New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-02-10
National Honor More Sacred lhan
the Baltimore Platform.

President Wilson'S decision TO put the Chains %
..ooi honor above those of a certain plank III
,,o 10. Don,ocratic national platform has made
something Of a stir among those VINO profess ~
look upon platforms solemn and lrreVocapie eV"
tracts Such a view does not take sumcien'is nv
account the conditions under which such contracts
are usually made. 1t would be better all arou"u -
platforms were rot considered more or less u q"
Id ,sere NJ national conventions and turned over
90 sooa little subcommittee supposed to give TO the
mass Of suggestions turned in some logica sequence
snd literary polish Unfortunately at most cohNeh-
tions platforms have emerged only at some ouu
moment --hen the tired delegates were free to
give them perfunctory consideration ms was
asnac,a,v true ar Baltimore in 1912 when the plat
form was not presented until after the wearisome
deadlock on the Presidential nomination was
broken. Who knew or cared what was IN III
Probably not more than a score Of the thousand
odd delegates.
Our guess would be that the coastwise trade tolls
exemption clause originated with Mr.. Lewis Nixon
and was put into the platform by his FELLOW oeie
gate from this state Senator O'Gorman 1t passed
muster with other members OF the subcommittee
Of the Committee Resolutions possibly because
the House OF Representatives, under Democratic
control had already approved the exemption anu
II looked then as If President Taft would oppose
Il rs q violation Of the Hay -Pauncefote treaty
The great majority of the convention adopted II
through oversight The small minority which knew
about il excused it as an easy play to the Pachc
Coast gallery
Had President Taft vetoed the Panama Canal act
the Democratic party would have been relieved OF
much embarrassment. But his approval Of the act
left a troublesome legacy to the Wilson admins
tration. However jauntily Mr.. Wilson and Mr.
Bryan may have taken the tolls exemption decIara
,ion in the summer OF 1912 while in the opposition
they found cause to regret IT when obliged 10 as
sume the management of the countrys foreign rela-
hons The reputation by Congress Of the Hay
Pauncefote convention has been clog on the devel-
opment of their foreign policy and if as politicians
ont Of power they were willing TO trife with the
exemption issue they soon realized statesmen IN
power that it should not have been trifed with.
1t takes moral courage 10 admit an error and 10
he twited before the whole world for Inconsistency
The President has shown that sort OF courage, ana
he should be hOnored for II. Platforms ought not
10 be slavishly followed. They not inerrant.
Many people will remember how the Republican
national platform OF 1900 "quigged' by the
Hon. Lemue f. Quigg The Democratic platform
OF 1912 was 'nixonlzed" "o'gormanized." So much
the worse for It. 1t pledged the Democratic party
10 the undemocratic principle of subsidies and to
violation Of national good faith Mr.. Wilson is right
in clinginC to national good faith and throwing the
platform declaration out Of the window. Making
good on our international obligations is far more
important than making good on the needless prom
Uses Of any party platform.