The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1914-04-03
Chief Executive of the United States
Guided by Keen Sense of Moral.
Rectitude and Not by Influence j
FORMS OPINION, THEN ACTS
IF Mistakes Are Made by Him, They
Will be Own, Not Those Of Others"
E. Says Congressman Tavenner.
By Congressman C. H. Tavenner.

Washington April "a United
States Senator goes to the White
House. He is anxious to receive
some sort of assurance from the
President He may have a candi-
date who he thinks is specially quail
fled to hold some office. He may
be seeking the Presidents support for
some legislative measure. He is a
friend of the administration, fight
ing the Presidents battles on the
floor of the Senate.
The President receives him courte-
ously with that strange combina-
ton of warm heartedness and reserve
which is his characteristic. The
President listens attentively, asking
questions freely. The Senator has
about presented his argument, and
he slows up, giving the President
every opportunity to express the
opinion that the Senator Graves.
Does the President express any
opinion? Not if he has not made
up his mind on the subject. The
Senator can get no more definite in
formation about the same subject.
The President is the hardest man
in the United States to make express
any opinion about what he is going
to do until he makes up his mind to
do that thing. Then the intelligence
is given to everybody. The Presi-
dent hears all arguments on every
side Of a proposition. During this
search for knowledge and advice he
has the faculty Of keeping his own
mind perfectly open. He does not
do as many public men do-mase- Up
their minds in advance and hear the
arguments afterwards. In making
by advice to any appreciable extent
He acts almost always upon his own
best judgement in the case.
Woodrow Wilson is President OF
the United States singlehanded. We
have never had a President who has
played such a lone hand. John
Sharp Williams, the Senator from
Mississippi in writing recently to a
constituent. summed up Mr. Wilson s
character exactly.
IF you do not know it," he wrote,
1--WE people in Washington do know
that he is not only nominally but
really the President of the United
States, and neither Mr.. Tumulty, nor
I, nor anybody else controls him.
The truth is, nobody influences him
much"
Guided as he is by as keen a sense
Of moral rectitude as any man On
earth possesses, President Wilson is
mighty safe man for the people Of
the United States to trust Just as
he is not Influenced by the politi-
clans, in the same way he is not in
fluenced by those interests who for
years have got everything they want
ed in Washington by the use of in
fluence. Whatever Woodrow Will
son does will be the result of his own
judgement.
Had President Taft been a man of
the same characteristics, there might
not now be any Woodrow Wilson in
the White House. Taft was notori-
ously easily influenced. Sometimes
his eagerness to please those who
asked favors of him made him ap-
pear vacilating in character. He
would change his mind over and over
again, depending upon the sort of
influence brought to bear upon him.
Personally, Mr.. Taft probably dis
approved the Payne-Aldrich tariff
bill. But tremendous Influence was
brought to bear on him to make him
sign this bill, and he yielded Then
he further yielded and made speech
at Winona, Mimi, praising the law
he did not approve 1t was his po-
litical undoing
President Wilson will never he
brought to grief by yielding to influ-
ence. Any mistakes he may make
will be his own and not those Of any
other man.
Mr.. and Mrs. Bert Barker arrived
from MinOt North Dakoto to1o "