Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-11-03
'IF WE ELECT Mr.. WILSON'--- AS
OWEN WISTER SEES 1T IN THIS !.
WEEKS ISSUE OF GOLFERS

Admiral Dewey. There had been or
ders merely to be ready-but what for
was not told. Thereupon Mr.. Roose--
velt publicly and gracefully hailed
the Kaiser as arbitration's true friend,
and the incident was closed.
The whole American nation, and
not merely the Eastern press, stands
behind the President (about the Sus-
sex). II there is one thing
obvious, it is the hope which our enc
mics pin on the entry of America into
their ranks. &. Germany will be
strong enough not to do its enemies
TINS favor. On the contrary, it is hop
ed that while preserving our national
dignity an understanding will be
reached as to how, without dimin-
ishing our power of action, we can
maintain relations with America.
In this diplomatic battle t. we will
not suffer another enemy to be forced
on us against our will, nor will we :. +.
allow ourselves to get into conflict
with the material and human re-
sources of undoubtedly the richest ma
ton ofsthe white race" The whole of
this interesting article may be read in
the New York Times of May 2, 1916.
Does this look as if it was Mr.. Will
son or the Kaiser who was keeping
us out of war?
No American will readily believe
that millions of his fellow countrymen
do not mind having their faces slapped
If only it's done automatically, and
notes are written about it. 1t is so
unlike our past. 1t is so unlike a past
as near as the Spanish war. There
must be some less unpalatable way of
accounting for the general satisfac-
tion with Mr.. Wilson that still ap-
parently prevails in many parts of our
country. And perhaps the explanation
comes back to our love of oratory
a 1nN 20 1xxYaN al;
anyhoW) in the man who could utter
high-flown sentiments on a platform
There was MIR. Bryan. Since it took
thousands and hundreds of thousands
OF the American people some twenty
years to find Mr.. Bryan out, to dis
cover that he was merely a talker:
how long will it. take them to find out
Mr. Wilson, who approves of single
terms for others, but wants two for
himself?
The cases are somewhat parallel.
Both Mr.. Wilson and MIR. Bryan can
bulid Wonderful hot-air castles, both,
make valiant war with words, and
both, when it comes to a showdown,
tumble out of the hot air, HELPLESS
and flat, on the hard ground of facts
and action. Mr.. Bryan was always
expressing his love and concern for
the people = in words; when the peo-
pie were being massacred by Mexicans
during long series of horrible
months, Mr.. Bryan merely advised
them to get out of Mexico. Not a
finger did his love and concern lead
him to lift in their protection. In
that disgraceful and bloody business
he and Mr.. Wilson stand as twins in
sham and timidity. There is not a
problem that Mr.. Wilson has really
solved, there is not a condition that
he has really made better, there are
SeVerai very grave conditions that he
has made much worse. But he is an
adroit performer, far more adroit than
Mr. Bryan, and in shufiiing the three
cards his hand is so much quicker
than the eye of his adherents that il
looks as If they might never catch
him. Even for Mr.. Bryan some few
would still cheer Perhaps he would
still be somebody had he not been
secretary OF state. That resignation
IN May, 1915, stripped him bare. and
lost him his multitude. What will
strip the watchful waiter in the White
House bare?
Certainly his words will never strip
him. Judged by his fair words alone.
Mr. wilson stands on pedestal above
an our speakers. except one President
Eliot surpasses hsm; indeed, Mr.. Will
son has modelled his oratory a good
deal upon that of Mr.. Eliot. He has
said as much. When some one. after
hearing him, remarked to him that he
spoke like Mr.. Eliot, he expressed
much pleasure and said that he sbo,.ld
ike to resemble him. And he asked
Mr.. Eliot to be our ambassador to
England. Do you wonder that Mr..
Eliot entertains cordial sentiments to-
ward Mr.. Wilson? But one huge diff
ference exists between the two men.
When Mr.. Eliot says something, he
not only means it; he does it, Mr..
Wilson's words generally lead to moth
ing but more words. Yet how smooth.
how catching they are, until tested
by reality! Had he never faced any
crisis worse than an audience he
would have remained a high, fixed
! star. But his words flash like the
rocket going up while his deeds are
like the stick coming down. How long
will ne continue to dazzle q nation.
how soon will the nation see the fall
ing stick?
1t took Princeton some years to get
undazzled. He began there as
great light. A few months ago. when
the Princeton alumni dined in Phila-
delphia, the first fact printed about
1t next morning was that Mr. Wilson's
name had not been mentioned in toast
or speech! Such a sYence seems
worse than anything the college of
which he had been president could
have said about him. Could there be
clearer sign of what they now
think? Why they think it can be
briefly explained by three selected in
cidents In 1903 Dean West of Prince
ton wrote a book, proposing certain
plans for the establishment of a
graduate college at Princeton. For
this book Mr.. Wilson wrote a pref
ace sweepingly indorsing these plans
as 'in every way admirable" In 1906
when Dean West offered to leave dis
couraged by the lack of support from
Mr.. Wilson, Mr.. Wilson wrote a reso-
luton which the trustees of Prince