Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-03-14

i W EWGQnzp0t5 Hills zli
/ v4eg.&3Esys:l1I z..sess le1Sz11
the republic and in the crisis of civil
war, circumstances were especially
i potent In ordinary times, and especi.
ally under present conditions, when
the nation is an undisputed fact, and
party is recognized as an indispen-
sable, If extTa-constitutional, instru-
nlent in public affairs, the presidency
is what the man holding the Office
has fhe force and sagacity to make
1t"
What the Presidency Has Become.
by the operation of forces inherent
in the very nature of government"
the president has become three things
at once: Legal which was
what the trainers of the constitution
i intended; possible leader of the ma
tion-uIon which the Fathers" were
far from certain; and possible, almost
inevitable. leader of his party-which
the Fathers" certainly did not intend
he should be. Only by incapacity or
lack of personal force" can he escape
being the leader OF his party, Mr.. VIII
son thought, because he is at once
the choice of the party and of the
nation. He is the party nominee
and the only party nominee, for whom
1 the whole nation votes. He can
| dominate his party by being spokes-
man for the real sentiment and pur-
pose of the country . ! by giving the
country at once the information and
the statements of policy which will
enable it to form its judgments alike
j OF parties and of men," He has it in
his choice to be the political leader of
the nation. His is the only ma
tional voice in affairs. II he
| rightly interpret the national thought
and boldly insist upon it, he is ire
sistible." for the instinct or the coun.
try lis for unified action and it Graves
a single leader"
Throughout the foregoing utterances
runs the tendency to overshadew the
! duties and position of chief magis-
trate by those Of political leader. The
president lis the unifying power in a
complex system but this complex
system includes not only the separated
legislative, executive, and judicial de-
partments of the national government,
/ not only the powers divided between
the national and state governments,
hut includes also conflicting tinter.
ests Of national scope, competing
geographical sections, and struggling
groups Of opinion in matters of prin-
4 ciple. These he is as much concerned
to interpret, and to seek to unity,
as the additionally separated" pow
ers.
In the last ANALYSIS, success in re-
alizing the opportunities of the office
is to his mind dependent on the kind
of relationship he can establish with
public opinion. For he assumes that
there is such thing as tangible, ma
4 tional public opinion, and he con-
!, ceives il as his highest task to be its
diviner and spokesman. and to facili-
tate its translation into effective &C
!. ton
Il Recognizing this as the plane upon
Il which Mr.. Wilson'S chief endeavors
are to be conducted, the breadth of
i his view of the presidents powers is
! enough almost TO take away ones
breath: "A president whom 1.-THE
country trusts cannot only lead it,
y.
| italics are the writer's.) No deroga.
: ton from the prescriptions of the con-
!, stitution is here intended, only re.
cognition that the< constitution is a
t vehicle of life and its spirit always
] the spirit of the age"
J With such an elevated and wide
/, reaching conception of the character
J and opportunities of the presidential
! office, the means of realizing the op.
J portunities are evidently pretty nearly
|, the heart of the matter. The how is
7 as important as the what. Have these
) first 10 months of the administration
) made any revelations concerning
2 these hows? Has Mr. Wilson had the
2 courage of the convictions expressed
I in 1908? Unless one has kept rather
specially in mind the views expressed
D in the preceding paragraph, he may
4 be surprised at the extent to which
; these ideas have already found ex
( preston in action.
: The feature of procedure which ha:
perhaps attracted most widespread
attention has been the reading of his
!. messages to Congress in person, in
stead of sending them by messenger
Z to be read by clerk. This transform
!, ed the message from a mere eSecu
; tive manifesto" as Mr.. Bryce ha:
; happily termed it. into an attempt t.
b back up the intrinsic reasonableness
l and importance" of the Message witt
6 such personal influence and force a!
4 1.-THE presidentl may possess. Here
n is the leadership idea in detailed OPP
+ Grafton. Leadership in government
naturally belongs to its executive of
s ficers. who are daily in contact Will
@ practical conditions. The law
@ making part of the government ough
n certainly to be very hospitable to tn,
d suggestions of the planning and actins
s part of it." r.
# The president as a man is as much