New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-10-31
VOTING AGAINST HUGHES
Roland G. Usher Urges Anti-Wilson
Voters to Stand Firm
To the Editor of The Tribune.

Of the character of the Republican cam
paign as a campaign directed almost
solely against Mr.. Wilson, instead OF In
favor of some positive object, that 1t IS
extremely interesting 20 note that the
trend of public opinion which has I'M
mistakably taken place in the last SIX
weeks has been not at all toward Mr..
Wilson, but away from Mr.. Hughes.
Among my own acquaintance many
men who still dislike Mr.. Wilson, who
agree with nearly everything Mr.
Hughes has to say, who regret the
Adamson bill, dsapprove of Mr.. Will
sons foreign policy and Of his conduct
in Mexico, who execrate him for the
appointment of Josephus Daniels and
fairly froth at the mouth while de-
nouncing him for keeping Daniels in
office-these men now propose 70 vote
for him. In reality they are going to
vote against Mr.. Hughes.
They are going to vote against him,
too, for a reason logically difficult to
defend. Somehow or other they per-
sonally dislike Mr.. Hughes. AS one OF
them said, all the men who went up
and shook hands with Hughes came
back and said they were going to vote
for Wilson. Somehow or other Mr..
Hughes has not been a convincing fig
ure on the platform. He has
failed to rouse people, and Americans
like to be reused. He has failed to
scourge his opponent and draw those
effective splashes of blood which Mr..
Roosevelt so we'll knows how to pro-
duce and which the crowd always en-
joy. When Mr.. Hughes allowed him
self and his wife to be photographed
in various costumes, descending into
mines, handling picks and other unac-
customed tools for justices of the SUI
preme Court, he took chances with his
political future. When Mr.. Roosevelt
does that sort of thing he looks the
part, and when he does not he looks
as if he enjoyed it. Mr.. Hughes looked
uncomfortable, and even newspaper
photographs told the fact. Most peo-
pie understand very little about the
intricacies of policy, but those photo
graphs talked They told the story of
a scholar dragged from his desk and
suddenly thrown into uncongenial sur
roundings, who was doing his disa-
greeable duty with such good faith as
he could muster.
If Mr.. Hughes Is beaten it will be
such considerations as these that are
responsible for it. People went to
hear him and expected to be thrilled.
Not being thrilled they came out to OPP
pose him. Each shook his hand and
expected somehow to receive the i'm
preston that he believed that indi-
vdual was comforting upon him ex-
treme favor by being the one thousand
five hundred and sixty-ninth person TO
press his hand within n few hours.
They all received from him the impress
sion that he was willing to shake hands
with them, but that he did not enjoy it.
They cannot forgive him for it. They
declare his pictures are campaign stuff.
They believe him afraid to put his
hands "in the dirt" and large num-
bers of people in this country think a
good deal less of him for it.
But, seriously now, are any of these
notions in any sense or degree reason
able and sensible considerations upon
which a man of the slightest sanity
ought to cast his vote? Why, in the
name of all things that are good and
wise and significant, should it make the
slightest difference TO anybody whether
Mr.. Hughes can make a good speech or
can rouse ten thousand people to en-
thusiasm? Those are qualities which
he will not need as President of the
United States, and his ability to per-
form the duties of that great office are
rot in the least tested, nor is the va
ldity of his notions about policy in
the least to be discovered from any of
these considerations.
Another striking fact: Many are
going to vote against Mr. Hughes be-
cause they claim that he has failed TO
announce a constructive policy of what
lie VIII 90 hHtH tltNltus Hty w lOI
seem, however, to be at all impressed
by the fact that Mr.. Wilson has not
declared any constructive policy. He
has been as non-committal as Mr..
Hughes. If Mr.. Hughes has been volu-
BILE about Mr.. Wilson's past sins, Mr..
Wilson has been voluble about his own
past performances, which are dead
issues and will not recur, and about
the weakness and inconsistencies Of
the Republican argument. So far as
the future Is concerned, he, too, is
mute, but because he is President and
in Office no one appears to attach any
Importance to this. Yet they blame
Mr.. Hughes without restraint for the
very thing which seems in Mr.. Wilson's
case to commend him TO them.
ROLAND G.. USHER.
Washington University, st. Louis, Mo-.
Oct. 81, 1915.