peace. Read in great % i humble homes of Europe, they heartened despairi g peopies. The “Fourteen eee were as follows: 1.—Open covenants of peace, openty arrl ived at, after which there shall be no private Internationa: yunderstand- : s a - ~ ~ oh HH yay alr - ings of any kind, but diplomacy shall proceed always ~~ “ va fr kly © , 1 Y } oO +} <= oe 14 rankly and m the puolic V 1eW. a AY wits P 3 Cg ee aa 1i.—Absolute freedom or navigation upon the seas, a jit ¥ I > ? eo 7 HeE9PA Va rhe) TS outside territorial waters, alike In peace ana m Wal, . = okey Soar Main nog ge eer a sey except as ihe seas may be closec In wnole CF} part bd} el ; re tama tonal intern atvlonal action ror tae enroreement OF tel raviona: covenants. t1.—The removal, so far as possible, of a barriers and the establi an equality of trac conditions among all the nations cc nsenting to the peace and associating themsel TV.—Adequate guarantees given and taken BUS 3; co Ww national armaments will be reduced to the lowest pein 1 Seticnt cor asistel it with domesiic satety. Tree, open-minded, and absolutely impartial Pere of all colonial claims, based upon a stt “ict Ne Ne Oe = Eee aa eer es IES enone x PE ta nea SS) ee ee aa See a eee Sea eas Pla epoca es \? b \ l— a SOOT OTe Ua eeeaeceaae coms Sowa cai i a a a ee nna omen SPREE EE ETE eet re ae ——— rs ore ra ee OOS Nr ot eye ee a Se EA Sonica eek ees cate an ee a a aia iatall 2 Cae yu an ye ts tu ra ih a 292 WOODROW WILSON observance of the principle that in determining all such questions of sovereignty the interests of the population concerned must have equal weight with the equitable claims of the Government whose title is to be determined. VI.—The evacuation of all Russian territory and such a settlement of all questions affecting Russia as will secure the best and freest co-operation of the other nations of the world in obtaining for her an unhampered and un- embarrassed opportunity for the independent determina- tion of her own political development and national policy, and assure her of a sincere welcome into the society of free nations under institutions of her own choosing; and, more than a welcome, assistance also of every kind that she may need and may herself desire. The treatment accorded Russia by her sister nations in the months to come will be the acid test of their good-will, of their com- prehension of her needs as distinguished from their own interests, and of their intelligent and unselfish sympathy. V1i.—Belgium, the whole world will agree, must be evacuated and restored, without any attempt to limit the sovereignty which she enjoys in common with all other free nations. No other single act will serve as this will serve to restore confidence among the nations in the laws which they have themselves set and determined for the government of their relations with one another. Without this healing act the whole structure and validity of international law is forever impaired. VIII.—All French territory should be freed and the invaded portions restored, and the wrong done to France by Prussia in 1871 in the matter of Alsace-Lorraine, which has unsettled the peace of the world for nearly fifty years, should be righted, in order that peace may once more be made secure in the interest of all.PEACEFUL PENETRATION 293 IX.—A readjustment of the frontiers of Italy should be effected along clearly recognizable lines of nationality. K.—The peoples of Austria-Hungary, whose place among the nations we wish to see safeguarded and assured, should be accorded the freest opportunity of autonomous development. XT.—Rumania, Serbia, and Montenegro should be evacuated; occupied territories restored; Serbia accorded free and secure access to the sea; and the relations of the several Balkan States to one another determined by friendly counsel along historically established lines of allegiance and nationality; and international guarantees of the political and economic independence and terri- torial integrity of the several Balkan States should be entered into. XIJ.—The Turkish portions of the present Ottoman Empire should be assured a secure sovereignty, but the other nationalities which are now under Turkish rule should be assured an undoubted security of life and an absolutely unmolested opportunity of autonomous devel- opment, and the Dardanelles should be permanently opened as a free passage to the ships and commerce otf all nations under international guarantees. XJiI.—An independent Polish State should be erected which should include the territories inhabited by indisputably Polish populations, which should be assured a free and secure access to the sea, and whose political and economic independence and territorial integrity should be guaranteed by international covenant. XIV.—A general association of nations must be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of afford- ing mutual guarantees of political independence and. ter- ritorial integrity to great and small States alike. En Senet Peete ney EE een SE mr eae ete AOS emery dae pre re reeae see<) ore aay a ame ne Tet See es294, WOODROW WILSON Within a week after his New York address, in which he had ou ithned the prin cy of what he specifically called a ““League of Nations,” the Germans made over- tures for an armistice. Tl 1e peaceful penetration of Wilson’s idealism and the vigorous penetration of the allied armies were doing their perfect work. The Austro-Hungarian Government a week later made the same request. Answering the German note, the Presi- dent asked if he was to understand that the German Government accepied the terms laid down im the “‘ Four- teen Points” and his later addresses, and “if its object in entering into discussion would be on ly to agree upon practical details of their application.”” He added that he could consider nothing that did not carry with it “im mediate evacuation”’ of invaded territory. October Te the German Government gave an affirmative answer. October 14 Wilson wrote that the conditions of an armistice must be arranged by the military advisers of os Allied oe and added that no arrangement ould be accepted that did not provide ~ absolutely Areaote afeguards and guarantees of the maintenance of the present military supremacy of the armies of the United States and the Allies in the field”; that no armistice could be considered until all U-boat warfare ceased; and that guarantees of a new and representa- tive character of the German Government must be given. There must be no misunderstanding, no easy peace. Ger- many on October 20 accepted in toto all the requirements Jaid down by Mr. Wilson. On October 23 the Presi- dent replied that he had communicated the correspond- ence to the Allied Powers, with the suggestion that, if they were disposed to Bree the peace upon the terms and principles indicated, they would ask their military© } SoAryequeseiday UdS[I MA JUEPISAd NOONNV qnd UO 9a}] ULULO UOYWULLOfUT I] UAL AHL ONIO Sno plo ue poAtsol I sty Aq wojRsI HL dO SW JO aorpowIe LSINUVY & 97810 yeoid sIY PBeL O = DO aA oe > 7 oH IU SI survodde a HOIHM dl AIOASTY Ul IBM JSO}BIIG Ol IY Ul } SUIPve UMOYS I. oD @. o ton = =O > Oy +o O ee ; a3 ay o Zw re) 20 i — ie =p | eo tn a eaeerss yor. HUBMIVIISG wY¥l0 “SL UuvM ata jo esnoyyT pus’ 9}8u ydv160j04 1? eT PIES - >” r Fe a a ANeen oe ao KOEI ECR Ie men Co Photo. Int’l. Newsreel ul resting place of America’s Unknown atch forever. ‘ c uithful w c it Arlington Cemetery was built as the fin itre £ Soldier from France, who here holds his f THE CORNER-STONE OF THE AMPHITHEATRE AT ARLINGTON This beautiful memorial amphithePEACEFUL PENETRATION 295 advisers to draw up armistice terms of such a character as to “insure to the associated governments the unre- stricted power to safeguard and enforce the details of ithe peace to which the German Government has agreed.” The Allied Governments agreed with certain qualifica- tions. The German Government accepted the Wilson plan with a few additions suggested by the Allies on October 27. The terms of the Armistice were drawn up by the military advisers, submitted to Germany November 8, and signed by the German Government to become effective 11 a. m., November 11, 1918. The war was therefore concluded upon the terms Wilson had pre- sented time and again during the conflict and had formally made in specific points in his addresses on January 8 and subsequently. It was the first time in history when what had been derided as the ideals of a civilian ruler had been accepted as the terms of surrender by the military chieftains. Wilson had made no easy peace and the Allies had not sub- scribed to a program that was less than a complete victory. But Wilson’s terms carried no revenge or woe to the vanquished. They pointed the road to honorable rehabilitation, and, later, association with all the coun- tries of the world in a League of Nations for peace, justice, equality, and an end of wars. They had much to do with the German collapse. Was the Armistice a virtual surrender? The refusal of the Senate of the United States to approve the Covenant and enter the League of Nations was followed in Europe by driit and debacle. That condition has caused critics to cry out that Wilson’s policy was wrong and that the Army should have gone SS aa as ES j AT THE ST. GERMAIN CONFERENCE © U. & U. The Chief Executive arriving at the Castle of St. Germain, where the terms of the Allied Peace Treaty were handed to the Germans. The President is accompanied by his personal medical adviser, Rear-Admiral Cary T. Grayson, U.S.N » We iNeAN APPEAL TO CHSAR 327 “You are much mistaken. It will be no strain on me— on the contrary, it will be a relief to meet the people. No, the speeches will not tax me. The truth is, I am saturated with the subject and am spoiling to tell the neople all about the Treaty. I will enjoy teas In a sense, seeing the mafiana and hostile policy of the Senate leaders, it was a relief to get out of Washing- ton into the free air of the open West where the people would wish only to hear the truth, and as the triumph of the trip proved, to hear it gladly. Wilson “set sail” (he was fond of using naval terms) happily on his last trip. If he had any premonitions that he was not robust enough for the trip he kept them to himself. After the decision was made, he was blithe and happy, for he was never quite so rejoiced as when, all preparations made, he was in a fight for a cause that gripped him. “The thought of the trip exhilarated him. Beginning at Columbus, Ohio, September 4, he spoke every day and night until he was stricken on the way to Wichita, Kansas, on the 96th day of September. **T have for a long time chafed at the confinement of Washington,” he said in his first public appeal for popular support for the League. “Ihave fora long time wished to fulfil the pur- pose with which my heart was full when I returned to our beloved country—to go out and report to my fellow countrymen concerning these affairs of the world which now need to be settled. The only people I owe any report to are you and the other citizens of the United States.” The President seemed in fine fettle as he spoke freely what wasin hismind and heart. It required a volume of nearly 400 pages to contain the speeches of that last journey,and it may be doubted if so much of philosophy and sincerity and wisdom has before been compressed in speeches in a —— LT EIS sre aig WAP ers IES ig gia R PO a pap ssi Se eee ogee te eee aera ibten coe aereetnninmamatie tate hala SaaS oR oo a OY RIS CSE EL I Pl aod ES Ts ET NSO See Me a Beene Det ae A cca SLT a » ame ea 334 WOODROW WILSON friend, scuttle and run! That is not the kind of American I am.” With a wealth of illustration, these and like argu- ments marked his speeches from Columbus, Ohio, Sep- tember 4, to people in the principal cities to and on the Pacific coast back to Pueblo, Colorado, September 25. His last words on that trip in his last speech at Pueblo were: “Now that the mists of this great question have cleared away, I believe that men will see the truth, eye to eye and face toface. There is one thing American people always rise to and extend their hand to, and that is the truth of justice and of liberty and of peace. We have accepted the truth and we are going to be led by it, and it is going to lead us, and through us the world, out into pastures of quietness and peace such as the world never dreamed of before.” The eloquent voice was heard no more.CHAPTER XXXII BROKEN AT THE WHEEL THE GREAT CASUALTY OF WAR RETURNS TO WASHINGTON, WHICH HE WAS NEVER TO LEAVE AGAIN—HAPPY IN THE AFFECTION AND COMRADESHIP OF HIS DEVOTED WIFE—HIS MARRIAGE TO MRS. EDITH BOLLING GALT, OF VIRGINIA, CROWNED HIS LIFE WITH HAPPINESS— THE BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN WILSON AND DR. GRAYSON—-THE PHYSICIAN'S TRIBUTE “Shall the great sacrifice that we made in this war be in vain, or shall t not 2?” —WILSON T was on the twenty-eighth day of September that President Wilson reached Washington. His sudden iIIness, which compelled an abandonment of his Western crusade for the League of Nations, made him a semi-invalid for life. He walked unassisted to his automobile at the depot where anxious friends awaited his coming. By his side was Mrs. Wilson, who had been with him every day of every month of the great days since they were married—every trip he had taken, every place he had visited, whether in the palaces of Europe or the quiet drives in their beloved Virginia hills. She was to be stay and comfort in ihe months of nursing and anxiety that the future held for the greatest casualty of the war, as she had been com -ade and sharer in all that touched him, in days when he went from triumph to triumph. It was Saturday at 8.30 P. M., eighteenth day of December, 1915, when Mrs. Norman Galt, born Edith Bolling, became the wie of Woodrow Wilson. 