New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-10-20
Mr.. Wilson Says a Few Kind Words
for Himself.

In writing to Mr.. Underwood, President Wilson
was not deferred by any fear Of self-praise. AS
the public knows. Congress has been merely his
rubber stamp and when he lauds what was done
at the Capitol he lauds what was conceived and
formulated at the White House. Any tribute on
his part to the high merit Of the legislation of
Congress is therefore a tribute to himself.
Summed up by its taskmaster, the great work Of
Congress was that it "set business free" If bust
ness has been "set free" it has had to pay dearly
for that freedom. The European war has inter
vened to make the tariff reductions of the Under
wood bill abortive. Yet business was pretty hard
hit before the European powers suspended indus
try and set to fighting. The Clayton act may have
aimed at breaking down monopoly, but it consti-
tuted two classes of privileged violators of the
prohibitions against conspiracy to restrain compe-
tition and it also has confused all the sound stand
ards for the application Of the antitrust law
which the courts have laboriously established.
His foreign policy, too the President says, has
"set business free" But so far as may be judged
from its application in Mexico, it has only
fomented revolution and encouraged the disOrderly
elements there TO make free with American IN
terests and investments.
The feature Of Mr. Wilson's letter which most
opens it to criticism is its tendency to translate
laws into results and take for granted that bill
passed is the same thing as a reform achieved. He
speaks of the new tariff, for instance, as if it
had already demonstrated It's ability TO lower
prices and curb monopoly. Nothing could be fur
ther from the fact The brief operation of the
law up to the outbreak of the European war
showed no influence on prices and no stimulation
of the small producer that the consumer could de
tect To-day the country is operating under a
system of protection more complete than anything
we have known since the days of the Jeffersonian
embargo War has practically eliminated foreign
competition and set the working of the new tariff
at naught.
The same holds true of the Presidents eulogy
Of the currency act and the Clayton act. He
speaks of these untried statutes as if they had
already created democracy of credit" and new
fields "of fresh individual endeavor" The currency
act, for all its compromises may we'll improve our
currency system: that it will produce anything re
motley resembling democracy of credit is sheer
imagining. the pursuit of phrase. As for the
Clayton bill, the only fields Of fresh individual
endeayOr' which it is likely to open are those OF
litigation.
Against the Presidents undue haste. the haste
Of a theorist, it is interesting to set the calm
words of Mr.. Underwood. an old observer Of laws
and their uses, in his reply to Mr. Wilson's letter
We cannot expect that the reforms inaugurated
by your administration will Immediately demon
strate their worth. After law is on the statute
books IL takes months and often years before the
sentiment of the country adjusts itself to the new
( conditions, but l feel that time will prove
that the legislation which has been enacted al
this Congress is the beginning of new life for
our nation.
Mr. Underwood brings sharply to mind the fact
that while fine phrases are excellent reading hard
practical results are better stun which to judge
a party or an administration. For those results
the voters must wait, and while waiting is it
anything more than common sense to ask Mr..
Wilson and his further policies TO wait with them?