The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-05-18
The Secret of Woodrow Wilson's
Extraordinary Success.

In the May American Magazine Raw
Stsnnard Baker writes valuable and
highly entertaining article about Wood
row Wilson, in which he gives his ex-
PLANTATION of the presidents success. He
goes back and shows how Mr.. Roosevelt
picked Taft because he thought that
Taft would give legal definition to the
moral impulse which was then sweeping
the country. Mr.. Roosevelt believed that
Taft, because he had been great law
yer, would be great president. This,
Mr.. Baker thinks, was a grave mistake.
What the country headed was not n
great lawyer but great thinker Law
yers look backward, thinkers look for
ward Mr.. Baker goes on in part as
follows:
''In Mr.. Wilson the country has at
last given birth to thinker.
Most men are half minded. most con
gressmen are half minded; they believe
that a problem has only one end But
thinker knows that problem is like
magnet. equally charged at both ends
Where there is centrifugal force at
work he knows that there is centr-
petal force equally at work. He knows
that new forms of decentralization in
government must always be held in
check by new forms of Capitalization.
Only a democracy can be trusted with
an autocrat.
'Now. a thinker is so rare, either in
the White House or outside of it, that
it is difficult to know just how TO take
him. Washington has not been so puz-
zled over anyone in years as it is over
Mr.. Wilson.
II CHANGED to come across two men
who had recently been up to the White
House to call on the president. The
first one told me he thought Wilson ex-
tremely difficult of APPROACHING so
much physically as Intellectually
he was distant. communicative likely
to parry inquiries with pleasing ironies.
| should say that this was the domi-
nant view at Washington of those who
go rather frequently to see Mr.. Wilson.
While he meets his visitors with smile
he rarely volunteers anything He
stands and waits patiently as though
both his physical and mental
strength. Some visitors, remembering
the vital impact of that tremendous
of a Roosevelt, or the robust
good humor of Taft, come away from
The quiet thinker OF the White House
puzzled and disappointed.
"The other visitor | talked with is
himself thinker. and personally rather
shy. He saw something in the currency
bill that he thought was wrong He
worked it out carefully. Ii proved upon
him. He felt that the country must be
iaved. Il love TO meet man who feels
hat he must save the country!l Well. |
he went up to see Mr. Wilson, and from |
he rather incoherent report he gives
or he came away much delighted /
on appears one of the most afrable, en-
husiastic and appreciative of men.
what happened was this: My friend I
lad real and important idea. and he /
md it were received by the president /
With that iov and enthusiasm with which 4
true thinker ever welcomes an idea. /
Iere was man who could help him,
nd help the country
Most men who go to the White House
nd claim a share of the presidents
riceless time have no business whatever
here. They want to see the president:
hey want to touch his hand, or hear his
dice: so that afterward they may exile
aintly something of the aroma of great
lace They 90 TO get something, not
o give something. and Mr.. Wilson, con-
CRYING every ounce of his none too TO-
ust energy for the work before him,
ppcars reserved, distant"