22 (335) a pe ep nanan ee = a eer a ert Sere SSS satahona ae PPT a ioe era Penden py ene cigtgMaiglalale Gian aes ae ene eee ne eee TIT OE mT r =ere we nnn ero 3 ee ee nee ere o Sars et SAE OU ON oy SS; es re a ad er SET ee hen a eT aia acre Se ie Set = Prien oe ath pe eee apa Seta Saab Aen RT wd hrc a as wrens — , re ver i ERY, ti As te sii a 336 WOODROW WILSON Mrs. Wilson was born in Wytheville, Va., and was one of ten children, nine of whom lived to maturity. All except Rolfe, named for her ancestor who married Pocahontas, were born in Wytheville, where her father, the late W. H. Bolling, was Judge of the County Court for many years. Asa member of the military company known as “The Wytheville Grays” Judge Bolling was one of the witnesses of the execution of John Brown at Harper’s Ferry. It was an ideal marriage. The country had first surmised the new-found happiness in the late summer of 1915 when Mrs. Galt was a visitor at Cornish, where Mr. Wilson and his family found release for a few weeks from the heat of Washington. Even before then, the close friends, personal and official, knowing of the friendship between Mrs. Galt and Miss Helen Bones and the Misses Wilson, had noted the President’s interest in the charming occasional visitor to the White House as the guest of his daughters. But the Cornish visit settled the pleasant reports in the mouths of the public, quick to note any event of interest to an occupant of the White House. Mr. Wilson never seemed to understand why a President’s home and family affairs had any more interest to the public than the private life of any other citizen. He declined to lose the home life which was so dear to him and the marriage in Mrs. Galt’s modest home in Wash- ington was as quiet and simple as if Mr. Wilson had still been the professor of political science in Bryn Mawr. The ceremony was performed jointly by Rev. Herbert S. Smith, rector of the Episcopal church of which the bride was a member, and by Rev. James H. Taylor, pastor of the Presbyterian church where Mr. Wilson worshipped. Only the nearest relatives were present.BROKEN AT THE WHEEL 337 Following the marriage Mr. and Mrs. Wilson spent two weeks at Hot Springs, Va. Messages of good wishes came from rulers of nations in Europe, presidents of South and Central American countries, Governors of States, diplo- mats, leaders, and friends. The wedding trip over, they returned to Washing- ton. The people of the whole country realized that the first lady of the land fitted into her place as if she had been born in it. ‘The President’s friends and supporters soon learned how much in cheer and counsel she meant to Mr. Wilson, how wise and wholesome she was, with her charm and graciousness. She possessed tact and judg- ment, with wit and appreciation of the best things im art and letters, which made the marriage an ideal one. What- ever her interest in politics and public questions—and it was deep, revolving around her husband’s participation— she was never quoted. She never failed to measure up to the high standards that American people have set for the mistress of the White House. She was called upon to be hostess to those who sat in the seats of the mighty from every land—statesmen, diplomats, warriors. She herself, when she accompanied President Wilson to Paris, was the guest of royalty. She was the same gracious Virginian there as when she grew up in beauty and grace in her Virginia home. But Mrs. Wilson was even more esteemed by the country when the lights burned low in those anxious days in Washington as her husband’s life seemed to hang by a thread, and all the days of her loving ministrations following the breakdown at Wichita. With a wife’s ‘ntuition she had feared his strength might not be equal to the Western trip. But with a wife’s devotion she shared his feeling that with the Cause at stake, he must ai EO OTS ee epalet elie Ee i eee ale etc oS me ~ ey 5 = eee a eee See es a Ted ree sor} ea ma SEG LO a nee eaoy lal ja seguir pant na le LANE ALT RABEL ct annie SES s ESE tear tl Sora NN OS a at aaa END aS ea Seetencinis RS ITS RTT OIE EA OS we fa ee a SSS ES Id en a ee ee area array Fare re OL ol RAS epecarita mes Sys an Br vi Tae Se anal x 0 11) ia ht ( Dia Hi: ie ia nae oe F 338 WOODROW WILSON make his appeal to his countrymen even if at the sacrifice of life. With the care that love knows she shielded him from overexertion in the days of speaking and the nights of travel across the continent. At Seattle he felt return of the hoarseness and weakness that came after his serious illness in Paris.. He left that city nervous and tired. She gave him strength and resolution. And he had the cour- age to go on his nerve. It never weakened until the ties of earth were broken. And she is of like mettle. She kept in touch with all that would interest him and saved his strength. She was concerned for the fitness of the President of the United States, but it was her husband’s health that summoned all her fortitude. When the break came, it was the touch and love of the wife that were both solace and recuperation. Mr. Wilson was covered with perspiration and almost exhausted when he finished speaking at Wichita. Soon after midnight he complained of being ill. Dr. Grayson’s examination revealed the right side of his face twitching, as it had often done before. However, he was alarmed to observe a drooling of saliva from the corner of the Presi- dent’s mouth and also a drooping of the facial muscles on the left side. He feared a stroke of paralysis was impend- ing. He advised that future dates be cancelled and the President proceed to Washington. Urged to sleep, Mr. Wilson said, “‘I won’t be able to sleep at all, Doctor, if you say I must cancel the trip. Even if giving my own life would accomplish this object, I gladly would give it.”’ After his arrival in Washington, he signed bills and resolutions of Congress, drove through Rock Creek Park, and seemed to be getting along well until October 1. He enjoyed a moving picture show that evening, and he played a game of billiards.BROKEN AT THE WHEEL 339 At 4 o’clock in the morning, October 4, Mrs. Wilson heard the President in the bathroom calling. Dr. Grayson was summoned. Mr. Wilson was prostrate on the floor in a semi-conscious condition. His left leg, on which he would never bear his weight afterwards, was crumpled under him. He had been paralyzed on his left side. Regaining consciousness, he exacted a promise from his wife and doctor that his condition, if serious, should not be made known. The country knows how true they were to the promises. He was never unconscious after the first night. His mind was always active. He grew a mustache and whiskers, for no one entered the sick chamber except his wife, doctors, and nurses. Dr. Grayson summoned from Philadelphia Dr. Francis X. Dercum, a specialist, also Rear Admiral E. R. Stitt of the Naval Medical Corps and Dr. Sterling Ruffin of Washington, Mrs. Wilson’s family physician. A two-hour consultation developed the agreement that Mr. Wilson had suffered what is medically known as a cerebral thrombosis—a blood clot in one of the blood vessels in the right side of his brain. Its effect was to impair the motor nerves of the left side as well as the sensatory nerves. The physicians concluded that there had been. no lesion but that there was danger of one. If the clot were a hard one and should be swept along in the blood circula- tion to the heart and jama valve the result probably would be death. Ifit were a soft clot there was hope for absorb- ing it. On that slender hope the battle for life began. Mr. Wilson had suffered the retinal hemorrhage in his right eye years ago and Dr. Grayson wanted the oculist, Dr. George de Schweinitz, to examine it. ne er eT en Se eae ee Re aa C2SoS SS — See eee eee ee “ 5 SN el ne A eee ee es ee ere eae Ppa ane TS BAett aoe SRE ons FN a a aaah Saeiae eeneeeteanar CoRS Tn SRG CLES TOI Tae CTE ea art la ae eR le esa Teaco Des EES OST ER rE SSP DOIN) ere Poe are Ee eo al sai QL SENHA ERSTE EET ee te to) iss Hh ra oy Cae Se @ fi ria 340 WOODROW WILSON **T want to look at your pupils,” said the oculist. “You'll have a long job,” shot back the sick Presi- dent, “‘I’ve had many thousands of them.”’ He was thinking of college days, but the remark was an example of how he always joked his doctors, even when he was desperately ill. But sick as he was, he chafed at confinement to bed and wanted to get up. “Your temperature is exactly normal this morning,” said Dr. Grayson on one occasion soon thereafter. “My temper won’t be normal if you keep me in this bed much longer,” returned Mr. Wilson, saying he de- sired to try his legs. Will-power, skilled treatment, tender nursing and quiet won over the danger of death. When he left the White House Dr. Dercum said he might live five minutes, five months, or five years. He lived nearly three years. Mrs. Wilson stood between the President and every possible thing that might retard his improvement. In the early days after his return to Washington, as he grew stronger in the fall of 1919, official papers came to him for action through her and her intelligent presentation saved a tax upon his powers. In a few weeks he was able to write the characteristic ‘““Woodrow Wilson” almost as well as ever. He was tenacious in the performance of duty and to the last was the President of the United States. When Senators, hearing that he was suffering from “disability,” sent two of their members to “make a survey ’’ they reported that he was fully able to transact the public business. The Congress having been organ- ized by the opposition party, very little legislation was enacted, but, though knowing the most of his recom- mendations would not be carried out, Mr. Wilson failed im no particular in presenting policies deemed necessaryBROKEN AT THE WHEEL 341 for the reconstruction after war. When Cabinet meetings were resumed, Mrs. Wilson was never far away. Day and night in the four years when he could not walk unaided, it was this good wife who brought sunshine into his life, and whose presence comforted him as he passed ‘nto the silence and thence to the reward. The love the American people bore Mr. Wilson they shared with his wife and comrade, and it goes to her, now that he is gone, in full measure. There are in history few friendships that are as inti- mate as that which existed so long between President Wilson and Admiral Grayson. Wilson knit his friends to him by hooks of steel. The presence of Princeton schoolmates when he was inaugurated, and his unbroken friendships with the choice spirits of those happy days were grateful to his soul. During the last years of his life, in the White House, in his perplexity in the Mexican and Neutrality periods; in the crucial days when the direction of the World War called for all that was in him; in Europe where, amid shoals and quicksands, he never lost the way to Peace; in the Western trip when the break to physical strength came; and in the long vigils of serious illness in the White House, with conscientious devotion to duty often overtaxing his strength, and during the quiet and often anxious days in the S Street home—always near him was his friend and physician, Dr. Cary Grayson. Their relationship began on the evening of the imaugura- tion. ‘The President’s sister, Mrs. Howe, sustained a slight injury. “Where shall I find a doctor?” asked Mr. Wilson of his classmate and close friend, Dr. E. P. Davis, of Philadelphia, who was with him at the White House. Dr. Grayson, a navy surgeon, was on duty at Wash- ington. “Knowing the high reputation of naval Seca ee - pon nenen Sees EE EEE ae on ISIE I IGT ONT nae een So Ta eo eee aa wip aeo ars 5 " es, 7 