The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-11-01

history of the United States And
he ascribes it to the powerful leader
ship of Mr.. Wilson.
Microscopic paltering with defini-
tons in the field of foreign policy is
just what my brother, Irving Fisher
in his ''Ten Reasons for Wilson" has
called it: it is a red-herring drawn
across the trail of the private inter-
ests that have learned to expect sops
from the Republican Tariff Dispen-
sary, if they can but get back into
office on some non-tariff issue. Our
domestic policy, wherein few are so
bold as to call Mr.. Wilson failure, is
still the important issue, for it con-
Germs the gradual improvement of
our physical and social environment
the Improvement of the medium in
which each Of us lives, and moves
and has his being-the Improvement
Of the conditions on which we draw
for both income and health-for I'M
tainted air and food-for peaceful
and commended neighbors- a fair
field for labor and capital The ques-
ton that concerns us most nearly is
whether a domestic policy dedicated
to the improving our environment is
what we want, or a domestic policy
fication only.
Before the American public to-day
stand two men who have a profound
hold upon its Imagination, and Mr..
Hughes is not one of them. Mr..
Hughes is, without doubt, an upright,
capable gentleman-an exceptionally
good citizen, who would administer
the civil service regulations scrupu-
lousy. But greatness requires some
thing more than exceptional good
ness. A great man has to be an ex-
preston of something deeply woven
into the national life-an organic de-
velobment Of the spirit of the day. No
man is great enough to express the
whole of that spirit, or express any
Of it wholly Alright. But Mr.. Wilson
and Mr.. Roosevelt do express it in
part.
Mr.. Roosevelt expresses our viril-
ity, and expresses it well. But he ex-
presses it on it's more excitable, self
assertive, self-seeking and even bru-
tai side. Mr.. Roosevelt would rather
be right than wrong, but he would
rather fight than be right, In a case
Of doubt he will always embrace the
fighting argument. Mr.. Wilson, on
the other hand, expresses our virility,
no less deeply, if less boisterously,
than Mr.. Roosevelt. But he ex
presses it in it's restraint, GOODNESS
and generosity. He will fight if he
must; but he would rather be right
than fight, and in case of doubt, will
lean toward the peaceful and un-
pharisaical argument-until grounds
appear 50 universally valid as will not
only serve the United States, but, in
the long outcome, prove to the adj
vantage Of the world.
Let the mere fighter look to our
generous presidents with Cuba,
whom we rescued, and China, to
whom we restored her blood money;
let him contrast these with Britain's
opium war in China and Germany's
invasion OF Belgium; then will he
know what to expect from Mr.. Will
son. In international relations HE in
terprets the worlds new impulse to
fairness, chivalry, neighborliness and
true -honor-instead of the old Euro
pean ideal of exploitation and the in
ternational duel. In domestic rela-
lions he interprets the new concep-
ton of government as not merely
static settlement of law and order,
but dynamic agent for improving
the environment Of the citizen. This,
to him, is the chief problems Of an
administration for, indeed, as men
are more and more coming to see, it
is the chief problem of life.
The, Presidents brother-in- law,
Professor Arson, has said that, if he
sometimes seems inconsistent, it is
because he deals with realities not
theories" Another way Of express
ing it would be that he deals with
big, inclusive, permanent theories, in
stead Of little, subsidiary, transient
ones. These two great theories Cor
realities) -international and domes-
with his unaffected
Willingness to learn, explain the Pres
ident's inconsistencies; because they
also explain his undeniable achieve
ments, which DR.. Eliot has SO justly
gagged. And it is these realities and
these achievements that will recon-
mend Mr.. Wilson to the unconfused
forward-looking voter, despite all the
of all the carpers
e. r. Carhart, banker and treasurer
of the Produce Exchange, denies the
fond crisis is d1Ia tn tho eyreed of Snac-