The Washington herald., 1913-11-12
Correspondent Says The
Herald Does Not Know
the President.

To the Editor: You are all wrong as to
President Wilson's attitude on the cur
rency situation. You maintain that he Is
open to conviction. and that he is not
bringing pressure TO bear on the Senate
In order to hurry through the administra-
ton measure. Nothing of the kind About
this, as in many other situations in the
past, he has closed his mind. he knows
that ne is right, he doesn't want 10 talk
with anybody who disagrees with him,
and he Is doing ali. in his power TO brow
beat the Senate to his way Of thinking
MY letter to you is called forth by your
series OF editorials on the currency ques-
ton, entitled "OpeEmindedness," Save
Ne from My Friends" THE President
May Be Trusted &C. A fine spirit OF
cooperation and a desire to help breathes
through these editorials, and I cannot
but admire your consistent faith in be-
iieving that the President cannot act
otherwise, in this vitality important mat
ter. than In a broad minded way. But
you don't know the man.
Please. do not misinterpret my words.
believe President Wilson to be a
patriot Of high character, devoted to
the public welfare. possessing extra
ordinary ability and unusual political
acuteness. But he Is at the same time
prodigious egoist His whole record
shows 1t. At Princeton, In the situation
which finally rent the college almost
asunder and resulted In Mr.. Wilson's
prompt entry into public ME win the
help of Senator Jim Smith (the deficien-
cies Of whose character Mr.. Wilson soon
learned so well that he cut on all in
tercourse with him), at Princeton, say,
the whole trouble could have been ad-
tusted again and again, had Mr.. Wilson
been willing TO listen TO anyone's counsel
but his own. But there he refused TO
talk with the people who disagreed with
him. He was entirely confident that his
own opinion was right and he did not
want to waste his time and energy in
getting any new light TemperamentaIIy
he hates to argue any question with
people who have a judgment differing
from his own.
most since the first day that he stepped
into the White House. The earliest mat
ter of first rate Importance in our for
eign relations that came before him was
as to the Chinese loan. In this matter
he sought, I am informed. no first hand
information whatsoever; he omitted to
secure the consensus OF his Cabinet about
It: and finally, without consulting the
permanent officials OF the State Depart
gave his announcement of a complete re-
versal Of this governments policy to the
newspaper press alone, making no COM
munication direct to the five foreign
powers which had been acting with us
for years. / am not quarreling with the
Presidents China policy as announced.
But his method of arriving at the end was
peculiarly wilsonian and Inundated US
needlessly among the foreign powers.
Another instance nf the PragidPnt q
sincere self-sufiiciency was in the change
OF policy announced in respect to the
Philippines. Did he call his Cabinet to-
gether TO discuss a change of such vast
import? I am told that only two members
Of that body were even informed be-
forehand of the change which had been
decided upon. OF piece with this is
the Presidents abandonment of the time
honored policy of holding stated Cabi-
net meetings once or twice a week. For
a century past, our Presidents have
chosen their Cabinets with the idea not
simply OF picking good departmental
heads, but OF securing, on questions of
broad general policy. wise advisers, rep
resenting many different parts OF the
not feel the need. or value, of getting his
counselors all together at one time,
around the table.
II is the same way in this complex
currency problem. Mr.. Wilson has never
laid claim to knowledge OF banking and
currency problems. In all his historical
and political essays Of past years his
only definite contribution to the problem
was to express sentiments in opposition
to President Jackson's views against a
United States Bank. Yet, now we find
him declaring himself in the most posi-
tive terms upon all the abstruse cur
rency problems OF the Owen-Glass bill,
declaring in effect that it is already
perfect and that the Senate will be re-
creant TO its trust II It fails to rush II
through with little or no deliberation.
You are unwilling to believe that Presi-
dent Wilson has taken this attitude.
But 1 happen to know that he has II
is a case where he honestly believes that
steam-roIler methods are justifiable. My
own belief is that the Senators will not
lie down meekly in front Of the roller
and allow themselves 10 be fiattened out
But you never can tell.
Respectfully yours,
FAITHFUL READER
Philadelphia, Pa, Nov. 6, 1873