IG AT aa nn rea, — - aOR Rr cane ror ES an ee RRR RIBERA IE LGD NORRIE On Re es aaa a aes Sapa pga Raa ee a Tiss 9 in onion eas mde PEN Tern bce pyaar py irre ree RGAE TS ASRS TERS ert IR % Sr rae BSL BEST SIE AT TETETY BIS 342 WOODROW WILSON surgeons,’ said Dr. Davis, “I advised him to send for Dr. Grayson.” From that moment until his death Mr. Wilson and Admiral Grayson were closely associated. At first, pro- fessional, it ripened into regard. It burgeoned into complete understanding and tender friendship. The older man loved youth, particularly young men of clear thinking and clean living. He had no son—perhaps that was a regret he never uttered. His paternal regard embraced the younger physician. They rode and walked and played and talked together. Dr. Grayson knew his constitution, knew how he must take care of himself and conserve his strength. But he knew his responsibilities and how he would meet them, sick or well. He was the skilled physician who studied to keep the President fit. He was the skilled physician who in Paris brought him through a serious illness. He was the skilled physician who was with him almost daily for more than eleven years. But he was much more than that: he was the true and trusted friend, the agreeable companion who brought him good stories and kept him advised about what went on in the world about him, who shielded him and was toward him all that a son might have been, if God had given the world a second Woodrow Wilson. He knew his moods, his ways, he knew his heart, and he possessed Mr. Wilson’s affection without limit and his full confidence. Of the thousands of tributes paid Mr. Wilson the day the wires flashed his death, perhaps none gave truer appraisement than that of Admiral Grayson, who said: “It was my privilege to be Woodrow Wilson’s friend as well as his physician, and it would be difficult for me to put in words the affection for him which grew duringods uos[iM “AV > ouesptseig oy UlOT} pue A Id 94} 07 SULYt oy “Wor Sa1sea ‘srBvoA INO; 1 ul agsnoy 944 jO }UOL} ul pAO > M *‘VoalIS § ; uolyBu 944 Aq pop 4 09 ‘UOPSUTYS jS ouy St WsI[Bept p[toss jo ol JUIMOIT}or siy uo peAoul oy yorys' AWOH LSV1 AHL NOSTIM MOUGOOM AO *N ‘2499-0H YP 129PPM 7.6 Ree Te San TO SS pie a iene OSE ECS a Te ST come eran ae Renney aaPIR REED ITT Voce Oren SO ones Sadi en] © Underwood & Underwood OWN SOLDIER zuguration of President Hardin ‘ c OCESSION OF THE UNKN - WILSON IN THE FUNERAL PR MR. AND MRS oO a ufter the in 9 d ‘ppearance of the ex-President in public ‘ c The firstBROKEN AT THE WHEEL 343 nearly twelve years of close personal association and confidence. “Tt will not be for me to express my estimate of his ideals and his character and leadership, nor for me to write his epitaph. Time alone will do that. But in sick days and well, I have never known such single-minded devotion to duty as he saw it against all odds, such patience and forbearance with adversity, and finally such resignation to the inevitable. “T once read an inscription in a southern country church yard. It said: ‘He was unseduced by flattery, unawed by opinion, undismayed by disaster. He faced life with antique courage, and death with Christian hope.’ “Those words, better than any words of mine, describe Woodrow Wilson.” Love crowned his life. CO ee ee ~ eter ee =e o Re ss es sn Sa ck ee ea ~ Zac <=ATS ie es i A | \ \ i a : An ieer eae StS ASRS Ak aD ET SIT TET ee ree lan pa ease Fc a a I a nh ee SET Ea el ea sn easton ae ae cy nee nc Ep T ICED rT woe PERG ot eet lhcb liase satel <7 £ ALF SAR ASNT RETA RESTA pcos pale Seackaapic ie CHAPTER XXXIII THE INVALID PRESIDENT AN INTIMATE PICTURE OF HIS CLOSING YEARS AS TOLD BY OLD SCHOOLMATE—‘‘ THE ROAD AWAY FROM REVOLU- TION” HIS LAST ARTICLE—HONORING THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER—AT PRESIDENT HARDING S FUNERAL—MES- SAGE ON ARMISTICE DAY BROADCASTED—HIS LAST RECEPTION—THE BETTER WAY “That we shall prevail is as sure as that God reigns.”—Wttson oe HEN Woodrow Wilson entered the White V \ House as President his first anxiety was, lest he should not be physically able to fulfil the duties of president,” said Dr. E. P. Davis, physician of Philadelphia, schoolmate at Princeton and intimate friend of Wilson, a few days after his death, to the writer. “He had been a delicate child, had never excelled in muscular strength, but had courage and endurance, and had used his body relentlessly in his studies. During his most active literary work he seriously damaged one of his eyes. He suffered seriously from neuritis in the left arm and leg. During his Princeton days he had an operation for hernia. He was sent abroad by a consul- tation of physicians with a statement that his health was badly impaired, and consulted a distinguished Scotch authority who said to him: ‘President Wilson, if the other University presidents of the United States are no worse off than you, there will be no vacancies in those high offices for an indefinite time.’ He had the lack of (344)THE INVALID PRESIDENT 345 digestive assimilation which brain workers often show, and came to the White House in good, but not in robust general health. “Under medical advice he took up a régime which included golf as a medicinal measure, and to this régime he unswervingly adhered until his going abroad. He gained in weight and strength during his first administration. He once remarked that the legitimate duties of the Presi- dency are not a burden upon a man who works with system, and observation shows that it is politics and politicians, and not the duties of the Presidency which kill Presidents. “His life as an invalid was characteristic of the man. Each morning, unless feeling unusually depressed, he breakfasted with Mrs. Wilson at nine, in the window of the dining room where the morning sun came in most abundantly; then to the office of his secretary, John Randolph Bolling, where he dictated answers to from twenty-five to forty letters, often walking back and forth, standing, or sitting on the arm of the chair while dictating. Then to his bedroom where he completed a leisurely toilet. A nap before midday meal. Then mid- day meal taken in his bedroom, a sunny room. Mrs. Wilson practically gave him his meal, and either read to him, or some visiting friend read to him about matters of information. After midday meal, a nap. At three o'clock he saw those whom he wished to see. At four, a drive. He had mapped out the vicinity of Washington into certain specified drives. One through Arlington, over into Virginia, sometimes across the Maryland border, and the Sunday drive was always through the Soldiers’ Home and around ‘the Hill’ as the Capitol is sometimes called. As an invalid in driving, he was Re CS ees See Pn an a a TT, PSSST SS = tata naa = IL IINOTY D ELLE LIP EY ery — ee mn We a a — = a ey posspsins erred NT a ty Sen AS ay nes = Rare eee a US te eee Se II Ae TOT oy. 4 FI AE I v3Seen he RT aah een rea os renee aren — oes cel aie tate ice te Si eS Sn SE EEE DT TT VEE REE a a Reel ee sag a Co Ges ane Re ESTE On al se omer tm ~- _———~ eS re AT am A a er esrigip noes Sas sees See f fi ee i 346 WOODROW WILSON entertaining in his remarks and stories, in admiring the scenery, and in speaking of things which pleased him. When passing the flag he was accustomed to remove his hat, and, placing the hand holding the hat over his heart, to say that he wished the men of the country could feel as he did in honoring the flag. “At times he would occupy the front seat of his car, where he was punctilious in showing courtesy to those who accompanied him. As in other things, he was punc- tiliously careful in observing the courtesy of the road. He was frequently recognized while driving and was especially pleased when children saluted him, which he invariably promptly returned. “After the drive he rested, then came to the library where, in an armchair beneath a high electric lamp, he had his supper. Mrs. Wilson often read a summary of the evening paper, or some friend with him would read to him something else. Then he played solitaire, Mrs. Wilson keeping his score, and at ten o’clock was ready to rest for the night. “Saturday evenings his diversion was going to Keith’s theater. This came to be a Washington event for the populace. There was a side entrance to the rear of the theater by which he gained immediate access to seats on the last row. These were reserved for him. The managers were always present, plain-clothes men kept him from annoyance, and the people gathered in the street and in the theater to see him. They greeted him warmly, which he much appreciated. On leaving the theater the crowd was even greater, and his welcome and goodbye on theater nights, in spite of the weather, were always cordial and delightful. “As an invalid he was uncomplaining and patient,THE INVALID PRESIDENT 347 doing cheerfully whatever he thought could be of use. From time to time he desired to know what he could expect in the way of convalescing, and whether he was doing his share. He had great faith in the recuperative powers of nature, and placed confidence in his physicians. “January 5 was an anniversary in his wife’s family. It was Saturday, and to honor the occasion, he drove in the afternoon, although the weather was cold. A friend remarked to him: ‘It is cold for you to be out.’ Says he: ‘You know I am not a quitter.” To do full honor to the occasion the usual visit to Keith’s was carried out. Next day, Sunday, being cold, he did not drive, but on Sunday evening at supper some one read to him the splendid poem of Francis Thompson’s ‘The Hound of Heaven,’ which illustrates the overwhelming presence of God and the futility of human escape from the Divine Presence. He greatly enjoyed and appreciated this splendid poem. “One of the most striking things concerning his passing from human life was his extraordinary appear- ance after death. Near the window in his bedroom in which the sunlight fell softly and freely, upon a couch lay Woodrow Wilson, in appearance thirty-five or forty years of age. His hair was prematurely gray for his features. The lines of care, of anxiety, and of weakness had disap- peared. The outlines of the face were smooth and beau- tiful. It was as if a distant sunrise had touched the features.” This intimate picture, by one of the oldest and most intimate friends, of the daily regimen of the life of the invalid President sums up much of the thirty-five months after he left the White House. The days were made cheerful when old friends diacigenr Seer SAS SE mT TEL ISIS IE I er Peo eI OEE eee va SS eS nips im ig ep EI RT eS neta PEAR Stl mm as CE EE art ee Seen a: = pe. Pe aa as st oy - 7 1 Pe ea ne eeea = ga ae or ea atten eee raer REN Dee ee RET lea aah SSS SS re Carr aaa i ee oe 348 WOODROW WILSON would call, and they all went away with a sense of the triumph of the mind over bodily ailments. It cannot be said that he took excursions into new lines of thought, but his interest in the policies and principles which had interested him before his illness was unabated. Indeed, the hope and faith that they would prevail upheld and sustained him. In recent months he kept in touch with the outside world in a way, his radio set being a source of real enjoy- ment. He was glad to take advantage of the suggestion, that he broadcast a message to the people on Armistice Day. Quietly seated in his study, he addressed millions in audiences invisible to him. He spent hours in pre- paring the message—(did he know it was his last?)