The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1915-05-15
TWO YEARS OF WILSON.

from New York World of Thursday.
On the fiftieth anniversary of Lin
coins second inaugural, Woodrow
Wilson completed half his presidcn-
tial term.
These two years of the Wilson adj
ministration have helped TO make
more history than any other two
years since Lincoln. The coming two
years Of Wilson administration must
inevitably be the most momentous
period that this country has known
since the Civil War.
1t Is a fact of enormous importance
that this crisis finds in the White
house a president who is completely
master of himself. Being master of
himself he is master of his partv 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 my political COM
mittee. Men may agree with Mr..
Wilson or disagree with him; they
nay like him or they may dislike
him; but everybody knows that he
and he alone is President. Every
BODY knows that during The. remaining
two years OF his term b. and ne alone
vii be President. r.r.
A. very-uuUsuai man. meet e. cope
with a very unusual situation in the
affairs o. mankind-a President who
in all his official relations displays
neither vanity now resentment, nor
anger nor personal ambition. If he
has friends, their friendship counts
for nothing in the anairs'bf State.
If he has enemies. their enmity weighs
nothing in the balance of government.
He seeks neither to reward the one
nor t. 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 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
smothered them in the responsibilities
of his office.
AT this period in their first term,
most Presidents have been carefully
calculating their chances of renomina-
ton and reelection. Nobody knows
whether Mr.. Wilson intends to be a
candidate for recollection or not. Not
a member of the Cabinet, not q mem
Der of Congress, can say of his own
knowledge, that the President desires
n reelection or that he would not re-
fuse a denomination. What all OF
them know is that the Presidcnt
'opi' " PNpop llpih DllilClBlt u
win either Il denomination or Il re.
election.
That is where his great strength
lies. That is where his great use.
fulness lies in this crisis. 1t is cas-,
to rattle the sabre. 1t is easy to be
theatrical. 1t is easy to be dema
gOSue. 1t is easy to jug2lc with tn,
{ fate of n nation when no man cai
f~oresee what the mex day will brin.
forth. But it is not easy to be cain
and restrained and judicial. 1t is no
easy to face every responsibility with
out prejudice and without passion
1t is not easy to hcW straight to tn,
line of first principles, regardless O
, applause on ccnSurc or praise or De
nunciation. 1t is not easy to be san
= when the world has given itself owe
to madness.
p The enormous good fortune Of tn
= people of the United States in tn
: storm n stress of these COmint
years, is that their Chief MagiStrat
| is sanc-thc sancst mind today tina
is intrustcd with the rosponsibilitic
of government anywhere in c|iNiliza
ton.