The Washington herald., 1912-12-30
Mr.. Wilson's Policies.

From Inc accounts WHICH, DN liz
Washington Hcralds representative,
Gov. Wilson made an excellent i'm
preston upon the people of his native
State. His mien, his actions all were
thoroughly democratic, and, hence,
pleasing to the man in everyday walk
of life. There is nothing of what, in
the parlance OF the day. is called stuck
up" about the President-to-be, who, to
Judge from the Stanton episode,
knows how to gain the confidence of
those whom he addresses.
His reitcration of his determination
to keep the pledges of the Democratic
platform. while it was nothing but
what had been expected, was pleasing
10 the ears of the Southerners, who
have labored under the impression that
their beloved Dixie has not had fair
play under the present administration.
And what was more natural than that
Gov. Wilson should win all the hearts
of his hearers when he brought them
the message OF the North. that there
shall be no more sectionalism between
the North and the South"
Mr.. Wilson. with one well calculated
leap, has bridgcd what heretofore has
been a dangerous chasm between Bour-
bonism and republicanism
His reference TO the far-off Philip
pines in his very first public political
utterancc is to be judged more as a
compliment which Mr.. Wilson paid to
the efforts OF Representative Jones of
Virginia, who was one of his COM
panions on the trip TO his native town,
than as something OF so serious a ma
ture as to occupy the attention of an
incoming President ahead of the Shap-
ing of his official family and OF many
other leading issues a great deal nearer
home. Mr.. Jones is the father of the
bill planning autonomy for our wards
in Asia.
But there was one sentence in Mr.
Wilson's speech which deserves more
than passing consideration. It was
this:
We are now aware that VIC arc not
going TO be served by institutions; that
mere finely conceived constitutions do
not constitute the body of liberty; that
the body of liberty can be had only
in the use of institutions to serve the
permanent needs of the rank and file
of men.
There can be only one explanation
of this utterance 1t is that whenever
the Constitution. no matter how finely
conceived, does not measure up to what
the distinguished speaker conceiveS to
be necessary to prescnt-day notions of
liberty, it does not constitute liberty,
and must be made to serve the per
manent needs of the rank and file"
This reads like an utterance made by
Roosevelt And here is another, but
with this difference. that when the Bull
Moose colonel said it he was fishing
for popularity, while there can be no
doubt that Gov. Wilson means every
word he says:
So that we are learning again that
the service of humanity is the business
of mankind and that the business of
mankind must be set forward by the
governments which mankind sets up, in
order that justice may be done and
mercy not forgotten. All the world, l
say, is turning now as never before to
this conception of the elevation of hu-
mainly, of men and women, | mean,
not of the preferred few, not of those
who can by superior wits or unusual
opportunity struggle to the top. no
matter whom they trample under foot,
but the rights of men who cannot
struggle to the top, and who must,
therefore, be looked to by the force
of society. for they have no single
force by which they can serve them
selves.
To sum up, it seems from this en-
traordinarily daring speech that Gov.
Wilson has made up his mind to be
conservative where conservatism is in
place, but that he will not hesitate 10
show radicalism wherever, in his judg-
raent. the elevation and betterment of
mankind" will make it necessary TO
set aside tradition, and even the Con-
stitution.