The sun., 1916-01-12
President .elect in the Lobby.

history but also TO political ethics
when It procured and published DIR.
WILSON'S letter to Mr.. a. Nj. PALMER.
With the demure humOr and whim-
steal topsyturviness of logic which
are a constant JOY to It's friends and
admirers. including ourselves. the
World now argues as follows concern
ing the appearance Of President-elcct
WILSON in the lobby of Congress. In
February, 1913, to induce Democratic
members to defeat the very measure
Of constitutional amendment to which
his and their party platform pledged
him and them:
"Even the domestic issues on which
the American people are divided could
not be adequately presented in the COM
ing campaign II Mr.. WILSON were not
candidate for reelection. Mr..
WILSON could not patriotically refuse to
go before the country on these issues.
whatever might be his personal attitude
toward a second term. There are great
crises In history that have TO be met as
they arise, without regard to platforms
or theories.
at happens that the opinion expressed
by Mr.. WILSON in the Palmer letter CO.
inoides with his present duty but II It
were otherwise, II he himself firmly be.
iieved In the principle Of a single term.
his obligations would not be changed.
and national necessity would demand
that he subordinate his individual views
TO tnexorable events
Our contemporary need not be
afraid. There is no present danger
Of m "unpatriotic refusal" on the
part OF Mr.. WILSON to run for II sec
ond term. As the World has shown,
he was getting ready to run for Il
second term even before he had been
sworn In for the first term. This was
nbout eighteen months before any hu.
man being could have foreseen the
world war and the great crisis In his
,Ory, or the national necessity demand
Ing that he shall subordinate his in
dividual views to ineXOrable events.
How often 1t happens that plain. or
dinary every day political seliishness
takes the short and direct route To
that which is demanded much later
by national necessities, inexOrable
events and such things.
So for the first time we believe.
in the history OF this republic. Il Pres
ident elect of the United States de-
liberately went into the lobby of Con-
gress to defeat II measure opposed to
his personal interests. but uneQuivo-
rally demanded by the platform on
which he was elected
We have been told that the Hon.
WOODROW WILSON prides himself
somewhat upon his habit of breaking
precedents. In This case he certainly
broke a precedent, and pledge along
with the precedent.
In our humble opinion the World
might better devote its excellent in
tellectuals to devising the form of
platform pledge on which the Hon.
WOODROW WILSON Is to appeal for
votes next fall. On the question OF
limiting the Presidential term, what
shall the st. Louis convention say:
After deliverance so positive, 81
unqualified, ns that upon which DIR.
WILSON was elected in 1912, it would
he extremely pusllnnimous for the
party to avoid the subject and ignore
the issue in 1916 Would the World
advise something like this for ST
Louis?
I'VE favor two Presidential terms only
and to that end urge the adoption OF an
amendment TO the Constitution making
the President OF the United States In
eligible for reelection TO third term
and we pledge the candidate OF this con-
vention to this principle"
What assurance does the World
think the voters would have that il
DIR. WILSON should he elected on this
pledge and Democratic Congress
should at once proceed to redeem IT,
the President-plect would not rush
again to the lobby, in Il letter to A.
Mitchell PALMER or some other per
son, To block the movement to pre-
serve the party's honor and mora
solvency?
Or would 1t be IN the Worlds Opin
ton less embarrassing to the cOnven
tion and more agreeable to the secont
term candidate TO embody in the st
Louis platform the exact form o
declaration, principle and attendan
pledge which pr. WILSON himself II
lustrnted in the Palmer letter? A,
follows, for examples
"we declare that a fixed constitutional
uml's''"r '' 1"Ho',e number OF term