The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1915-03-19
TWO YEARS OF WILSON

On the fifteenth anniversary of
Lincoln's second inaugural, Wood
row Wilson completes half his presi-
Dental term
These two years of the Wilson ad-
ministration have helped to make
more history than any other two
years since Lincoln, The coming
two years of the Wilson administra-
ton must inevitably be the most
momentous period that this country
has known since the Civil War.
II is a fact of enormous impor-
tance that the crisis finds in the
White House a president who is COM
pletely master of himself. Being
master of himself, he is master of his
party and of his administration.
There is no kitchen cabinet. There
are no back-stairs advisers. There
are no secret influences that pull and
sway the policies of the executive.
No underground wires run from the
White House into Wall street or into
the Headquarters Of any political com
mittee. Men may agree with Mr..
Wilson or disagree with him; they
may like him or dislike him; but
everybody knows that he and he
p
that during the remaining two years
that he and he alone will be presi-
dent,
A very unusual man, meet to cope
with a very unusual situation in the
affairs Of mankind president who
in all his official relations displays
neither vanity nor resentment, nor
anger nor personel ambition III he
has friends, their friendship counts
for nothing in the affairs of State If
he has enemies, their enmity weighs
nothing in the balance of govern
ment. He seeks neither to reward
the one nor to punish the other
So evenly does he hold the scales
that the members of the diplomatic
corps, with all their highly developed
facilities for obtaining Information, |
have never been able to learn where |
the presidents personal sympathies
lie in the great conflict that is now
devastating Europe. Whatever his |
individual opinions may be he has T
smothered them i'm the responsible /
ties of his office.
At this period in their first term
most presidents have been carefully
calculating their chances of re-nOmi-
nation and reelection. Nobody
knows whether Mr.. Wilson intends
to be a candidate for reelection or
not. Not a member of the cabinet,
not a member of the congress, can
say of his own knowledge that the
president desires a reelection or
that he would not refuse a re-nomi-
nation. What all of them know is
that the president would not stoop
from principle to win either renom-
nation or a reelection.
That is where his great strength
lies. That is where his great usefull-
ness lies in this crisis. 1t is easy to
rattle the sabre. 1t is easy to make
the welkin ring. 1t is easy to be spec
tacular and sensational and theatri-
cal. 1t is easy to be a demagogue. :
1t is easy to juggle with the fate of a
nation when no man can foresee
what the next day will bring forth. {
But it is not easy to be calm and re- 5
and judicial. 1t is not easy {
to face every responsibility without {
and without passion. 1t is !
not easy to hew straight to the line of {
first principles, regardless of ap- ]
plause or censure or praise or denun- S
citation. 1t is not easy to be sane l
when the world has given itself over
to madness. {
The enormous good fortune of the q
people of the United States in the {
storm and stress of these coming I
years is that their chief magistrate l
is sane-the sanest man today that q
is intrusted with the responsibilities c
of government anywhere in civliza- {
tion-New York World. d