Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-16
SCOPE OF PRESIDENCY
POWER OF CHIEF MAGISTRATE
GROWING, SAYS WILSON.

NEW YORK, March 16.-woodrow Will
son, president Of Princeton University,
speaking yesterday in his lecture at Column
bia on 1.-THE President of the United
States" emphasized the fact that the power
of the President is constantly growing and
that the presidency has come to be some
thing entirely different from what it was in
tended to be by the makers of the Consti
tuition. While they intended him to be only
the executive of the laws, he has become,
according to DR.. Wilson, the political leader
of his party and the popular leader Of the
whole nation. By his work in these capaci-
ties his executive duties have been SUBJ
merged.
Presidents and Newspapers.
DR.. Wilson said that with the immense
business of government it was absolutely
impossible for President to be an execu-
tive. Il have he said. in the course Of
my life known two or three Presidents. and
in talking with them the most interesting
thing 1 have found out is how little they
know about affairs in Washington. What
they find out they learn by reading the
newsp apers, and they do not have time TO
read as much as an ordinary citizen. l have
known ex-Presidents to turn back after
they got out of office to find out what nap
pened while they were Presidents. If
President gets any sleep at ALL he can find
out but small part of what is going on"
DR.. Wilson termed the messages of Pres
idents only interesting essays" depending
for their force entirely on the character Of
the man behind them. The speaker avoided
almost all reference to President Roosevelt,
speaking Of him only once This was when
he spoke Of the fact that the President had
become a leader of the whole people. DR..
Wilson told how a person who wanted any
thing done could have little success if he
went to Congress with it. Everybody"
said the speaker, who wants anything done
goes to the President. and in the present
case the President seems willing to do any
thing"
Effect of Spanish War.
Some of Dr. Wilson's remarks follow:
From 1866 to 1898 no President except
Mr.. Cleveland played a leading part in the
drama of our life. and he played only be-
cause of his native force and the confused
politics of the time, not because he was Of
fered leadership by the system which has
subordinated so many Presidents before
him to Congress; The war with Spain
changed the whole balance of parts in our
government. Foreign questions came to
the front as they had in tine first days Of
the government, and in them the President
was of necessity leader. Our new place
in the affairs Of nations has kept him at
the front of our government, where all at
tention centerS.
There is an evident tendency which has
gathered force from generation to genera
ton to look upon him as the unifying force
in the complex system, the leader of both
the party and the nation. The role of party
leader is forced upon the President by the
method Of his chOice-by the system Of
party convention which has grown up
since Jackson's day. 1t is sometimes very
uncertain way and even a haphazard
method of choosing leader Men who are
the actual leaders of their party have
again and again been passed by lie choice,
cOmDaratlyelV COlOrloSS
men chosen. Men of sudden and recent
eminence, too, have been picked out, whom
few beforehand had thought of as desirable
or available. The tendency. however, has
been to discover the real leaders when the
posture of affairs was such as to make
effective leadership desirable. There is
no school for presidential candidates I'M
less it be the governorship of states.