New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-03-16
TO AN AMERICAN IN PARIS
Mr. Morris Explained Questioning Friend the Course
of Our Toward the Great War

The toliOWing personal letter Wds Wr1t-
Ten BY M. Gourerpeur Norris IN response
10 the question OF q friend abroad
have just received your cable asking,
Whats the matter with America sup
pose you refer chiefly 10 the late flibuster
in the Senate. | shall have to answer with
a letter.
The thing will be explained in great
many ways. The flibusters themselves
for instance. will plead patriotism. But not
that explanation nor any other Will make
the fact less sickening The true eXplana-
ton. as ! think. is Mr. Wilson. He has
ridden for this fall lie is man too timid
to lead and too hesdstrong to follow. Re
election has been Of far more importance to
him than anything else; four years of con-
tinued mannuyring for reelection have got
him into bad habits of thought, which at
his age are only to be broken with dim
Guilty. In order to win the German vote he
allowed the Germans in this country to be-
lieve that secretly mis- Administration was
hand and glove with them and for them. His
chief agent was Senator Stone cor is IT
Stein?), the leader of the late ~libuster.
But il was not the German vote which re-
elected MIR Wilson. It was the stirring slo-
gan. "Hc kept US out OF war ! do not &C
cuse him of having invented this phrase
but it was a soft impeachment which he did
not deny, nor did he deny that he was per-
sonally responsible for that immense pros
perity which began with the first war or
L. 70 do
with keeping us out of war is, of course,
ridiculous. 1t is equally ridiculous to hold
him responsible for our prosperity. But a
majority of Americans believed that he was
keeping us out and making US rich. And
they voted for him. These same Americans
(Barnum's kind, of which the birth rate is
one minute) are now getting ready IN
their might to blame him for steering u'
into the war and for the food riots OF
which they are beginning to read in the
papers
When | speak of the kind of Americans
who reelected Mr. Wilson / must make an
exception of the South. To man the in
tellectuals in the South, ss we'll as the
idiots. always Yote for the Democratic can
didate. To-day the Southern papers arc
calling Senator Stone a traitor, but let him
be nominated Tor the Presidency and he
will have their suffrage he South does
not vote for a man. II votes for the first
duty Of man self-prcscrvation. And no
body OF education will find fault with the
South for so voting. In estimating the
President there is no difference between the
intelligent SOutherner and the intelligent
Northerncr: the difference lies in the fact
that the former will vote for him every
time. and the latter will never vote for him
at all
He was reelected. then. by those who had
to vote for him and by those who sincerely
believed that he had kept them out Of var
and made them prosperous. 1t is from these
that he derives his power and his support.
Now, the moment he becomes a war Pres
dent he will lose the support of those Who
are for peace at almost any price, a support
which, except numerically speaking. was
never worth having. and he will gain the
support, grudging and half-hearted. of the
intellectual and the educated. lie will gain
the supper, of those who, judging him abso-
,utely upon his record as il is written in
history for all 20 read, sec no reason 10
trust either his sagacty or has will to
manliness.
:. Mexico he pulled down an assassin in
order to set orc up He took Vera Cruz
r. order to get the flag saluted. Unsauted.
he sailed away. lie called for Villa. alive
or dead. Al cost Of 1852 10000 he
marched into Mexico and then he marched
out again. And Villa is still numbering
and rapng. Belgium was invaded We
were told. only, to be neutral, even in our
hearts. There followed, not swiftly but
slowly, strict accountability" and "too
proud to fight Seeing better than others
for he was IN a better position to sec
that we must be swept into the European
maelstrom. he fought his one real fight
tooth and nail he has opposed any real pre-
parcdness.
Again and again the iron Of German in