The Alaska daily empire., 1916-08-18
DRIFT TOWARD
 WILSON CONTINUES

DRIFT TOWARD
 WILSON CONTINUES
 Telegraphing his second week ly review of the political situation to his Western newspapers. W. W Jermane Washington correspondent of the Seattle Times and other news papers. in last Sundays Times said that the drift toward Wilson is con tinuing. His review follows:
 Old-timers in politics are saying that perhaps never before in tho history Of this country have tho points at issue in a Presidential campaign been SO indistinctly detln ed as at present This obscuration is so marked that to one who is not in close touch with political condi tions it must seem as if there actual. ly little or no difference in the view. of the candidates of the two great parties, and as little in their plat forms
 This perhaps explains in a large way the very evident drift toward Wilson which followed the nationa conventions. and has lasted down to the present time.
 Political historians are pointing out that there is a similarity be tween the position of the Republi can party now and that of the Dem ocratic party in 1864 The Demo crats in the second Lincoln cam paign had become merely a party of protest of criticism; they haC nothing to offer that w-s bette than what the Republicans were do ing. and so their campaign lacked persuasiyeness. Their criticism Wa destructive, not constructive, and all they had ;o offer in place of the Republican program was 10 declare the war a failure. and favor bring ing about a peace that would rec ognize the independence of the Con- federacy.
 Similar Condition.
 Today. say these historians, the Republicans are entering upon campaign of destructive criticism They have thus far nothing to of fer in the place of what the Demo. crats under Wilson have been do. ing. On the contrary their plat form is quite like that of the Dem ocrats in essential particulars, ant while they denounce the Democrat ic administration in their speeches they do not say what they would have done had they been clothed with power during the past few years.
 All this means that the Republi. cans now, like the Democrats in 1864, are without an issue. and un. less Hughes. in the speaking tour he is now making. can find one that will command the attention oi the country he will have nothing to offer the voters that they may not hope to get under Wilson. That is the way many disinterested observ- CTS are now sizing up the situation Their judgment is not partisan, and personally they do not care which side wins But they are students Of politics, some of them during a life time, and their opinions are al- ways heard with respect.
 G. 0. ?. Need an Issue.
 One Of these men expressed him self as follows:
 "The great need of the Republi- cans is for an issue. Some of them seem to think they can galvanize, the tariff into life; but the tariff is a hard times issue. It is worth little when the dinner pails are full Pan- ic legislation, rural credits, child la bor workingmen's compensation these and various other construc- tive things have been attended to. or will be by the time the present session adjourns.
 "The only issue now in sight is Mexico-provided Hughes handles it properly. For the first time in the history of the Republican party it is without a clear-cut issue on which to make a popular appeal. It is this that explains the drift toward Wilson since the national conven- tions, and the failure of the Hughes speech of acceptance to catch the popular imagination.
 This is not to say that Wilson will be elected It is entirely too early to say anything on that