New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-05-04
The End of a Leader.

prestige as a party leader. 1t is the first
time that either branch of Congress has
turned him down relentlessly and without
quarter.
No other President ever went as far
as Mr.. Wilson has gone in asserting a
right to inspire and control legislation.
He has predicted for the Presidents of the
future a position somewhat similar to that
of a Prime Minister under the Parlia-
mentary form of government, with men,
bers Of his Cabinet sitting in the House
and the Senate. For the first two years
of his term he made his will law at the
Capitol, the only revolt from his leader
ship coming in the last few weeks Of the
63d Congress, when small group Of in
surgent Democrats joined with the RePub-
licans in preventing a vote on the Wilson
McAdoo shipping bill.
In those first two years Mr.. Wilson did
more than lead his party in Congress. He
drove it with lash. Democratic Senators
and Representatives obeyed him not be-
cause they liked his leadership, but be-
cause they thought that breaking with
him would imperil Democratic success in
the elections of 1914. There was much
sullenness under a surface appearance Of
loyalty and harmony.
Since the present Congress met, how
ever. disaffection has been more or less
zen. The reason for the change is clear.
,ough no other President has made
ger claims TO party leadership, no other
as shown, in attempting such leadership,
graver faults of temper and method. Mr..
Wilson has been arbitrary where he should
have been tactful. rash where he should
have been cautious, unstable where he
should have been firm. He has disguised
the party leaders in Congress by his many
sudden changes of front, by his repeated
demands that they shall be as incon-
istent as he himself is. He has been at
dds on many questions with Speaker
lark, Mr.. Kitchin and Mr.. Fitzgerald in
.e House and with Messrs. Stone, Kern,
,arke and Chamberlain in the Senate.
Congress has not tried TO interfere with
development of the Presidents Next
n policy or his policy toward Germany.
, windings and twistings Of those poll
their responsiveness at all stages to
impulses of an inconstant Opportunlsm.
n preparedness Mr.. Wilson has faced
he points of the compass. He started
as an anti-preparedness stand-patter.
souelched all preparedness legislation
Q 63d Congress. After the 64th Con-
8 met he started on tour of the coun-
for the purpose of arousing prepared
sentiment and bringing Congress into
for an enlarged army and "a navy
aparably superior to that Of any other
nv" Coming back to Washington
that tour he allied himself with Mr..
10 get a sham army reorganization
,e through Congress, meanwhile re-
lg Josephus Daniels as his Secretary
Navy. How could anybody in Con-
whether for or against prepared
be impressed by such tortuous,
,-go-lucky leadership?
,evolt in the Democratic membership
dist Mr.. Wilson's weakness and wab-
2 has been long overdue. The Demo-
~. ats in both houses deeply resented the
Presidents efforts to manGuvre them into
line behind him on the armed merchant
men issue. He demanded a direct vote in
each body on the question of warning
Americans not to travel on armed mer-
chantmen. Neither house would agree to
take such vote. The burlesque was
therefore gone through of taking resolu-
IN, ort witt no
ton of warning and the other not dealing
with it at all) from one parliamentary
morgue and sending them back into an
other.
The resentment of Democrats in both
branches at the Presidents gallery play
was hardly concealed at that time. The
Tribune said on March s, the day after the
McLemore resolution was untabled and re-
.abled;
1.-THE Democratic leaders in the two
houses have not rallied willingly be-
u hind the President. They made
= scrap Of paper of his letter to Mr..
Pou. They still mean to embarrass
him, TO block his legislative plans, and
to weaken his prestige as a candidate
for reelection"
This prophecy has now come true in the
case of the Philippines bill. On that meas
ure Mr.. Wilson's attitude has been char
acteristcally insincere. lie was for the
Hitchcock bin i'm the Senate and opposed
TO Mr.. Clarke's "scuttling" amendment.
Mr.. Clarke defed him and beat him. Then,
though still condemning the scuttle policy
as "unwise at this time" he went over to
what he thought was the winning side and
besought the House to set its seal Of ap-