The Washington times., 1916-11-09
A POLITICAL REVOLUTION

No matter who is elected Presi-
dent, the polling Of Tuesday demon
strates that a political revolution is
in progress in this country, if it has
not taken place.
There would be nothing revolu-
tionary for the country to reject Mr..
Wilson and elect Mr.. Hughes;
neither for it to continue Mr.. Wilson
in power.
But those possibilities DO not con-
stitute the elements of the political
cataclysm that has taken place. Here
are some of the things that appear:
The Democratic party has the pos
sibility of electing President and
then re-electing him. The last DEM
ocratic President to whom that hap
pened was Andrew Jackson. Since
Jackson's day no Democrat has di-
rectly succeeded Democrat in the
White House.
A President can be elected without
the vote of New York State. 1t has
come to be a fixed tradition that,
while this might one day happen, it
was never going to.
In place of New York as the domi-
mating factor in a national contest,
we see the woman vote loom as the
force that can determine the result.
Four more States went dry on
Tuesday. making total Of twenty
three States dry. The complexion Of
legislatures and State administra-
tions chosen this week justifies ex-
pectation that several more States
will join the dry list within the next
year.
National prohibition is brought,
not only appreciably nearer, but
positively into vision.
There is one tradition Of national
politics that needs to be broken
down, that still survives. The Solid
South remains solid. If it could have
gone the way of the New York
legend, it would have been a splen-
did thing for the country, and even a
better for the South. Perhaps
the South will be willing to COM
mence disintegration if it learns that
Democratic President can be
chosen without New York. The new
industrialism Of the South is certain
to bring that section more and more
nearly into harmony with the po-
litical tendencies of the rest of the
nation.
Finally, there is in this election
result testimony that a period has
arrived in which the White House
may be not infrequently of one po.
litical complexion and the Congress
or half of Congress, of the other
Unpopular administrations have re.
peatedly lost control of Congress ir
the latter half of their course; but
the general rule of a half-century
aside from the period of Hayes
which was abnormal by reason Of
reconstruction conditions in the
South, is that the Congress goe!
along with the Presidency:
The election of a President of one
party and a. Congress of the other
would have profound significance
1t would necessitate either a soften
ing of political rancors and a larger
cooperation between executive ant
Legislature in order to get business
transacted, or else, in an era "a bit
ter partisanship, it might brinl
about a decided curbing of the grow
ing power of the Executive as
dominator of legislation.
Two Presidents in recent tim,
have been much accused of bossin,
their Congresses. One was Roose
welt, the other Wilson. If we q,
back to Cleveland, we find the sam
accusation laid at his door. Surel,
the strength that all three Of thes
men developed with the countr
suggests strongly that the countr
rather likes the dominating sort o
executive. Mr.. Wilson,, elected O
defeated, has run far ahead of hi
party. Roosevelt was elected by tn
biggest majority ever given TO
President. 1t is not likely, then, tina
the country will soon give a genera
verdict in favor of those timi
statesmen who are forever bemoar
ing the danger that we are develop
ing an executive tyranny in this ma
tion.
DR.. Zimmerman to SpeaI
| AlLnrt .