— and delivered it with unwonted emphasis. The Armistice Day address was in these words: “The anniversary of Armistice Day should stir us to great exaltation of spirit because of the proud recollec- tion that it was our day, a day above those early days of that never-to-be-forgotten November which lifted the world to the high levels of vision and achievement upon which the great war for democracy and right was fought and won. “Although the stimulating memories of that happy time of triumph are forever marred and embittered for us by the shameful fact that when the victory was won— won, be it remembered, chiefly by the indomitable spirit and valiant sacrifices of our own unconquerable soldiers— we turned our backs upon our associates and refused to bear any responsible part in the administration of peace, or the firm and permanent establishment of the results of the war—won at so terrible a cost of life and treasure — and withdrew into a sullen and selfish isolation which isTHE INVALID PRESIDENT 349 deeply ignoble because manifestly cowardly and dishon- orable. “This must always be a source of deep mortification to us, and we shall inevitably be forced by the moral obligations of freedom and honor to retrieve that fatal error and assume once more the réle of courage, self- respect and helpfulness which every true American must wish and believe toe be our true part in the affairs of the world. “That we should thus have done a great wrong to civilization, and at one of the most critical turning points in the history of mankind, is the more deplored because every anxious year that has followed has made the exceeding need for such services as we might have rendered more and more manifest and more pressing, as demoralizing circumstances which we might have con- trolled have gone from bad to worse, until now—as if to furnish a sort of sinister climax—France and Italy between them have made waste paper of the Treaty of Versailles, and the whole field of international relation- ships is in perilous confusion. | “The affairs of the world can be set straight only by the firmest and most determined exhibition of the will to lead and to make the right prevail. “Happily, the present situation of affairs in the world affords us an opportunity to retrieve the past and render to mankind the incomparable service of proving that there is at least one great and powerful Nation which can put aside programs of self-interest and devote itself to practicing and establishing the highest ideals of disinterested service and the constant maintenance of exalted standards of conscience and of right. “The only way im which we can show our true SDN a ena ese SB: See Fo EET aE ST a nee ee Sacra ara pean Dre ea ee eee metas io ae PSS npg neigh Aa SAID Ce hee aaa a oa = Ne ane ar a a BT ee CE ATS eras 5 nm ere ota ee TET SOE pee sf or oeNee La one Cee NN en res ee Cer SEX rr ae rag —s I a ieee Le as ee TE ETE PBS LE TT EE : ———— Rela in ah epee - AEF CIS TST ERPS RS Sora SR aR Ae ae ERIS mri PR a 5 nL al SRT aks ae ab eae creer ea Hons proces xs ~ Sere SE eae bee Lag A pian Ot A LTR “yee OD Ped PP en LL i e ui fF a He i oa ea) oe 350 WOODROW WILSON appreciation of the significance of Armistice Day is by resolving to put self-interest away and once more for- mulate and act upon the highest ideals and purposes of international policy. “Thus, and only thus, can we return to the true traditions of America.” From the front steps of his house, on Armistice Day, he addressed the waiting thousands in a brief im- promptu talk concluding with these sentences: “I am proud to remember that I had the honor of being the Commander-in-Chief of the most ideal army that was ever thrown together—pardon my emotion— though the real fighting Commander-in-Chief was my honored friend Pershing, whom I gladly hand the laurels of victory. Just one word more. I cannot refrain from saying it: “I am not one of those that have the least anxiety about the triumph of the principles I have stood for. I have seen fools resist Providence before and I have seen their destruction, as will come upon these again— utter destruction and contempt. That we shall prevail is as sure as that God reigns. Thank you.” From time to time friends and admirers would write asking his opinion about men and measures. Rarely after his retirement did he volunteer advice or counsel as to legislation or politics, but when his counsel was sought he wrote frankly, with a candor and directness that was characteristic. If he was asked about a candidate, who in the crucial fight for the Covenant had not given that Magna Charta of Peace his support, Mr. Wilson advised that he be not re-elected. People said these letters showed he was bitter in his illness. Not so. They showed he was so devoted to a cause he could not forgiveTHE INVALID PRESIDENT 351 those he felt had failed to advance it. Now and then he wrote a letter to some organization and summarized doctrines and called for consistency and devotion to deals. He craved for his party a return to power, not as a, partisan, but because he wished it to be the agency for carrying the Republic into the League of Nations. His brief letters were all in that spirit. And they all breathed confidence that the people of America would yet be found co-operating with other nations to end war. He died with that faith undimmed. Only once did Mr. Wilson in his retirement respond to the request that he write for the magazines. In the Atlantic Monthly of August, 1923, the following article from his pen appeared. (It is published here by permis- sion of the Atlantic Monthly Press, Inc.) THE ROAD AWAY FROM REVOLUTION By Wooprow WILSON In these doubtful and anxious days, when all the world is at unrest and, look which way you will, the road ahead seems darkened by shadows which portend dangers of many kinds, it is only common prudence that we should look about us and attempt to assess the causes of distress and the most likely means of removing them. There must be some real ground for the universal unrest and perturbation. It is not to be found in superficial politics or in mere economic blunders. It probably lies deep at the sources of the spiritual life of our times. It leads to revolution; and perhaps if we take the case of the Russian Revolution, the outstanding event of its kind in our age, we may find a good deal of instruction for our judgment of present critical situations and circumstances. What gave rise to the Russian Revolution? The answer can only be that it was the product of a whole social system. It was not in fact a sudden thing. It had been gathering head for several generations. It was due to the systematic denial to the great body of Russians of the rights and privileges which all normal men desire and must have if they are to be contented and within reach of happi- 28 wea ON aes Pe IOI ETS GFN PE Oe ET eee mans a — — ~ hae —— —— a any pepe =e ae La eae LS aT I en eA OKWee le ee ti ON rh ad tn ORLY — res — Cena wma rat URE ts 4 § i vey (ee, i ‘ ig +e a He ek 352 WOODROW WILSON ness. The lives of the great mass of the Russian people contained no opportunities, but were hemmed in by barriers against which they were constantly flinging their spirits, only to fall back bruised and dispirited. Only the powerful were suffered to secure their rights or even to gain access to the means of material success. It is to be noted as a leading fact of our time that it was against “capitalism” that the Russian leaders directed their attack. It was capitalism that made them see red; and it is against capitalism under one name or another that the discontented classes everywhere draw their indictment. There are thoughtful and well-informed men all over the world who believe, with much apparently sound reason, that the abstract thing, the system, which we call capitalism, is indispensable to the industrial support, and development of modern civilization. And yet everyone who has an intelligent knowledge of social forces must know that great and widespread reactions like that which is now unquestionably manifesting itself against capitalism do not occur without cause or provocation; and before we commit ourselves irreconcilably to an attitude of hostility to this movement of the time, we ought frankly to put to ourselves the question, Is the capitalistic system unimpeachable? which is another way of asking, Have capitalists generally used their power for the benefit of the countries in which their capital is employed and for the benefit of their fellow men? Is it not, on the contrary, too true that capitalists have often seemed to regard the men whom they used as mere instruments of profit, whose physical and mental powers it was legitimate to exploit with as slight cost to themselves as possible, either of money or of sympathy? Have not many fine men who were actuated by the highest principles in every other relationship of life seemed to hold that generosity and humane feeling were not among the imperative mandates of conscience in the conduct of a banking business, or in the development of an industrial or commercial enterprise? And, if these offenses against high morality and true citizenship have been frequently observable, are we to say that the blame for the present discontent and turbulence is wholly on the side of those who are in revolt against them? Ought we not, rather, to seek a way to remove such offenses and make life itself clean for those who will share honorably and cleanly in it?EE ___________________----- a THE INVALID PRESIDENT 353 The world has been made safe for democracy. There need now be no fear that any such mad design as that entertained by the insolent and ignorant Hohenzollerns and their counselors may prevail against it. But democracy has not yet made the world safe against irrational revolution. That supreme task, which is nothing less than the salvation of civilization, now faces democracy, insistent, imperative. There is no escaping it, unless everything we have built up is presently to fall in ruin about us; and the United States, as the greatest of democracies, must undertake it. The road that leads away from revolution is clearly marked, for it is defined by the nature of men and of organized society. It therefore behooves us to study very carefully and very candidly the exact nature of the task and the means of its accomplishment. The nature of men and of organized society dictates the main- tenance in every field of action of the highest and purest standards of justice and of right dealing; and it is essential to efficacious think- ing in this critical matter that we should not entertain a narrow Or technical conception of justice. By justice the lawyer generally means the prompt, fair, and open application of impartial rules; but we call ours a Christian civilization, and a Christian conception of justice must be much higher. It must include sympathy and help- fulness and a willingness to forgo self-interest in order to promote the welfare, happiness, and contentment of others and of the com- munity as a whole. This is what our age is blindly feeling after in ‘ts reaction against what it deems the too great selfishness of the capitalistic system. The sum of the whole matter is this, that our civilization cannot survive materially unless it be saved only by becoming permeated with the Spirit of Christ and being made free and happy by the practice which springs out of that spirit. Only thus can discontent be driven out and all the shadows lifted from the road ahead. Here is the final challenge to our churches, to our political organizations, and to our capitalists—to everyone who fears God or loves his country. Shall we not all earnestly co-operate to bring in the new day? On every Armistice Day (to him it was a holy day, for it was the end of the war) and on his birthday gather- SO TN ne RE ASS ST eet eee ee ee: A ee, = J 4 a aT a peesAAT AT EOS ne a, a ie te ae a oS eepenterane omens T TAS eas pice Ge eden arene EE pees —_ Fe TR ee a RO a ao eee ie Se ee TOS I oe TSE ni eee. Bp eBoy ares 3 ee a SE ee STA ee ICSC RES oe ce See et OO EE iS eT = RAE R RATT I ae i He i 354 WOODROW WILSON ings of friends and admirers would assemble at his home on S Street to do him honor. These visits were grate- ful to him, with a hint, however, of sadness that he could not greet them as before he was stricken. On the day the body of the Unknown Soldier—the brave lad Wilson had called to battle—was carried with fitting ceremony down Pennsylvania Avenue from the nation’s Capitol to Arlington, the sincerest man to uncover in his honor was Woodrow Wilson, the Known Soldier and Executive. “It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war,” he said on that memorable April eve- ning. “It was his regret,” said his life-long friend, Dr. Davis, “that he could not personally enter the army.” He was comrade to every man who wore the country’s uniform in the great war. Therefore he followed the Unknown Soldier as one who in perfect comradeship of spirit had shared his hardships, slept with him in the mud, and charged through the deadly barrage. The great concourse, seeing the feebleness of the former Commander-in-Chief as he rode toward Arlington, paid their tribute first to the Unknown Soldier, and then to the broken body of ex-President Wilson. Perhaps no American has received a tribute so spontaneous, mingled with the feeling of the people that Wilson, too, was a war casualty, and not many days hence would be borne to rest with the boys he had called to fight the battle of world freedom. The ceremony over, the steps of thousands turned to 5 Street in pilgrimage to Wilson’s home. The dead hero could not hear their tribute. The living hero heard and saw, his eyes blurred with tears. When President Harding died, his predecessor joinedTHE INVALID PRESIDENT 355 the ranks of mourners, and gave evidence of his respect for the dead and tender sympathy for the living. The last reception given by Woodrow Wilson was at his home on January 16, 1924, to the members of the Democratic National