New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-08-08
ASTONISHING.


The speech of acceptance delivered
yesterday ar sen Girt, y. j. is an
as+oundinc political document Who
wrote II: Certainly not DIT NooHto"
Wilson. the historian. publicist ana
student Of government, chased 10 the
Goods some tine ago because OF MS
Unfortunate tendency to express oeA-
,.3ta views on all sorts Of emoarraSs4A-
o,,est,ons Neither could il have oeen
Governor Wilson, who on quitting
scholarship for politics deliberately
ADOPTED q programme Of rsdlcaIlsnl'
discovered that William J. Bryan was
the one fixed point in the Democracy
and received the Democratic Presiden-
nal nomination solely because the con-
vention was persuaded by Nj. Bryan
and others that as q radical he Wou-d
neither bleach nor shrink. The man
,rbo made radicansm q stepping stone
10 political prefermeut would naturaly
have had some kindly word 70 say 81
the radicalism o. the Baltimore conven-
,ion-the most progressive which the
Democratic party has ever held.
No. the inspiration Of yesterdays nd
dress must have come from some other
ouarrer. Matthew :. Quay once tele'
.~suhed 70 q Republican candidate TOT
Governor In Pennsylvania: Dear
Reaver-Don't talk y COMMUNICATION
IRON the managers Of tie Wilson cam
uoicn must have reached Sea Girt a
.rounie Of weeks ago. reading: Dear
...Woodrow-Talk. # you have n, oul
don't say anything" NOBODY VINO
carefully studies the remarkable COLO
ca-icn o. polished commentaries ana
.r,6ied avasions delivered yesterday ar
Sea Girt can see IN it any Of the chaF-
.crerisucs OF the Wilson Of the past
.ava the single one-a disposition to
l.ic,. over the ladder By which he las
ri.cn-which came into unpleasant
notice in the course Of the Wilson-HaT-
vey-Watersou trlces.
Mr.. Wilson shoulders of the Bryan
national platform with as much GA
cjalirv o. he exhibited in snouldeTlng
off colonel Harvey. temporarily irA-
some devotion. The country has been
eagerly waiting 10 know what be
thought of the form given 70 up-to-date
democratic principles bg the Baltimore
convention. Democratic newspapers
eabouts have been urging him 10
modify the platform. They wanted 70
know how he stood on the protection
issue on the asserted unconstitutional
4rv Of tariff duties except for purposes
of revenue, on the removal OF import
taxes from the necessaries q lie, OF
The federal incorporation and regula'
ton OF interstate business and on the
single Presidential term. But they
might as well have insisted on Nj
Wilson's saying whether or not he SUI
considers the exclusion Of Chinese la
borers a political and economic blunoer
He coldlv waves the Baltimore plat
form aside as incOnseQuentiaL "The
-.platfor1u is not a programme be say
we are not about 10 ask the people Of
The United States 70 adopt our plat
form" If he IS not going 70 ask the
people 10 bother about the platform
why should be bother about II himself
II seams doubtful whether. after all. he
found time 70 read the platform. II be
had he would probably have felt com
peUed % take notice OF az least one
declaration n it touching his personal
honor as a party candidate-that pleds-
ine Rim 70 promote and I've Up to the
idea Of O single Presidential term.
having ignored the Conventions plat
form. the Democratic candidate next
rakes pains TO obscure and obfuscatc
mis- own. In the whole address there is
scarcely the minutest concrete sugges-
non OF any sort on any subject. There
wns q time in American politics when
the availability OF o candidate for the
Presidency was supposed 20 turn large
IN on his having no record and being
able 70 put a paddock on his thoughts.
But that era IS long past. The candi-
date nowadays who shrinks from say
inc what be thinks is rightly booted OFT
the hastings. Mr. Wilson Seems 70
think that the soters are not interested
in passing on his opinions, but merely
in voting him into Office. The man
AYERS OF his canvass have made q
.grieyous blunder if they believe that
the best thing for him to DO is 10 close
up ss tight a. clam Oh all contentious
issues. expecting simply to float into tnc
Presidency. Presidents are not 20 be
made that way, and Mr. Wilson's sd
Yisers have done his cause ar the outset
vast amount Of harm by sanCtouins
the issue Of an acceptance speech 50
barren. tridins and pseudo-academic
in sincerity and practically SO far be-
low any standard which candidates fer
President within the memory Of this
generation have ever set
--
A GOOD EXAMPLE.