The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1914-04-17
President WILSON
HAS CHANGED
Present Attitude Not In Ac-
cord With Speeches.
During Campaign He Contended
Platform Was Not "MolasSes
to Catch Flies"

When woodrow wilson was can
didate for the Democratic nomination
for the Presidency he made q speech
at the National Press Club in Wash
ington, on February IL, 1911, on his
great hobby of publicity. Among 9TH
or things he said:
Really what We are after in the
ifbh of politics is to drive every
thing into the field of fact 6 drive
everything into the open. The root Of
all evil in politics is privacy and con-
cealment. After all, when you think
OF the things of which we have been
complaining, they arc summed up In
this, that the people do not know
and therefore cannot control the pro-
cesscs of their own politics.
THAT is the resaon why my hobby
is the hobby OF publicity. l cannot
imagine anything legitimate that a
man 3 doing that he need be afraid
to talk about. cannot imagine any
portion of the public business which
can be privately and confidentally
dealt with"
When, after q campaign on these
lines, Woodrow Wilson had succeed
ed in, obtaining the Democratic NOM
ination for the Presidency, he con-
tinued the same kind of talk. enlarg-
ing it somewhat with praise of the
Democratic PLATFORM and specifically
plddging himsef to be bound by It,.
In a speech before some 1000 New
Jersey farmers at Washington Park
on August s., 1912. he said:
Ao'ur platform Is not molasses TO
catch fIes. It means business. 1t
means what it says. 1t is the utter
ancc of earnest and honkss men who
intend to do business along those Lines
and who are not waiting to see
whether they can catch votes with
those promises before they determine
whether they are going TO net upon
them or not"
What did the Democratic platform
say? In its final paragraph, summing
up the argument on which the Demo
cratic party appealed to all citizens
to support it, 1t said:
'tOur platform Is one OF princi-
pies, which We believe TO be essential
to our national welfare. Our pledges
are made to be kept when In office
as weah as 1yiaed upon turing the
campaign" n-
One Of the pledges made jim thu
platform Is as follows:
1--WE favor the exemption from tolls
of American ships engaged in coast
wise trade passing through the Pana'
ma Canal. We $50 favor Legislation
forbidding the use of the Panama
Canal by ships owned or controlled
by railro;I1 carriers engaged In trans
potation competitive with the Ca
nas."
In his speech at Washington Park
Mr.. Wilson, the candidate. endorsed
this pldege of the platform, and said
"You see the object OF that, dom
you? We don't want the railroads t1
compete wit themselves, because We
understand that kind Of competition
| We want water carriage TO compet'
with land carriage, so as to he per
fedNy sure that YOU are going to ge
better rates around the Canal than So'
would across the continent"
On pldiges like that, Woodrow VII
son, the candidate, was elected. Blu
after he had become President some
thing happenth that changed hi
views. his speech and his action
Publicly is no longer Mr.. Wilson's
hobby and he has skillfuily and per
sistently concealed what it was tina
made him change his mind about thi'
pledge in the Democratic platform
and his own pledge to maintain. tina
platform. So now he is contendini
with his own party in Congress 10
the repeal OF the law which woul'
make that platform pledge good. III
declares now THAI he was all wrons
in what he said " the New Jerse!
farmers at Washington Park and tina
the tolls exemption constitutes
mistaken economic policy from ever!
4
point Of view"
Without in the least explainlnl
what has changed his mind or VIII.