Executive Committee. They had met in Washington to fix the time and place for the next Convention, and their first act was to send greetings to the leader, who had twice borne their banner to victory. They called in a body, and he welcomed them, not as the militant champion they had loved to follow in 1912 and 1916, but as the leader broken in body at the end. But his spirit was as dauntless, even as he received them sit- ting in his great armchair in the library and shook hands with them. He gave personal greeting to those he knew well, and welcome to all. These party associates, who had hoped against hope that he might recover and again lead the hosts to victory, left the home saddened. “He plainly showed the effects of his long illness,” said one. “He has aged perceptibly; his hair has grown whiter, and his face was stamped with marks of pain. His left arm, limp at his side, rested against the cushions of the chair. His right hand was raised with an effort to clasp the hands of his callers. It was with difficulty the women kept back their tears.” He talked of the League of Nations with friends not long before the end, and said, “I am not sorry I broke down.” They were surprised and told him what a great personal triumph ;t would have been for him to have led it to universal acceptance. “But,” said Mr. Wilson, “as it is coming now, the American people are thinking heir own decision, and their way through, and reaching t that is the better way for it to come.” Faith to the end. wae Ses ateS Sissons peepee Sees ee tata LPO Pew em ere en Dr ES rare unset ren Pte Ne ok eke La RE SR En ro OT a ae eae ea s a \ Ta a Te ne a ae = 2CHAPTER XXXIV THE END OF THE ROAD “THE OLD MACHINE HAS BROKEN DOWN”—“YOU’VE DONE YOUR BEST FOR ME’ —“BUT IT IS BETTER THAT I SHOULD DIE THAN LIVE ON, A HELPLESS INVALID’? — “TELL MRS. WILSON I WANT HER”—‘“I AM READY”? “ —— mt a ee ree cnr Le Te re eo ART EPA EET AL TER SOLE Sedo RR EO dea Sree > ot 3 enero) “There ts a Providence to which I am perfectly willing to submit.”’— WiLson T was on January 31 that the loving and trained eye ] of Mrs. Wilson observed that her husband was not as well as usual. Alarmed, she called in Dr. Sterling Ruffin, who had been one of his physicians since his first illness in 1919. Dr. Cary Grayson had gone for a brief hunting trip. He was summoned and hastily returned to Washington. After a consultation, Mr. Wilson was ordered to bed. He did not recover from the digestive disorder. He grew weaker and realized his condition. He looked death in the face unafraid, not with the spirit of a stoic, but with the fortitude of the Christian. His mind was clear. No pain benumbed his brain. Waiting for the end, his thought, as always, was first for his be- loved wife. He watched for the moment (there were few such moments) when she was not in the room. His thin hand was stretched out under the covering. He drew Dr. Grayson close to him. “The old machine has broken down,” he said calmly and with difficulty. ‘“You’ve done your best for me, but it is better that I should die than live on, a helpless invalid. Tell Mrs. Wilson I want her. I am ready.” (356) Sn OE SN a Ro ein weD i aces SS ESE PRT IS GERI CIE as — PN ee ON PS Se a ETI a a ice tae asad re pee ee erated Tas cers yeast ie Pe i fe oo A thTHE END OF THE ROAD 357 The loving physician pressed the hand of the friend he was to lose so soon, not trusting himself to speak He called Mrs. Wilson, who was near at hand. Quietly and alone these two lovers and partners exchanged the last words before his passing. He made known his wishes, but there was little he had not told her in the talks and drives of the months of close companionship. She understood. He understood. That was Friday, February 1. Connected speech was never possible again. Beyond a whispered “yes” or “no” in response to inquiries about his comfort, he could not speak. After Saturday there was no recog- nition of those about him. The end came as of going to sleep. Loved ones watched and waited. .They knew the loosing of the cords was near at hand. ‘The inanimate things he had used—his cherished books, his cane (he called it “my third limb’’), the golf sticks long unused all had a new value to those who loved him. The hush of the Sabbath came. The nation shared the suspense and anxiety of the watchers. Sympathetic friends wended their way to his home to inquire how went the last battle with “the lame lion of S Street.” His brother Joseph, his daughter Margaret, and other loved ones shared the vigils of the loving wife. The faith- ful colored man who had served and loved him stood near. The minutes passed as his svife held his hand in hers until the pulse ceased. As the church bells summoned the nation to prayer the soul of Woodrow Wilson took its flight. The War President was dead. en eR Se SS. sm et ete - 5 Se a Sen in gmp a ctnes “x | Pa I a a Fn al ear note a ee Cad aD Ar ae oa eerae Re er Fs a anc ADR AAT A REASON NA TS OER ea oF eee aa SRT heen Oar ; ri = pt a pti DRIER IEE ATR ODR ORIEL RETO gL OA I ST SY IES SIE RSI SS = ee Ne ee ae eran Eee ere RS OO Se pes meme ae Rn Sr a eal i fe ee CHAPTER XXXV SPIRITUAL SATISFACTION TO THE CHRISTIAN MAN “OLD AGE BRINGS HIGHER HOPE AND SERENE MATURITY’ —THE QUEST OF LIFE Is ““SATISFACTION”’—FOUND IN SPIRITUAL AIR— “RATHER HE WAS RULING ELDER THAN PRESIDENT,”’ SAID HIS FATHER “Our civilization cannot survive mater tally unless it be redeemed spiritu- ally.” —WiLson the discharge of the duties of life without faith in The Lord Jesus Christ.” That public confession of faith was made by Wood- row Wilson in a very unusual place. Ona visit to Raleigh, N. C., in February, 1919, he had been invited to make the address presenting a portrait of Stonewall Jackson to the Capital Club. The beauty and chivalry of the city were gathered for the annual ball. Preceding the dance, Mr. Wilson spoke briefly on Stonewall Jackson. He dwelt little upon his military achievements, which he said were too well known to need his commendation. It was of Jackson, the Christian, whose faith in God was the domi- nant force in his life. Then he added his own confession. Solemn pause and impressiveness fell on that company. There was no thought of gayety until Mr. Wilson and party withdrew. The incident lingers still in the memory of those privileged to have heard a statement of that character in so unusual a place. Mr. Wilson’s reticence in speaking of the things that (358) P| DO not understand how any man can approachSPIRITUAL SATISFACTION 359 he held dearest was an inheritance from his father. He once related this incident to some friends: “One time my father was attending a religious meeting when other ministers were relating their religious experience. My father did not join. A minister, turning to him, said: ‘Have you no religious experiences, Dr. Wilson?’ ‘None to speak of,’ was the reply.” The President quoted that remark to friends with approval, showing his belief that feelings which were deep and sacred were not to be freely discussed. One day Mr. Wilson’s father dropped in to see his friend, Dr. James Sprunt, in Wilmington, N. C. He was very happy and told Dr. Sprunt the cause. *“My son, Woodrow, has been made Ruling Elder in the Presby- terian Church. I would rather he held that position than be President of the United States.” On his table by his bedside lay his well-worn Bible from which the minister read at his funeral. He knew its contents and walked in its precepts. His addresses and papers show his familiarity with the Scriptures and his belief in their authority. In February, 1913, a few days before he became President, in an address at Trenton, he sald: “The opinion of the Bible bred in me, not only by the teaching of my home when I was a boy, but also every turn and experience of my life and every step of study, is that it is the one supreme source of revelation, the revela- tion of the meaning of life, the nature of God and the spiritual nature and need of men. It is the only guide of life which really leads the spirit in the way of peace and salvation. If men could but be made to know it inti- mately, and for what it really is, we should have secured both individual and social regeneration.” ee ee ey SSS Sry ae PR ON ne Er ree cer Sen ae oa OES ae aE! eeteapetrenamenahane OATES eet SIT one pe Sa a STE Fa ear i aeea ak cetera oo ere RV IEOTS aes ei ter lar irl Oi Be ss ein el Te ie ie i a cae an aa reed rowed a. ne NETRA IEA —— FESS AE TS SOE Ree aa ee eae ES se ros Sas cle en ella Goes REITER a aa pa : peeps d SCT nd ee A eae ae a eecae i = eee Fm ak 360 WOODROW WILSON No one can read Wilson’s history without feeling, as he himself said once, that Lee had profoundly influ- enced his life. Probably Wilson never expressed his own iéeling about death better than when he told his doctor that it would be better for him to die than remain an invalid; as Lee had expressed his feeling in 1869 in a letter to a friend upon the death of General Dodge: “But those who are gone are happier than those who remain. They are spared what we have to see and meet; but my trust in the mercy of God is so great and my faith in the good sense and probity of the American people is so strong that I know that all things will in the end come right.” In “When a Man Comes to Himself”? Mr. Wilson reveals himself perhaps better than in all his other books. It is a small book of only forty pages, but in it is com- pressed the philosophy that guided his thought and life. He concludes it by saying, “what every man seeks is sat- isfaction.” How shall it be attained? Here is his an- swer: “He deceives himself as long as he imagines it to lie in self-indulgence—so long as he deems himself the center and object of effort. His mind is spent in vain upon itself. Not in action itself, not in ‘pleasure’ shall it find its desires satisfied, but in consciousness of right, of powers greatly and nobly spent. It comes to know itself in the motives which satisfy it, in the zest and power of rectitude.” Then comes the climax of ripe wisdom: “Christianity has liberated the world, not as a system of ethics, not as a philosophy of altruism, but by its revelation of the power of pure and unselfish love. Its vital principle is not its code, but its motive. Love, clear-sighted, loyal, personal, is its breath and immor-SPIRITUAL SATISFACTION 361 tality. Christ came, not to save himself assuredly, but to save the world. His motive, His example is every man’s key to his own gifts and happiness. The ethical code he taught may no doubt be matched, here a piece, there a piece, out of other religions, other teachings or philosophies. Every thoughtful man born with a conscience must know the code of right and of pity to which he ought to conform, but without the motive of Christianity, without love, he may be the purest altruist and yet be as sad and unsatisfied as Marcus Aurelius. “Christianity gave us, in the fullness of the perfect image of right living, the secret of social and individual well-being; for the two are not separable, and the man who receives and verifies the secret in his own living has discovered not only the best way to serve the world, but also the one happy way to satisfy himself. Henceforth he knows what his powers mean, what spiritual air they breathe, what ardors of service clear them of lethargy, relieve them of all sense of effort, put them at their best. After that fretfulness passes away, experience mellows and strengthens and makes more fit, and old age brings, not senility, not satiety, not regret, but higher hope and serene maturity. Perfect love casteth out fear.” He found spiritual satisfaction. REEESPenSt [os ee 5 SE eee ee a ON ae Ret ~ papa a PILE Y TEI NIE CR ct ee Ser SEE a ee 4 hi Ni i d i i ' ¥ i H ‘| ty cK kNe eet Se Rares PI re SRI OES se OL Cn a Sm eeepc are re eae DS np ae ede saa ata Soars ei i; tka as er ee) ae aa La Rare ors Sn EO ie raat lala etter Sea rabee coRPSEET ers wt b = Ore eas 3 : Brera reer ee RNA SATE : a eres oral Pee eet ae 0 RTO a BSS eee an nae — er any CHaPTER XXXVI DHE WAY OF PEACE” IMPRESSIVE AND TOUCHING SIMPLICITY MARK THE FUNERAL SERVICES AT THE HOME AND AT THE CATHEDRAL— COMRADES OF THE WORLD WAR BORE HIS BODY—THE VACANT CHAIR BEFORE THE FIREPLACE—PRAYER THAT THE HIGH VISION OF A WORLD AT PEACE MIGHT BE REALIZED - BUGLE calling softly in the fading day told A that Woodrow Wilson had passed today down ‘The Way of Peace’ to his earned and honored rest. “It sang the same soldier requiem that once before, at the lips of the same loyal comrade, it sang to lull America’s Unknown to his sleep in glory.” With these words the Associated Press commenced its account of the simple but impressive funeral of Woodrow Wilson, the remainder of the article being as follows: And as the bugle