The Marietta journal and courier. (Marietta, Ga.) 1909-1918, 1916-12-15
WILSON'S COMMON SENSE

Woodrow Wilson will go down to
history as a humanity human, COM
mon sense President. The stand
pat conservatives in both parties
threw up their hands in shocked
surprise, if not in horror" when
President Wilson nroke away from
clusion" of the White House, went
over to the capitol and delivered
his first message to congress i n
person. How much more sensible
to do this than to stay aloof from
his congressional comrades in the
cause of law-making patriotism and
spent SO much thought and time
in preparation be poured through
the academic monotone of a reading
clerk into the iistless ears of sleepy
or absent congressman! And
when the devotees of convention
prodded our free-souted President
with the "decorum of honored GUS
tom" he only smiled and replied:
II can't resist the feeling that the
President of the United States is
still a human being, and that he
ought to keep close to the people
who have employed him as their
servant"
1.-THE spirit of that great utter
ance, ladies and gentlemen, is
largely responsible for his re-elec-
ton to the Presidency over odds
that seemed, from one viewpoint,
almost insurmountable.
And now comes anotner inspir-
ing evidence that the flush of vic
tory and the renewed demands OF
social custom can not alter the
regnancy of his common sense, nor
the masterful independence of its
execution. Widely it was publish
ed that it was thought" and hop
ed" President Wilson would yield
to the many demands for reinstat-
ing that meaningless and outrage
Gus, eXtravagant extravaganza
known as the inaugural Ball"
Notifying doing! The good news
comes that President Wilson has
failed to find any good reason for
allowing as a part of the inaugural
celebration, function that carries
with it no national honor-a func-
tion that appeals only to that mark
ed desire for gilded exploitation on
the part of the foolish folk who
want to say l danced at the In
augural Ball held the hands or
brushed the skirts of American
royalty"
There is no American Royalty!
"A mans man for "a that"
Woodrow Wilson, the reverent
son of a Cody preacher, rejoices
in that gloriously inspiring
truth that from American Log
Cabin" to the White House of the
nation by and by there is a great
upward Appian Way along which
the simple sons of patriotism NAV
righteously aspire TO walk, even as
he has walked and won-and at the
summit of wnich the victor-not a
KING sitting on a throne of glitter
ing gewgaws and puppet pride. buJ
an American freeman and a hu-
manltarian servant of the people.
should set the far-reaching example
Of wholesome propriety, sensible
economy, glorious democracy ana
sound social and civic leadership.
If the Inaugural Ball ever had
place it had by its follies and ex-
cesses, "sinned away its DAYS Of
grace, if it ever had any" as tne
orllliant Carmack said of the sa-
loon. Two successive examinations
from inaugural celebrations will
surely leave no future occupant of
the White House with temeritv
enough and social serfdom enough
to try to rescue this effete function
from that inglorious ''innocuous
dessuetude" to which the bravery
and common sense of Woodrow Will
son has consigned it forevermorer"
Ernest Willie" Upshaw in The
Golden Age