The Washington times., 1916-06-07
Roosevelt the Issue,
But Lacks Support
ASCOnpentiOn Meets
Colonel Is Dominant Figure in All Discussions and
His Personality Stands Out But Old Guard Lead
ers Stand Aloof In Vengeful Spirit.
Bv JUDSON C. WELLIvER.

army
But" said the bankers friend, don't
you realize that after this war we are
going to be richer thnn any nation ever
poorer than It ever was, and moro pow
erful? Can't you see that with a pre-
ponderance OF all the worlds money
gold In CUR possession. with all our
wealth ana incapacity to protect II we
shall be constant invitation to agrees
sio !Ts, han, .u that. rsn,,ea N.
a great foreign ore mnf fieet could o. come over
here, drive our navy or the waters,
convoy an army across, and take pos
session of our great industrial East.
as much of our corn and wheat ana
hogs and cattle to them as we are SELL
ing now to the people In the East
There are not many who put 1t that
way, thank God, but there are some
and they are able to talk that sort or
thing among their fellows and not be
associated In uncomfortable intimacy
with convenient lamp posts.
West Opposes Preparedness.
SO It turns out that delegations gath
cred here from the West largely repre-
sent the elements that are opposed to
what they conceive to be the extreme
preparedness Views OF Roosevelt. 1t Is
admitted that wherever he has gone,
and to the extent that his writings have
had real attention, Roosevelt has forced
international situation upon a portion
OF the people. He has not had time to
reach enough OF them. when one goes
about among the people gathered for
point he cannot be Impressed that Il
Is very doubtful whether these back
ward communities will ever be thor
oughly aroused until the peril shall
l. Nn1 g. 70 r.
whether they will draw back from the
precipice before they have gone too far.
Sc we see the East. alive to the inter-
national Issue. held back by the emil
mostly Of Its politicians from support
ing Roosevelt and We see the West.
whose loyalty to Roosevelt has become
almost a tradition in the last fifteen
years. shying at him because II Ia not
yet alive to the issue.
Colonel Made the Issue.
There Is the explanation of the one
question 80 often asked: What makes
Roosevelt SO important here. despite
that he has so few delegates? He IL
| important because he has made the
issue on which. whether they agree or
disagree. men realize the country must
take stand: the issue they must put
before everything elese until II 10 de-
cided.
Along with this strange confusion of
ideas and pre1ud.ces comes another
factor that has not been as clearly
stated as II ought to be.
The Progressive party Of four years
ago was organized around a group Of
propositions; which came to be denomi-
mated roughly the human welfare"
powerfully to a great group Of people
with humanitarian and altrulstic
ideals; to the very classes Of people.
In short. who would in normal times be
La ID a. I'LL A.
people who would now be joining peace
parties and resolving against prepared
ness. II 1t were not for the Roosevelt
Influence,
number Of them along with him; they
see and understand; they have conf
dence In his leadership now as they
did In 19l:. They are taking him on
faith and on the strength of his
powerful presentation of his doctrine.
Followers Have Dropped OF.
But not all have gone with him.
Many have yielded up their allegiance,
feeling that the new issue Is not for
them. So Roosevelt stands. cut off
from the Republican party of the East
because It's politicians will never re-
linquish their cherished hatreds of
him: cut off from the Western wing of
the same party because Its masses
issue he has raised; and deserted by a
considerable share of that wonderful
personal following of four years ago,
because 1t does not naturally belong
spte h All on th she new ssne net de-
stands calm. serene. profoundly conf
dent that the rightness of his attitude
VIII be realized in time: trusting that
may be too late; profoundly concerned,
not for his own ambitions. but for the
advancement of the cause he has raised
up and exposed-sl,premely strong
and commanding IN the moral purpose
that inspires him.
Move With Trepidation.
That Is why he Is the great figure
that everybody knows he Is in thi.
convention. 1t is why. though few
delegates and no leaders are for him
ne Is yet the one man whose shadow
or the men who meet, and plan, anC
plot, and devise means to keep him iron
ascendancy. These men know that M
MAN, o of tb pe5sGInalty and an issue
he Is right, realize that they ought
to be big and patriotic enough to &C.
cept him IN this crisis. Others feai
d dnss events eN rits may prove him right
TO less vigorous grasp than his
realize that the next year may pre-.
cipitate a crisis in which the Who'll,
nation will be crying out for such di.
rection as he could give It,
And so these men who have resolved
to reject Roosevelt are shiverinE {
bit as they move ahead to carry GU
their plans. They are not yet certair
that they shall succeed. They don't
know what the next minute ma,
,, They are fearful that perhaps anothe,
generation will charge against then
a tremendous blunder.