called, cut over the hills that look down on the city, a stricken woman turned away from the entrance of the stone crypt down in the dim chapel, leaving her dead to the mercy of God. At the end, there still stood beside the vault one staunch friend of the dead President, a friend who had battled death for him to the bitter end, who had shared in the great days of triumph, the bitter days of disap- pointment, even as now he stood to render the last loyal service. Not until the great slab of stone had been (362)“THE WAY OF PEACE” 363 swung back to close the vault did Dr. Grayson end the vigil he has kept with Woodrow Wilson for more than a half score of years. To-night the somber casket of black steel lies in the western niche of the great vault below Bethlehem Chapel. Above, towering from the hillside, looms the gray mass of the cathedral. Below the lights of the city that has turned back from its day of sorrow to the crowding cares of life twinkle through the dark of an overcast night. And on that casket, where the great dead lies alone at last for his endless rest, beside the plate that sets forth only his name and the days of his birth and death, there still lies the handful of soft-hued blossoms that were the last touching gift of the grief-worn widow. Distant rumbling of saluting guns in the cloud-dark- ened dawn ushered in the day when the nation would pay to Woodrow Wilson the simple tribute that he had claimed of it. The busy life of the Capital surged on for a few hours before its course was checked in the last moments of silent respect for the dead. But to the door of the stricken home and into the dim chapel where the last rites would be paid poured an endless stream of flowers that banked and overflowed every space with tender beauty. The names of kings and the great of the earth were on these tributes, and the names of loyal, humble friends and comrades. As the hour of the double services drew on, thou- sands took their places along the way from house to chapel to stand long ‘1 the chill air, unmindful of the flurries of snow and rain that beat about them. ‘The wide avenue over which the dead War President would make his last journey was banked with people and kept clear of traffic until he should have passed. Anant BE RT SAN Ee SEEN Pp igenne pene = eA Re a ta Ht aera SN NS Pe Er EEE i = SES Seana St qa ere po me me a” ee “7 4 SE a an ee~ — — SSS Speier aah See TICES aR a a SLL a ip = — FI RAPE AFT DEIR IRS as ee? oe cea eat la Se terreno Sn RE EE ST Resor erie a inner ara bam ee SAI Ne Se eee TTT a a a cele Se — PRR bacterin ORS i Sener ED nae Sean Coenen rag i rf; ae Pad tt fe 4 1: bd ph 364 WOODROW WILSON Before the house, across the street, a solid rank of people had gathered before the first of those who would join with the family in the home service had arrived. They stood oblivious of cold, waiting to bare their heads a moment. Opposite them the guard of honor came to stand in ranks before the house—soldiers, sailors, and marines. Singly and in groups the little company that could be admitted to the house came and passed within. Thus came President and Mrs. Coolidge, the honor guard saluting as their Commander-in-Chief passed to stand beside the bier of a dead colleague. Thus came others who had stood shoulder to shoulder with Woodrow Wilson in his days of greatness and came also those few humble ones who could not be forgotten at such a mo- ment, the faithful friends of the old days. Within, on the second floor of the house, flowers were everywhere. They covered the walls and sent their soft fragrance down from every niche and corner. There are three rooms and a short hallway on this floor, the living rooms of the house. Wide doors had been opened to make them one room, that all who should be present at this intimate service in the home privacy the dead man loved might at least hear what was said. In the study, where a great vacant chair before the fireplace stood untouched since last he had sat there to ponder in the warm glow, the casket had been set. On the walls about clustered the old, trusty friends of many years, books ranking row on row from floor to ceiling save in the spaces where old pictures made sacred by ties of memory looked down. At one side stood the plano brought from the quiet, scholarly home at Prince- ton of those other years before greatness had found“THE WAY OF PEACE” 365 Woodrow Wilson out and called him forth tc battle and to death. It was among these surroundings of a quiet, home- loving thinker, the precious memory-laden things of home, that old friends were now gathering to pay him last honors. For a little while before the service began the casket was opened that a few who knew and loved him best might gaze a moment at the still, pain-worn face into which death had brought at last something almost of the placid look of the years long past. Not all of those who crowded the rooms had this opportunity. It was reserved only for intimates, of whatever station in life, who mingled in this silent company. There was dim light in the rooms. The shades were drawn and only the soft glow of wall lights filled the chambers as those came who gently placed the steel covering above the tired face, and men had known their last sight of Woodrow Wilson. All of the rooms were filled and even the doorways blocked with those standing silently about. Out in the hallway by the stairs stands a great clock, which ticked solemnly in the hush. As the President and the old friends and companions of the trying days at the White House erouped about the casket, the members of the family came down stairs, leaving only Mrs. Wilson and the two daughters of the dead President in the refuge of the landing above. The three clergymen took their places at the head of the bier. The mellow chime of the great hall clock beat three solemn strokes through ihe stillness. As the last tone dwindled and died, Dr. Taylor, the pastor in Washington under whom Woodrow Wilson sat in all his years of Presidential greatness, raised his voice: SSE TSG ER Ge nthe Sa een: RE NRC ee eee OT Ne tenet are pa on ay «ple gee eres a ey Ree eee RPE Sei et eataoeae =e gga RT Eee SRS al aes Panes eee : i i iee rer ee dni ie SAT AARNE NCO sm ac avenn PERE ere I aaa rae ; 3 ER a rn FT RTE ence es eet gee ee ears Beas Peay pee ET BLS TRIT Te RRS BS RE ALE a ORI en RS ee ei lesan ah cet icin cairo epee peer tens SOG OATES i i hy 4 (Kote. 366 WOODROW WILSON “The Lord is my Shepherd,’ he read,—the old, comforting words of the Twenty-third Psalm carrying out through all the rooms and up the stairs to the tearful women waiting there in deepest black. As he read, faint sobbing came from the landing where Mrs. Wilson’s courage faltered for a moment in the long strain she had known. As Dr. Taylor said the last word of the psalm there was a murmured “Amen” and he gave place to his colleague from Princeton, Dr. Beach, Mr. Wilson’s pastor in those far-off quieter days. With raised hands, the minister bade the company to prayer, pouring out his earnest plea that Divine aid be given in the realization of the high vision of a world at peace the dead President had glimpsed. “Especially we call to remembrance Thy lovingkindness and Thy tender mercies to this Thy servant,” the minister prayed. ‘For the wondrous vision Thou didst give him of universal peace and good will, for his zeal in behalf of the Parliament of Man, in which the mighty nations should be restrained and the rights of the weak maintained, for his unswerving devo- tion to duty, for his courage in the right as God gave him to see the right, for his unflinching integrity, for the fervor of his patriotism which ever flamed upon the altar of his heart, we give Thee thanks.” There was sobbing again as he besought God’s compassion on the grief-bowed family. The prayer over, Dr. Beach gave place to Bishop Freeman, whose deep voice sounded the Scriptural quo- tations dearest to the dead leader. They had been copied from the little book of devotional exercises it had been his wont to read at night and stirred again the bitter grief of the widow and daughters.“THE WAY OF PEACE” 367 “Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and present you faultless before the presence of His Glory with exceeding joy; “To the only wise God, our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and evermore, Amen.” As the solemn words were spoken, the clock chimed the quarter hour and the simple home service of Woodrow Wilson, plain American, had been said as he wished it said. Into the room came eight m'en from the honor guard, their sun-tanned youthful faces set in solemn recognition of the dignity and honor of the place that had been given them. They stood soldierly and erect a moment beside the black casket upon which now lay the cluster of orchids, Mrs. Wilson’s favorite flowers, the flowers her dead husband often had sent her in the glad other days. Then the soldier, sailor, and marine comrades stooped and raised the fallen chieftain to bear him out for his last journey. Outside, the other men of the guard had double- lined the short way across the sidewalk to the waiting hearse. As the house door swung back and the three clergymen stepped out to take their places beside the hearse door, up and down the steep, narrow street the multitude which had waited long for this brief glimpse uncovered in the chill air. The men of the guard stood at stiff salute as their comrades bore the casket down through the double rank and lifted it gently into the hearse. Behind the casket came Mrs. Wilson in deepest black, with a thick veil guarding her sadness from curious eyes. She leaned on her brother's arm, and was helped into a 24 aimee, => Sena rene ere ee pe so ge PGES pa ee SR Nn EPG GRE le aot ape Se ra aw aa on oS Sa Se atedns an Se eres Rt a TINT RESTS AUTOR AE en STESL EN eee IE TR = -—~ 3 PF LY TORE ET LP ETI = OE area cnt ’ Seneca aro ene ini ia setaeaI aaa ei ci a ST CaaS STR ap : f Sa RRR SI 1 EE ACN TITIES TT EY SIE REO ee ete eines cs CT Se er een aes —— ——— — RARER II EAI AID FERNS TST PTR RS —— ern a a lar rns sR ARTES me a a elnino y Oa hy foe > ri i re He Die Se ie BER SA See (kiaoen mS aa 368 WOODROW WILSON waiting car that moved off at once down the hill behind the hearse. ‘The honor guard was formed in rank on each side. Next from the house came William G. McAdoo. The daughters of the dead President were supported on his arms as he helped them to the car awaiting them. Behind these came the other members of the family, the brother and nephew and those less closely kin to the dead. There was but one vacancy in the immediate family circle left by the place Mrs. Sayre, the third daughter, and her husband would have filled had time permitted their arrival. Behind the family came President and Mrs. Coolidge, heading the group of distinguished men and old com- rades who made up the funeral party. They were taken in the slow moving row of waiting cars and gradually the funeral train reached down to Massachusetts Avenue and swung around to the right forits slow journey up to the cathedral. There are few houses along the broad street in its two-mile tree-lined length to the cathedral close. Police and soldiers and marines were strung along the way to keep back the crowding thousands who stood in deep ranks on either side all along the way. The military guardians were without arms, but they and the police, as the cortége passed, silent but for the noise of its own motion, each rendered his stiff salute to the dead. Be- hind them in the ranks of citizenry that had waited so long, standing five and ten deep at every vantage point, heads were bared and there was weeping among the women. It had taken long to get the funeral train in motion and still longer for its slow progress up the hill to wind“THE WAY OF PEACE” 369 in through the cathedral grounds to the chapel entrance past other thousands. Already the company that would take part in the last public ceremony was gathered in the narrow compass of the chapel. For an hour the organ had sounded from the building in mournful cadence, and as the funeral train wound in through the cathedral gate, the great chimes rang out in slow tones, sending the old, consoling melody of “Nearer My God to Thee,” ringing through the chill air to catch the ear of many thousands in near-by streets. Within the chapel, banked with flowers, the Cabinet members and the diplomatic corps were already seated, and with them the delegation from Senate and House and those from societies of veterans. The only vacant chairs were those that awaited the funeral party. Scores stood for hours in the open space behind. Led by the cross, the choir moved into the aisle leading to the altar, which was banked on either side with the flowers that filled