The Alaska daily empire., 1916-04-15
WILSON AND ROOSEVELT
CNew York World

profess to be for Hughes the glaring is their insncerity in assailing Wilson
 Justice Hughes is essentially the Wilson type. His outlook on public life Is essentially the Wilson outlook His theory of public duty is essentially the Wilson theory So far as we know there is no m- portant difference between these two men on any important issue confronting the country. There IS probably no vital question about which they not in substantial agreement Justice Hughes is more Republican than President Wilson; President Wilson is more Democratic than Justice Hughes The Judge is little more conservative than the President The President is @ little more tactfu and conclliatory than Fthe Judge in dealing with those who are not In ac cord with him.
 What. then is the purpose of nominating Jus uce Hughes? To continue the Wilosn administration under Republican auspices? To replace Democratic Wilson with @ Republican Wilson?
 Now with Roosevelt there is issue. No two men could be more unlike than Wilson and Roosevelt except Hughes and Roosevelt
 Roosevelt is a born demagogue. however much contempt he may have for rival demagogues like Bryan and Hearst Wilson despises all the arts of demagogy. but demagogy is vital to the kind of campaign the Republicans trying to wage against Wilson Roosevelt has a gift for intrigue which has not been eQualled in American politics since Aaron Burr Wilson is incapable of intrigue Roosevelt Is jlngoe and imperalist militarst with the ambition of Q dictator Wilson is against jingoism, against i'm perialsm. against mlitarism and unswerving cham pion of democracy. Roosevelt is for war for wars sake He believes in 1t as one of the vrie virtues as earnestly as Bernhardi Tirprtz believes in t Wilson is for peace long peace can be maintained with honor. War to him is the last of all resorts
 Roosevets attitude toward government is con sstently Prussian. The man whom he most closely resembles is the Kaiser Wilson's attitude toward government is incorrigbly American His spirit is the spirit of Franklin. Jefferson and Lincoln
 As far as Roosevelt is capable of sincerity. he Is sincere in his hatred of Wilson and -n his vehe ment antagonism to everything that Wilson represents in public life. Roosevelt would hate anybody who was President but in some circumstances that would be ofx ftn of in hatred Is elemental
 The two men embody to an astounding extent the conflicting ideals of civilization that are en- gagged in death grapple the battle-fieds of Eur ope Roosevelt is the American equivalent of Ger many. dis political philosophy is all German. His highest conception of government is one in which the state is supreme and in which the individual exists for the state to be remOlded and reshaped from the image of God into whatever image allwse and all powerful state decrees best The state the ultimate good, the summon bonum. Its advancement is the imperative obligation Whatever stands in the way is evil. The first duty Of a man is to be soldier The
 first duty of is to breed children for the ser vice Of the state
 In peace Roosevelt would meddle with the daily life of the citizen Germany meddles with It. War he would carry Germany carries on war. There is nothing that the German government has done which he would be incapable of ordering in similar circumstances. His resentment against Germany is only the resentment that man without sense of humor feels at his caracture
 To Wilson the German theory Of the state Is S denial of democracy. He objects to 1t for himself well as for others He has none of Bernhardi or Treitschke in hm-no Netzschear nightmares about the Superman-no morbid dreams of Wetmatcht oder Niedergang. He cares much about justice and hu manity little about domination. To him the spiritual freedom of democracy and the moral responsibility of every eindvidua for his own life are of infinitely more value than all the Prussan efficiency in the world whether military of industrial
 The moral and political differences in the two men are strikngly illustrated in their attitude toward treaty pledges. In dealing with Colombia Roosevelt adopted the course that Germany subsequently fol- lowed in dealing with Belgium. Trampng the solemn treaty obligations of the United States under foot he took" what he wanted in the name of necessity knowing that it would work to his immediate politi cal advantage.
 Wilson, on the other hand risked a crushing poH
 cal defeat in order to force the repeal of the free tolls provision of the Panama Canal Act for no pur pose except to keep the pledged word and the good faith of the United States unsuled.
 These radically different courses of conduct to- ward treaty obligations not accidental Each man in his actions reflected his own soul, his own con5cience and his own conception of government
 It seems inevitable that Wilson and Roosevelt must ae the opposing candidates in this campaign Every foreign or domestic policy of the United States actual or potential is somehow embodied in these two Germany, Mexico. preparedness trusts corporations, everything They would bring to the arbitrament of the ballot box the vital principles that in Europe have been submitted to the Court of Blood and Iron The election would definitely decide the destiny of the Republic for the next generation-peace, democracy and liberty or war, imperialism and Prussanism.
 The World believes in the old democracy, in the old faith of the fathers in the old principles of ernment upon which the Republic established. But 1t makes claims to infallibility The old de mocracy commands less veneration today than n ever before commanded The old faith of the fathers is publicly nouted. The old principles of government boldly and progressively challenged. Perhaps the Amer ican people ready for fundamental change that would the form of their government intact but voluonze it's spirit Perhaps the Magma Charta, the Bin of Rights, the Declaration of Independence and the Emancipation Proclamation represent theories that dead and that 1t is time to bury their carcasses. Perhaps the true pathway to freedom lies through German Kutur and that the Germans have failed to impose it upon mapkind only because they were clumsy bungers
 In any event. The World is firmly convinced that the principles and policies represented by Woodrow Wilson and the principles and policies represented by Theodore Roosevelt ought to be sumbitted to ref erendum Of tke American people. There alone is an issue There alone is question worthy of the iudg ment Of eraal nnnnla sttino as q court nl last ra.