New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-01-29
The President and the Hay Law

irritability. There must have been some
thing unusual in the manner IN which
the memorial was offered that aroused his
combativeness.
However that may be, IL was the first
time since the passage of the Hay army
reorganization law that he has seemed to
ne willing to admit his personal response
bility for that bungling measure-the first
time that he has seemed to resent criti-
cisn OF 1t as rejecting on his personal
Judgment
The Marylsnders were naturally non
plussed. They were merely saying things
about the law and about the tiasco of
mobilization under it which they had al
rcady heard said by army officers before
,onmittees of Congress. They were mere
liz echoing official reports issued from the
bureaus and divisions Of the War Depart
ment with the authorization Of Mr.. Will
sons Secretary of War. They were at
loss TO guess why they should be rebuked
by the President for indulging in "offhand
condemnation" of Mr.. Hays maladroit and
mischievous army reorganization, when
they were simply telling an old, old story
as old as the reorganization itself.
Mr.. Wilson's responsibility for the pas
sage Of the Hayt act is inescapabe. He
had originally supported Secretary Carl
sons plan for the creation of a continent
al army. But last winter he abandoned
the Garrison scheme and took up Mr..
Hav's rival scheme for the extension and
LIBERALIZATION of the National Guard.
Forced to choose between Mr.. Garrison
and Mr.. Hay, he cast his fortunes with
Mr.. Hay, and practically forced Mr.. Gar
rison out of the Cabinet.
When Mr.. Hay presented the reorganl-
cation bill in the House of Representatives
(including the liberalization of the Ma
tional Guard) he told his associates: at
is his 1.-THE President'sl bill" And this
statement was never challenged.
Later on the Presidents influence COM
PEELED the Senate TO throw overheard the
Chamberlain volunteer army substitute
and to accept the Hay National Guard
grab. Yet Mr.. Wilson never seemed to be
IN the least sensitive to criticism of the
foolish and costly experiment of Guard
naturalization. The Democratic cam
paign managers circulated last summer
without any protest from him, an article
by DR.. Charles w. Eliot, in which the
contention was put forward that Mr. Will
son knew that the Hay scheme was a
fraud and humbug. and only supported
it in order to get a chance to demonstrate
to the country its absurdity and unwork-
ability.
The Guard was Federalized and mobi-
lied. Everybody knows the result. In
MS annual report, issued last December,
Y Secretary Baker passed over the failure
Of the Hay law in silence. He could not
defend the law. But he lacked the moral
courage to condemn it. Nevertheless
what he was not frank enough to do him.
self he allowed his subordinates in TIE
War Department to do. The General
STAFF and the Militia Bureau Of the de-
partment told the truth about the COM
plete breakdown Of the Guard Federaliza-
ton scheme.
Mr.. Wilson reproved the Marylanders
for saying that the Hay system of army
organization is a disgrace" But an
army officer of the highest rank had al
ready called it tragedy" And nobody
connected with the Administration re-
proved him for that.
The country had naturally gotten the
idea that Mr.. Hay was to be made the
scapegoat for failure of the law. He had
been promoted to a safe place on the Fed
eral bench-everythin was in shape to
brand him as the evil counsellor who had
mised the President, II we are to elimi-
nate the Or. Eliot theory that the Presi-
dent was never misled at all, but saw
through Mr.. Hays wiles and merely
wanted TO expose them by letting Mr.. Hay
try his bungling scheme on the country
Mr.. Hay was a perfectly good scapegoat
II would be so easy and simple thing &c
load him down and send him into the viii
derness.
The Presidents annoyance at the out
spokenness of the Maryland delegation IS
therefore a little disquieting. Why should
he put himself out TO say at this late date
that he dissented from "offhand condenr-
nation Of the system which they 1.-THE
two houses of Congressl adopted after
long debate upon the urgency Of many of
the leading citizens of the country? The
Leading citizens Of the country" as far
rs any one who followed the reorganiza-
ton legislation Of 1916 could determine,
we're the managers of the association Of
National Guard officers, who were so
anxious to get the Guard on the Federal
payroll.
The National Guard liberalization and
mobilization Of 1916 were so complete a
fnseo that even Congress ought 10 be glad