every nook and corner and flowed over into the outer corridor, lining both sides of ihe approach to the chapel entrance. Thus between walls of bright blossoms the honor guard was lifting the casket down to bear it into its place at the rail. It is over this outer door of the chapel, cut deep in the stonework, that the inscription, “The Way to Peace,” is set. And through that portal of peace Woodrow Wilson was tenderly carried, with the clergymen walking ahead and the saddened widow following after. As the casket was carried through the inner door and into the aisle, the choir moved slowly toward the altar in hushed silence. Then, from his place as he walked, Dr. Taylor raised his voice: “J am the Resurrection and the Life, saith the eS ee a ee eos aati $ CATS eS Te ae 2 pga lalate aisles ee ee EE Ee TS osn Ts eres v2umne “y os " aia RN eeTATRA | ee st SR ae ara ci or tereee soi Sa RTS Oe ea One reer ene I Ge Re Le el ae ina OO aD gaia cee pe ee RES ES ere Ta ee eee SOS Es Fo eee Ce NS Ne IS ES et Bae a we Nt vem — ec en we aati e i te a ff a We re id Fr 370 WOODROW WILSON Lord,” he read, and on down through the Scriptural pas- sages until the choir had filed on to its place beside the altar. The clergymen took up their stations, standing before the altar, the two Presbyterian ministers in their black gowns, the bishop and his colleague of the Episcopal cathedral in white vestments. Just before them the body bearers set down their burden again and withdrew to join their comrades in the standing group at the back of the room. The black- gowned widow, the two daughters and the other members of the family moved to their places on the left, while President Coolidge and the honorary pallbearers and old friends turned to vacant seats to the right, where the Cabinet members already stood. Then Bishop Freeman began the reading of the Thirty-ninth Psalm. “Lord, let me know mine end,” the murmur of the response filling the dim chamber. He read through the lesson: “Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept,” and at the close, the choir sang softly, and without organ accompaniment, the dead President’s favorite among the old hymns. Only the men’s voices of the choir shared in the tender melody. The boys were silent. “Day is dying in the West; “Heaven is touching earth with rest.” The blending voices, led by a clear, pure tenor, gave the old hymn an infinitely sweet appeal and it seemed that Mrs. Wilson’s head was bowed in tears behind her heavy veil. “Gather us who seek Thy face, “To the fold of Thy embrace, “For Thou art nigh.”“THE WAY OF PEACE” 371 The last tones rang softly in the deep cut vaulting of the chapel roof, followed by the solemn chords of an “Amen” and then the Bishop led in the Apostles’ Creed. At the close, as he called the company to prayer, those who were seated sank to their knees with bowed heads until, with raised hand, he pronounced the solemn blessing that ended the service. The organ sounded again softly and the choir moved slowly out again into the aisle, around the sombre bulk of the casket with its single cluster of color. The chanting tones of the reces- sional hymn sounded: “The strife is o’er, the battle done.” Following the choir went the clergymen, down the aisles and off to the right through the doorway, the chant- ing voices growing softer and softer in the distance and fading at last to a faint whisper as the door was closed: “That we may live and sing to thee, Alleluia,’’ came the last line, then the faint far-away chords of the last “‘ Amen.” As the organ took up again its softly chanted note of sorrow, Mrs. Wilson was led by her brother out into the chapel robing room on the right and behind her went the members of the family to seek seclusion there until the chapel should be clearedfor the private entombment. They did not need to pass through the thronged room again, a door close to the altar letting them escape that trial. As they left, President Coolidge rose and moved out of the chapel, to be whirled away at once to the White House. Behind him the gathering slowly made its way out to the waiting cars, leaving the honor guard and those who would lift the great slab from the vault en- trance alone in the dim room. None but the eyes of the dear ones and closest friends and of the religious comforters and the loyal comrades Snes ae SL pe te a ene CS or a nage ginle giggle ena PE A ee Se in eee a alcatel ar PRO 2 Soon SoA ens BASEL) ame = SRS SSS Se= i reel oe Ns PS pa eS CELT NRE OL a SS ens Per e en er a0 nn eA etl DT ICL ERIE ean SITS S tm Ayre Lepaeeane Rica SRR Sg TE TTI ITO as NEES SO SERPS ites EE ES SERA Aas eee SA Te Sora z y ro FETT A Se ae ra = DENT AURA RT AILS ca _~ 8 re it ti a ee 372 WOODROW WILSON of the sister services saw this last moment. The vault entrance lies in the very center of the chapel floor and below it is the place of utter rest many feet down. It was not until the great stone had been put to one side and the honor guard men stood ready to lower the casket gently into the hands of the comrades waiting below to lift it to its secluded niche in the western end, that the family came back for that last farewell. The clergymen stood at the head of the entrance, while Mrs. Wilson took her place at the foot, facing the chapel altar. At the last the Presbyterian ministers whom the dead man had worshipped with in life joined in saying over him the form of burial service his church knows. Bishop Freeman concluded the service, repeating verses from Tennyson’s “Crossing the Bar,” with its message of resignation and faith in God’s goodness. Then the casket sank slowly into the stone work and from outside, beyond the double walls and where the gray end of a gray day was coming swiftly, the bugle rang out in “taps,” the soldier farewell to a fallen comrade. There were only a few remaining about the chapel entrance as that last, clear message was sounded. They stood bare- headed and the soldier and marine guards at salute until the last note died. Behind them in the chapel, Mrs. Wilson was sobbing as she turned from the vault with the members of the family to go back to the vacant, still house on § Street, where the great chair stood vacant beside the fireplace, and the books waited for the friend to come no more. She took heart, a little, to greet the handful of close friends who had waited without to offer her comfort in her sadness, but it was a grief-bowed woman who went back down the long hill into the city.“THE WAY OF PEACE” 373 And at the vault still stood the friend and physician who had been with Woodrow Wilson through the years of greatness, and world-wide acclaim and the years of pain endured with stoic fortitude that followed; the friend who had pledged his word to another woman in the White House years before, ere she came to her death, that he would watch over his chief to the end. Not until the great stone had sunk again into its place did this friend turn away, his pledge redeemed to the uttermost. The honorary pallbearers were: Cleveland H. Dodge of New York, Cyrus H. McCormick of Chicago, Dr. Edward P. Davis of Philadelphia, and Dr. Hiram Woods of Baltimore, all members of his Princeton class; Frank L. Polk, former under secretary and at one time acting Secretary of State; David F. Houston, former Secretary of the Treasury; Newton D. Baker, former Secretary of War; Josephus Daniels, former Secretary of the Navy; Albert S. Burleson, former Postmaster General; John Barton Payne, former Secretary of the Interior; Thomas W. Gregory, former Attorney General; William C. Redfield, former Secretary of Commerce; William B. Wilson, former Secretary of Labor, and Edwin T. Meredith, former Secretary of Agriculture. Vance C. McCormick of Harrisburg, Pa.; Bernard M. Baruch of New York; Norman E. Davis of New York; Jesse E. Jones of Houston, Texas; Dr. F. X. Dercum of Philadelphia and Winthrop M. Daniels of Princeton, N. J., all personal friends. Senators Glass and Swanson of Virginia and Repre- sentatives Garrett and Hull of Tennessee. Charles S. Ham- lin, former governor of the Federal Reserve Board; Robert Bridges, a classmate; and Rear Admiral Cary T. Grayson. Sa eneterar ws ne arya nene pea ane nent ETSI RE RAR ge PRES FATT I ade a a ae ea a ma = om Se Poe on Te SeTeS Sa Sere x | ETD Pee ea re ee ry BE ea a aeeA ATS Byte se = me epee re . ee at Tene i coo care scion evdaeeitiai ionic taaeiclahannanin acme aan eee a Te PaD Tes ea moat) apics eget Suweee ay ma been alts Wise oh tin) se SS es aI RETA EAE EES Gi ey a me Rata ain ces Cala in RLS RET lr Eee pee BS arte prea a — ARS ISIS Rate Sha ad le Se a a EE — ree RI Ia ee pan oni meee aor irene era aaa igen Sg S Tt ee E SRE R SN a it i ce ay i iB i 4 th | 374 WOODROW WILSON Major General Tasker H. Bliss, formerly Army Chief of Staff and a fellow member of the Peace Commission; Chief Justice William Howard Taft; Justice Louis D. Brandeis; John Sharp Williams; and Charles R. Crane. The active pallbearers were: Sergeant Raymond M. Daugherty, Lincoln, Neb., who won the Distinguished Service Cross; Joseph Dloughy, San Francisco, Tech- nical Sergeant; David Friesel, New York City, Staff Sergeant; William E. Wheaton, East St. Louis, IIL, Staff Sergeant; Sergeant James G. Bryant, Seattle; Corporal Harold L. Mitchell, Jarratt, Va.; James Chadwick, Roxbury, Mass., private, first class; Louis M. Kell, Baltimore, private, first class. The Navy guard of honor and body bearers were drawn from the U. S. S. ayflower. They were: Claud Alexander Ezell, Coxswain, Ware Shoals, S. C.; William Lafayette Cole, Radioman, Naples, Tex.; Oscar Herbert, Sailmaker’s Mate, first class; Brooklyn, N. Y.; Arthur Francis Picard, Motor Machinist’s Mate, first class, Windsor, Vt.; John Trellis Sharp, Coxswain, Morris- town, N. J.; Roy Lester Sherman, Yeoman, third class, Dayton, O.; Louis Silbereisen, Quartermaster, first class, Elkridge, Md.; John Edward White, Seaman, first class, Oklahoma City, Okla. The Marines were: Ellwyn C. Rowe, Gunnery Ser- geant, Sidney, N. Y., who wears the Croix de Guerre with Bronze Star; Willard C. Clopton, Gunnery Sergeant, Smithland, Ky.; John J. Agnew, Staff Sergeant, Bal- timore, Md.; John Dunn, Sergeant, Paterson, N. ee Richard S. Perkins, Sergeant, Montgomery, Ala.; Jesse W. Coleman, Corporal, Lanett, Ala.; Paul O. Moyle, Sergeant, Elm City, N. C.; Frank J. Moran, Corporal, Syracuse, N. Y,Ee © _ THE EX PRESIDENT ON HIS SIXTY-FIFTH This portrait, taken on December 28, 1920, was the first m breakdown in September, 1919 Kadell & Herbert, BIRTHDAY ade after his seriousRELI AT SIP RR Sree eo on ana aes Fe Aaa ] ae as es OF : sein. mani THE LAST RITES PRGA! Photos The funeral procession of the nation’s dead was marked by the utmost sim- plicity save for the guard of honor from the Army, Navy and Marine Corps and the many thousands who lined the way ne , WASHINGTON CATHEDRAL —OU.eU. Where on February 6, 1924, the remains of America’s most distinguished citizen were laid to rest“THE WAY OF PEACE 375 L’ ENVo!I The last words of the service were significant of a faith common to great spirits like Tennyson and Wilson. The poem repeated by Bishop Freeman was produced only a few months before Tennyson’s death, and by his orders printed as a farewell at the end of every authorized edition of his poems. It is a fitting vale to a career of a great American whose idealism visioned a happier day for all mankind. Well does it express the sense of work accomplished and the simple faith in the Pilot to a brighter life: Sunset and evening star, And one clear call for me! And may there be no moaning of the bar, When I put out to sea, But such a tide as moving seems asleep, Too full for sound and foam, When that which drew from out the boundless deep Turns again home. Twilight and evening bell, And after that the dark! And may there be no sadness of farewell When I embark; For though from out our bourne of Time and Place The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar. eS erage i ee sm —— : a . am Pt nnn tes ¥ ees = ae re SaaS no eat en ras eres = ry I RNS eee > CE ; i + i e a i a fbi a es ee R es ee Be a | A eee Se a On note neon =) nt — oa ee eer art te Bd Dee eta AREAL RTE SIE SSS tetABC Conference, 184 Abney, Benjamin L., 55 Adams, Anne, 28 Adams, Herbert B., 60 Advisers to the President, 302 Agricultural distress in 1920, 163 Alaskan railroad, 201 Alderman, Dr. Edwin A., 59 Aldrich, Senator Nelson W., 166, 170 Alexander, Joshua W., 139 American Academy of Arts and Letters,84 Ancestry, 27 ef seq. Anderson, of South Carolina, 41 “An Old Master,” 61, 90 Arlington Cemetery, speech at, 313 Armistice, 295 Armistice Day, Address by radio, 348, 349 Message on steps of home, 350 Army program, Garrison’s and Wilson’s, 144 Article Ten of League Covenant, 329 Athletic interests, 