Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1916-11-01

neutrality. That the results have not
always tailed with expectations may
be true. American rights have been
violated by the belligerents, but so
have the rights of every other impor-
tant neutral nation. During great
wars neutrals always suffer. But never
has President Wilson surrendered any
of the vital interests of this nation.
Critics of the Presidents action in
the Lusitania affair insist that diploma
tic relations should have been broken
of at once after the vessels sinking.
Some of the censorious souls of today
would have fayed him alive ifihe had
done this thing. Then (soile of them
for unworthy un.:Az1merican reasons)
they ,counseled; calm, deliberate action,
pointing with horror to the possibilities
that would followvsuchl a course. i To
day they pihison then president the
yellow badge Of cowardice.' '7'.'i7
rtNo one can say that merely severing
relations would have been any more
of an adequate settlement and no one
can safely affirm that subsequent
events would have been more salts
factory than they have been. If, as
We are told, the Lusitania case was
woefully mismanaged, if the insult to
the nation is still as burning as ever,
il the national honor is absolutely un.
satisfied by the course of events to
date, the question is not what would
you have done?' but What will you
do now" NO mere lapse of year or
so can heal the hurt that honor feels
No one will insist that President
Wilson has not made mistakes. No
President ever has had so many op-
portunities to do the wrong or the
right thing His course toward Mexico
has not been productive of the hap
piest results as yet. But there is no
other course would have been HAPPIER.
Here again the Herald believes that
President Wilson's general attitude
toward military Intervention in Mexico
has fairly reflected the sentiment OF
the nation as whole. 1t has ben
been NEITHER bold, brilliant nor audac-
ious 1t has perhaps erred on the side
OF an idealism deeply impregnated with
academic theories of government. But
it has thwarted the plans of conquest
of craZed anneXationists and has
served to bring into clear relief the
disinterested, patient and just atti-
tude of this nation toward the Latin
American peoples and to strengthen
our good relations with the whole OF
Latin America Should it ever be
necessary to employ force in settling
the Mexican question President Will
sons course will provide us with a
justification which more precipitate
action would not have furnished.
From the standpoint of foreign at
fairs the question which presents itself
to the American people is whether it
would not be unwise "to swap horses
in the middle of the stream The
President has all the ends of the tan
gled skein of foreign politics in his
hand He has the assistance of an
able Secretary of State. From the
standpoint of efficiency no change IS
needed From the standpoint of the
effect on foreign nations a change pro-
badly would be bad. 1t would encour
age the idea that America is a field
where foreign intrigue in the field OF
politics may produce good results and
to that extend weaken the present ad.
mnistration's successor.
Turning to domestic affairs we are
confronted with what the Herald be-
lieves to be the administrations great
mistake. The Heralds opinion of
the method by which the Adamson
law was put through Congress-the
bad effect of the blow at arbitration