The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1916-04-21
THE OWOSSO TINES
OWOsSO, MICH, APRIL 81, 1915.
HUGHES, ROOSEVELT
AND WILSON
Chicago Tribune Comments on Result
of It's Poll, Which Shows Hughes
Leading Roosevelt in the Middle
West-What Does It Mean?

West-What Does It Mean?
From the Chicago Tribune.
In the middle west Justice Hughes
is hardly more than a name. He IL
not the embodiment of any definitely
understood policies or governmental
theories. The middle westerner re
members that Hughes as attorney
conducted the life insurance investiga
ton in New York, was elected cover.
nor, failed to obtain the passage of q
primary law, was a candidate for the
Republican nomination when Taft was
nominated in 1908, and was appointed
to be associate justice of the United
States Supreme Cortland that is
about all the middle westerner knows
or remembers of Hughes.
Yet poll of newspaper editors
which The Tribune has taken to dis
cover sentiment in the middle western
states of Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin,
Illinois and Indiana, Mr.. Hughes leads
Col. Roosevelt and the favorite sons.
1t is safe to assume that the editorial
preference reflects electoral prefer
ence or broadly indicates the direction
of popular opinion.
Hughes, it seems, is preferred to
Roosevelt in the states canvassed, and
in these states Hughes is little known
and Roosevelt is pretty thoroughly
known.
No one knows what Hughes stands
for; every one knows what Roosevelt
stands for. Hughes is in position in
which he finds it necessary, expedient,
or possible to refrain from saying
anything which might indicate how
he would act if he were president.
Roosevelt is as downright as it is pos
sible even for him to be.
Roosevelt has talked of national
honor and national needs. Hughes
has talked Of nothing. 1t is apparent
then, from this poll that a man who
represents blank in the minds of the
men voting is preferred to a man who
says he'll be two listed, outstanding
defender of the United States.
The fact that Roosevelt never got
the nation into war does not register
when he talks as if he would get it
into war quickly enough if the alter
native were pussy footing toward hui
initiation. The colonel talks like a
fighter, and it does not matter that he
has acted like diplomat.
Justice Hughes, not talking at all,
evidently has impressed opinion as a
safe man. The judicial temperament,
folk will think, is not tempestuous or
fiery, and it seems as if in cropping
around for safety first they preferred
to accept hope rather than to trust
an experience.
1t may be that the American nation
politically will have only one notion
from now until next November, and
that notion safety first; will be seek
ing a candidate. of one predominant
quality, and that quality pacifsm; and
viii be interested in only one political
resolution, and that resolution "We
demand to be kept out of war; we do
not care how or why"
Mr.. Wilson will endeavor to per-
suade the electors that he is the states
man who not only can keep out of
war but one of preparation for war
and at the same time can satisfy the
national desire for a certain safe and
Judicious amount of big man talk. He
will endeavor to do so if as command
er-in-chief Of the so-called American
army he is not new adviser in the
war councils of the allies. If Mr.. Will
sons luck and our kind fate keep us
out OF the war in Europe he will be
the fThank God for Wilson" candi-
date. If his luck and our malevolent
fate get us into the war he will be the
Your Country Needs You" candi-
date.
War or peace, Mr.. Wilson has his
issue made for him, and a ready made
slogan goes with it. AS the middle
west poll indicates, sentiment seems
inclined more to breathe "Thank God
for Hughes" than "Thank God for
Roosevelt.
The main difficulty with this is that |
we shall not know who to thank for |
Hughes until after we have had him
and discovered by experience. Thanks
For Roosevelt can now be directed to