48, 69 Augusta, at school in, 39 First Presbyterian Church at, 33 Author, Wilson as, 84 ef seq. Authors, favorite, 49 Atlanta, Wilson a lawyer in, 59 ‘Atlantic Monthly, Wilson’s last article in, $51 Axson, Ellen Louise, 61 Rey. S. Edward, 62 Dr. Stockton, 231 Bagehot, 49 Baker, Newton D., 111, 137 Baker, Ray Stannard, 302 Ballingerism, 116 Baltimore Convention, 105 et seq. Bankers and the Federal Reserve, 169 Barnwell, Charles Heyward, 40 Baruch, Bernard, 205 Baseball, 42, 48 Beecher, Henry Ward, 39 Bellamy, John D., 45 Belmont, August, 107 Bermuda, Wilson’s trip to, 135 Bible, Wilson’s appraisement of, 359 Big Four, The, 306 “Bitter-Enders,” 318 Blaine, James G., 161 Blake, of South Carolina, 41 Bolling, John Randolph, 345 W. H., 336 INDEX vy Pegi eh aad i ase Ra Ae PALER Bones, Jessie Woodrow, 38 Helen Woodrow, 63 Mrs. James, 38 Boston, Reception at, 318 Boyhood days, 36 et seq. Brandeis, Louis D., 138, 205 Brest, Wilson lands at, 298 Bridges, Robert, 49 Brougham, 49 Bruce, William Cabell, 55 Bryan, William Jennings, 83, 105 e¢ seq. appointed Secretary of State, 136 on currency reform, 163 peace treaties, 314 resignation, 141 resolution at Baltimore, 107 Bryant, David, 236 Bryn Mawr, Wilson at, 62, 66 Buckingham Palace, the President at, $03 Burke, Edmund, 49 John, 205 Burleson, Albert S., 188, 205 “Cabinet Government in the United States,” 131 Cabinet making and breaking, 195 et seq. Cabinet meetings, procedure at, 140 Caldwell, M. H., 56 Campaign of 1912, 115 ef seq. Carlisle, Wilson’s visit to, 34, 304 Carnegie, Andrew, 70, 241 Carranza, Wilson’s recognition of, 185 Chatham, Lord, 49 Chaumont, Wilson at, 302 China and Shantung, 311 Christianity, Wilson’s appraisement of, 860 “Christmas present for the American People,” 173 Circus episode, 56 Clark, Champ, 108, 121 Clark, Prof. John B., 123 Clarke, of Arkansas, Senator, 145 Clemenceau characterized, 306 Cleveland, President, 132, 155 Coffin, Howard E., 208 Colby, Bainbridge, 139 Colleges, Democracy in, 81, 83 College days at Davidson, 41 Princeton, 46 ef seq. Virginia, 54 et seq. College Voters, League of, 118 Columbus, Wilson’s speech at, 327 7) ore ot te an r Fao En en rr eeePeretti on) een eer et ea Ere eS Ln Oe eT SO SPSS rare rors aes pe et an A eae four ints eed He a tt od Seernt 378 Congress of Vienna, 316 “ Congressional Government,” 59, 84, 131 “Constitutional Government in United States,” 88 Coolidge, President, 188, 322 Country Club, Princeton as a, 76 Covenanter heritage, 27 Covenant of the League of Nations, 318 et seq. Croker, Richard, 100 Crowell, Benedict, 208 Currency System, 165 et seq. Daniels, Josephus, 138, 182, 205 Danish West Indies, 192 Davidson College, 41 Davis, “Boss” Bob, 97 Davis, Dr. E. P., 50, 341 intimate picture of Wilson et seq. Davis, Jefferson, 37 Dawes, General Charles G., 322 Day, David T., 61 Death of Woodrow Wilson, 357 Debates, Wilson in, 50, 55, 157 Deeds, Edward A., 208 Degree of Ph.D., 61 Democratic National Convention, 105 et seq. and the Philippines, 191 Democratic National Executive Com- mittee, 355 organization in New Jersey, Wilson and the, 98 platform, tariff plank, 157 Dercum, Dr. Francis X., 339 Derry, John T., 39 De Schweinitz, Dr. George, 339 Dewey, Admiral George, 189 Davis R., 61 Disability of the President, 153, 340 “Division and Reunion, 1829-89,”’ 85 “Dollar Diplomacy,” 193 Dolphin, U.S. S., 180 Duane, William, 29, 30 Dubois, Ex-Senator, 113 Eight-hour day, 197 Election to Presidency, 125 Elkus, Abram, 205 Ely, Richard T., 60 England, Wilson arrives in, 303 Eumenean Literary Society, 41 Europe, the President in, 298 et seq. Europe, Wilson’s second visit to, 309 the INDEX Federal Farm Loan Act, 174 Reserve System, 165 et seq. Trade Commission, 60, 124 Fiume, Italy’s claims to, $10, $20 Fletcher, Admiral, 183 Foch, General, 296 Food restrictions, 37 Forces in the world, the greatest, 90 Fordney Emergency Tariff, 163 Foster, John W., 146 Fourteen Points of Peace, 291 France, Wilson’s reception in, 298 Funeral of Woodrow Wilson, 362 et seg. Galt, Mrs. Edith Bolling, 335 et seg. Garfield, Harry A., 208 Garrison, Lindley M., 137, 143 ef seq. Gauss, Professor Christian, 53 George Washington, Wilson sends for the, 310 German propaganda in Mexico, 187 Glass, Carter, 139, 168, 171 Glass-Owen Currency measure, 170 Glee Club, 48, 58, 60 Glenn, Governor R. B., 42 Gompers, Samuel, 118 Goodwin, ‘‘Pete,” 47 Gould, E. R. L., 61 Governor of New Jersey, 95 et Seq. Graduate School at Princeton, 79 et seg. Grandfather of President Wilson, 29 Grant, President, 140 Grayson, Dr. Cary T., 64, 338, 341 appraisement of Wilson, 342 Wilson’s last words to, 356 Gregory, Thomas W., 139 Guildhall, the President at the, 304 Hadley, Herbert S., 121 Haiti, 194 Harding, President, 164 Wilson at funeral of, 354 Harmon, Judson, 108 ef seq. Harrison, Francis Burton, Governor of Philippines, 192 Hawaii, 193 Hearst, William Randolph, 121 Hernia, operation for, 344 Hindenburg’s disapproval of peace plan, 296 Historical Fellowship, 60 “History of the American People,” 86 Hitchcock, Senator, 325 Hoar, Senator, 190 Hoover, Herbert, 208 Horner, J. M., 55 Father of Woodrow Wilson, 31, 39, 92 House, Colonel, 138,314 Houston, David F., 138, 205Howe, Dr. George, 33 Howe, Mrs., 341 Hubbard, Governor of Texas, 57 Huerta, General Victoriano, 176 Hughes, Charles Evans, 267 Hunt, Dr. Theodore Whitefield, 52 “Tam ready,” 356 Illness of Wilson, 335 et seq. Imperialism, Wilson on, 136 Inaugural Ball, why there was no, 63 Inauguration of Wilson, 127 ef seq. Indianapolis speech, 176, 315, 329 et seq. Ingle, Edward T., 61 Inherited traits, 27 ef seq. International Control, Commission on, 301 justice, 317 International Review, 48, 131 Interstate Commerce Commission, 173 Invalid President, the, 344 et seq. Ireland, freedom of, 320 Irish ancestry, 28 Island territories, 189 et seq. Italian delegation withdraws from con- ference, 310 Italy, the President in, 305 and Fiume, 310, 320 Jackson, Andrew, 85 Jackson, “Stonewall,” 358 Jackson Day Dinner, 136 Japan’s claim to Shantung, 311 Jefferson College, 31 Jenkins, W. O., 150 Johns Hopkins University, 60 ef seq. Johnson, Dr. Alexander, 70 Johnson, Hiram, 122 Joline, Adrian, 82 Jones Act, 192 Jugo-Slavia and Fiume, 310, 320 Kant’s “Critique,” 47 Kennedy, Ross, 33 “Kept Us Out of War,” 273 Kern, Senator, 111, 119 Keswick, England, 63 King and Queen of England, 303 King and Queen of Italy, 305 Labor Legislation, International, 301 La Follette, Senator, 125 Lamar, Judge Joseph R., 39, 184 Lane, Franklin K., 137 Lansing, Robert, 146 resigns, 153 statement on Haiti, 194 Wilson, 225 Latimer, of Virginia, 41 INDEX 379 Latin-American States, Wilson’s policy on, 184 Lawrence textile strike, 123 Lawyer, Wilson as, 59 League of College Voters, 118 League of Nations, 294 et seq. result of Senate disapproval of, 295 tied to treaty, 309 League to Enforce Peace, 314 Tecky, William, 42 Lee, Robert E., 37 Lehman, Frederick W., 184 Levermore, Charles B., 60 “Lightfoot Club,” 38 Limerick, a Wilson, 99 Lincoln, President, 37, 139, 140 Lind, Ex-Governor, 177 Lloyd George and the khaki election, 300 characterized, 306 Lobbies at Washington, 158 Lodge, Senator, 323 Los Angeles, Wilson at, 328 Low, A. Maurice, 132 Ludendorff’s memoirs, 296 Lusitania, 252 McAdoo, Mrs. William G., 62 William G., 117, 136 McCombs, W. F., 110, 117 McKinley, President, 155 McReynolds, J. C., 137, 205 Madero, Francisco, 176 Magna Charta of Peace, the, 350 Manchester, the President at, 304 Manning, N. C., Jr., 56 Marriage, first, 62 second, 335 Marryat’s novels, 40 Marshall, Thomas R., 114, 119 Martin, Colonel William, 41 Martine, James E., 100 Mebane, Dr. David, 43 Medary, Samuel, 30 Memorial Day, 1916, speech, 315 “Men and Manner in Parliament,” 47 Meredith, Edwin T., 139 “Mere Literature,’ 91 Message to Congress, first, 158 Mexico, relations with, 150, 175 et seq. Minneapolis, Wilson at, 124 Minor, John B., 54 Mobile, Wilson at, 184, 193 Money, glorification of, 80 Money-bags campaign blundering, 120 Monroe Doctrine, 194, 316, $21 “Monsieur Mouton,” 42 Morgan, J. Pierpont, 107 LIAISE TS SSS a Oe? eer eee een ~ iets meeps ROSS ee ee ee eta Fe Sa Aaa STE ee eee a Tears - a! 4 Fea Ra Ot Tn eesoe Coe ot Dd NTO cee alia rein Cae Oc Sr a Td RARER ARETE Nm H ai 380 Morgenthau, Henry, 205 Morris, Prof. Charles S., 61 Mount Vernon, speech at, 317 INDEX National Defense, Council of, 118 National Guard, 145 Naval Oil Reserves, 133 Navy, fondness for the, 44 “New Freedom,” 89 New York, “greatest Italian city in the world,” 306 Nickname, 42 Nobel Prize award, 25 Nomination ballots, 112, 114 Novels by Wilson in days of youth, 40 Obregon, President of Mexico, 188 Oil Reserves, Naval, 128, 133 Old Guard Republicans, 122 Omaha, speech at, 326 “Omit No Word or Act,’’ 253 Orlando of Italy characterized, 3 Page, Roswell, 58 Palmer, A. Mitchell, 139 Dr. Benjamin M., 39 Panama Canal Tolls, 195 Pan-American Conference, 194 07 Paris, Peace Conference at, 301 et seq. Paris, why Wilson went to, 317 Parker, Judge, 95, 106 Patton, Francis Landey, 73 Payne, John Barton, 139 Payne-Aldrich Tariff act, 116, 16 Peace, a vision of world, 313 ef se Conference, opening of, 301, 1 q- 306 outlined in fourteen points, 291 Peaceful penetration, 290 et seq. Penfield, Frederic C., 205 Percy, Leroy, 56 Perry, Bliss, 91 Pershing, General, 238, $62 Phi Kappa Psi, 55 Philippine Islands, 145, 189 ez seq Phillips, Dr. Charles, 41 Pittsburgh papers, 30 Pope, Wilson’s interview with the, 305 Porto Rico, 193 Potts, Rev. George C., 29 Precedent breaking, 77, 220 et se Presbyterian elder, Woodrow Wilson as, 359 5 President and the Presidency, 12 Press censorship, 29 Princeton, matriculation at, 46 president of, 77 et seq. professor at, 70 the Wilson home at, 62 7 et seq. Princetonian, The, 48 Procter, William C., 79 Progressive party, 122 Protection, 157 Pueblo, last speech at, 334 “Quad” system at Princeton, 78 Radio, Wilson’s message by, $48 Railroad strike, 197 Raleigh, Wilson at, 358 Ramage, B. J., 61 Redfield, W. C., 138 Reed, Thomas B., 155 Reforming the Currency, 165 et seq. Religion of Woodrow Wilson, 358 e¢ seq. Renick, Edward Ireland, 59 Renick & Wilson, 59 Reparation Commission, 301 Reservations to treaty, 324 Restoration program, Wilson’s pre-war, 129 Richardson, of Mississippi, 41 “Road Away from Revolution,” 351 Rome, Wilson at, 305 Roosevelt, Theodore, 120 et seq. and League of Peace, 25 and tariff revision, 156 Rosenwald, Julius, 208 “Round Robin” of Senators, 133, 320 Ruffin, Dr. Sterling, 339, 356 Russell, Mrs. Joseph R., 43 Russian revolution, 351 Ryan, Thomas F., 107 St. Louis, speech at, 332 “Sand Hills,” 38 Sayre, Mrs. Francis B., 62 “Scholar in Politics,” 96 Schwab, Charles, 208 Scotch and Irish strains, 28 Sea, Wilson’s love for the, 44 Wilson’s stories of the, 40 Seattle, Wilson at, 338 Sea Girt, Wilson at, 110, 117 Seward, William H., 140 Shantung, 311 Shaw, Albert, 61 Sherman, James S., 121 Silver plank, Wilson’s attitude toward, 136 Smith, Adam, 61 Smith, Rev. Herbert S., 336 James, Ex-Senator, 96 Sonnino, of Italy, President Wilson’s reply to, 306 South, Cabinet members from the, 205Southern Presbyterian Theological Sem- inary, 39 Speaking tour, President begins his, 322 Sprunt, Dr. James, 94, 359 “State: Elements of Historical and Prac- tical Politics,” the, 85 Stettinius, E. R., 208 Stitt, Rear Admiral E. R., 339 Stonewall Jackson, Wilson speaks on, 358 Stovall, Pleasant A., 38 Strike, Lawrence textile, 123 railroad, 197 Suarez, Vice-President of Mexico, 176 “Swing around the circle,” the, 328 Taft, Ex-President, 115, 176, 190, 319 Talcott, Charles A., 66 Tariff reform, 155 ef seq. measure signed, 161 Taussig, Professor, 162 Taylor, Rev. James H., 336 Teapot Dome, 120, 128, 13 Thilly, Prof. Frank, 236 “Thinking Machine,” Wilson as a, 27 Thornwell, Dr. James H., 34, 39 Toast that failed, the, 104 “Too proud to fight,” 81 Treaty of Versailles, 312, 321, 323 Trenton, address at, 359 Tumulty, Joseph P., 148 et seq., 205 Turin, Wilson at, 306 Underwood, Oscar, 108 et seq. University and the State, 73 Unknown Soldier, Wilson at burial of, 354 Vanderlip, Frank A., 171, 208 Vaudeville, Wilson’s interest in, 346 Vera Cruz seized, 183 service in honor of dead at, 188 Vest, Senator, 161 Veto by Wilson of high tariff on farm products, 163 Victory Loan and the Federal Reserve system, 171 INDEX Vienna, Congress of, 316 Villa, Francisco, 185 Virginia, the “Mother of Presidents,” 36 Virginia, University of, 54 Virgin Islands, 192 War, 281 et seq. aims, 290, 316 between the States, 33 Warren, Charles B., 208 Me Gl Washington and “Alliances,” 328 Wilson’s life of, 36, 61, 86 “Watchful waiting,” 179, 184 Wesleyan University, 62, 69 Western Theological Seminary, 31 West Point, address at, 315 “When a Man Comes to Himself,” 360 Wichita, Wilson stricken at, 327