New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-11-05
The Country Has Made an End
of Wilson and Wisconsin.

recognized that when II put In big letters on the
front cover Of the Democratic campaign book
Thank God for Wilson" Every Democratic can
didste who thought he was IN danger tried TO get
certificate Of character from the President The
voters everywhere were asked TO pass on the rec
ord made by the Wilson administration.
Their answer is decisive Control Of the House
Of Representatives may not have been absolutely
taken out of Democratic hands But Demo
cratic majority over ell Of 149 and plurality OF
1870 over the straight Republicans have nearly van
ished and It looks as If the ant-Democratc
elements would have strength enough to keep
Democratic activities down 10 minimum in the
next house. In any event, the lower branch OF
Congress has ceased 10 be plant instrument Tor
understanding legislation prepared at the White
House
Mr. Wilson'S defeat In the second year of his
term is as crushing for all practical purposes as
were the nid-term defeats which overlook PreSi-
dent Taft in 1910. President Cleveland in 1894,
President Harrison in 1890 and President Arthur
in 1852. Those catastrophes portended the e1pui-
sion Of the party in power at the next Presidential
election Unless the precedentS Of the last forty
two wears are TO be reversed, the Democratic party
will 90 out of power again in 1916 Mr.. Bryan
had evidently more Of prophetic instinct than he
has been credited with when he put an indorse
rnent of the one-term principle into the last Demo
cratic national platform.
.l,o 4u5c~ ~
administration has been failure. And the popular
Judgment is generally final IN such matters. 1t is
easy to see wherein the President failed His rad
ical mistake from the political point Of view was
in not realizing that he the choice Of a minor
itv OF the nation. He went into office only because
the elements which had long constituted the ma
iority split on question Of party administration.
He had fortuitous majority IN Congress and pro-
caaded 70 make use of It as II he had obtained
real grant Of power from the people. He kept
Congress in session for eighteen months without
break and imposed on the country vast mass OF
legislation for which It felt he had received
proper popular mandate.
Mr.. Wilson'S attitude OF absolute self suficiency
grated on the public. He may have been justified
in treating his followers in Congress with patron
izng indifference But his air of academic de
tachment and PROFESSIONAL benevolencc irr1tated
the majority elements which had let him slip into
office on sufferance Instead Of Gliding them apart,
as a good politician would j. done. he drove
them more and more together H.. his excessive ana
destructive legislative activities. To him must be
awarded the chief credit for fusing together again
the Republican and Progressive parties. The lead
ers of these parties did not welcome fusion and
did little to bring it about Many of them actually
fought against it. But Mr.. Wilson's attempts .
dislocate the machinery Of business, upsetting
credit harassing trade and production and pro-
noting unemployment forced the opposition ele
ments 10 re-combine in order to teach him Il
lesson. He vas not victim of circumstances be
yond his control but the more or less conscious
architect of his own misfortunes
The country rebelled at that peculiar aoofness
in Mr. wilson's character which made him willing
10 experiment with the whole structure of business
life. regardless of the losses and suffering which
might come to hundreds of thousands OF individ
uals. Thos, Heterogeneous gave him little per-
sonal concern. He drove credit into its hiding
places, crippled industry and trade and threw
men out Of work with no more feeling than he
would have shown IN working out problem In
algebra.
He allowed Congress TO elaborate plans for
recasting methods Of business, even after the de-
preston caused by tariff legislation had become
acute. He permitted the railroads TO be starved
although confessing that If they were not pros
porous few other industries could be expected to
prosper Last summer he began TO realize the
danger Of his course. But it was too late. The
Interstate Commerce Commission handed down
IFS farcical rate decision August l, the
same day the European war broke out The
President could not undo the harm that had been
done or save the country from the effects Of the
dorkenine period Of hard times which his policies
had brought on.
To cause hard times or TO agsravate them AFTER
they arrive is a capital offence in American poll
ho,, tai frOu