The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-03-02
ONE YEAR OF
Mr.. WILSON
Ancient Inst : ons and Prece-
dents Hay seen Eclipsed
byfs mocratic
s ssident.
lBy Burton X. Standish, written TO
the United Press

democratic administration of Wood
row Wilson will be one year old this
week. For absolute defiance OF an
cient institutions and precedents it |
has eclipsed that of any other chief
executives since the early days of
the republic. The two big things in
legislative achievement were the tar
iff and currency bills. Both are still
under fire and their success cannot
positively be determined within an
other year. Democrats say they are
bringing about a condition OF prosper
ity in this country which directly bene-
fits the wage Garner and small busi-
ness men rather than the stockhold-
ers in the big corporations. Republi-
cans dispute this and say that the
day of the soup house is at hand.
But these are matters of history.
It has been rather in the lighter way
that President Wilson has attracted
attention. The first thing he did after
subscribing to the oath or office was
to hand a real wallop to society as
it is represented in Washington An
nouncement was made that the demo
cratic simplicity was to be the rule.
Instead Of gold laced military aides
to trail his every step and .nterpose
their bulk between the president and
the common people, a civilian garbed
physician and husky, blonde, well
dressed secret service man lolled
about and the president saw whom
by rigid rules and red tape. The Of
fee of his secretary was thrown open
to the public generally and the presi-
dent would emerge from his private
Office frequently to mingle with the
lpopulace and transact business on the
jump.
/ When congress assembled it got a
real jolt instead Of receiving q
iponderous document from the hands
of a clerk which would be read in a
| sing-song tone that meant nothing.
the president delivered his first, and
all subsequent messages in person
making his telling points with all the
emphasis of the trained platform
orator with the result that, while the
/ first message was listened to in sill
ence, his last, the trust document,
was punctuated with real applause
from friends and foes. And the presi-
dents room in the capitol building
an ornate chamber reserved in the
/ past for occupancy on one day a
session only-has been frequently
used Instead of sending for the mem-
bers the president went to them with
the result that patronage muddles
/ have been cleared UP with unheard of
expedition
\ Instead Of secluding himself from
newspaper CORRESPONDENTS, granting
audiences only to the cuckoo repre-
Isentatives who reflected administra-
/ ton views, the president has granted
open audiences to all properly ac-
credited newspaper correspondents
twice weekly. He has witstood fire
of questions, often hostile, regarding
politics, and has answered even more
frankly than might have been ex-
pected, the only limitation being the
ancient prohibition that the president
must never be quoted directly.
/ That. time honored institution. the
New Years reception. where Mike
Tom, and Jerry. their wives and their
friends, flock to the white house and
squeeze the presidents hand while he
stands like a mannikin in death
dealing draught and tries to look as
though he enjoyed all, also went by
the boards The reason given this
year was that the president was sick
and needed a rest. Next year there
will be an equally good excuse. And
dame rumor whispers that certain oi
the other fixed receptions along sim
liar lines are periliously near this
tdiscard.
i The first democratic president since
4 Cleveland had the Mexican situation
ibequqeathed him by his predecessor
Taft He still has that problem or
his hands, though he adopted unique
measures TO solve it, one of them be
Ing the unprecedented step Of sending
4 to Mexico City special envoy, Johr
Lind. to figure out ways and means.
The democratic administration
bumped into the Japanese question
!. early in the summer. and that, too, !.
, still pending. Likewise the Panami
tolls controversy with Great Britain
and the demands OF Colombia for set
ltlement Of claims arising out of th'
secession of Panama.
The McReynolds-Wils
5 incident popped up to emDarrass th'
/ democratic officials. President vii
son issued statements backing up hi
cabinet officers in their protestation
that there had been no attempt L