Washington Journal., 1916-07-14
THE COMING CAMPAIGN.
BY JAN VAN VE1rHus.
lspeelal.o orrespondeueel

The organized campaign, with its
meetings and speech-making, and the dis
tribution Of tons of literature in every
town and hamlet and country cross
roads will not begin until next month.
In the meantime, however, it will be
necessary for the leaders to agree upon
the matters of discussion which the
orators and writer's are to make most
prominent.
Naturally, the Democrats, having been
responsible for the conduct of affairs,
will be ON the defensive in the sense
that they will have to wait the pleasure
of their opponents regarding the par
ticular points on which these will make
their principle attack. Now it is one of
the peculiarities of American political
campaigns that the party leaders do not
always find it expedient to make much
of the issue most prominent in the minds
of the voters themselves. One of the
reasons for this strategy is the frequent
necessity to unite under the party ban
ner groups of voters whose reasons for
wishing party success are divergent, or
who may disagree with some of the
things the party platform calls for.
That is very likely going to be the
case this year. To a very large portion
Of the American people Il foreign re-
lations will be the question overshadow-
ing all others. 1t is by no means clear,
however, how this issue can be made up
in a ~clean-cut way so that every voter
may be made to understand it. True,
the administration of Woodrow Wilson
has nine critics to one advocate, in this
particular respect; but the critics are
agreed OH nothing except that the Presi-
dents record is thoroughly bad. Some,
like Mr.. Roosevelt, and a few other
pro-British ire-eaters, are violently OPP
posed to Wilson because he has not
been vigorous enough in his emnity to
Germany. Millions condemn him be-
cause of his disgraceful trucking to
Great Britain. Other millions will have
no more of the Democratic administra-
ton because of the ~incapacity it has
shown i'll its treatment of the Mexican
muddle. 1t will not be easy to give in
structions to c~arapaign speakers so that
in pleasing one of these groups of voters
they may not offend the other,
One thing seems certain: the hyphen
issue which was made so prominent by
the retired Colonel will be put into the
background, if the Republicans can put
it there. In all probability, even Teddy
of the Lost Prestige will not care to
ride more battles on that phenomenally
starved looking steed. The issue failed
to get him the nomination, and that
was the only purpose for which he in
vented it. So what's the use?
There is a possibility hat the Demo-
Gratis will cause the hyphen to raise its
ugly head" again in order to save for
themselves whatever remnant of voters
can be made to believe in it. 1t was
originally adopted by Wilson in order
to take the wind out of R~oosevelt's
sails, but drowning men will grasp at
straws, and maybe the Democratic Dom
key likes straw. If that should be the
policy adopted, we may be sure that
with the hyphen issue we shall also
again encounter the War Scare. APP
parently, preparations are already on
foot to repair the mechanism, and be-
fore the 9th Of November we may look
for another series of truculent messages
to Germany. The worst of them all
will be published about two days before
the election, no doubt. The American
people, however, are rapidly learning to
see through the trick, and it is more
than improbable Nhether even the worst
bluff Of that sort would make them for
get that they are about to elect an
American President instead Of a British
Viceroy.