The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1918-11-01
WILSON SEEKS
AUTOCRATIC POWER
Would Become Absolute
Ruler By Banishing
Opposition.

grim times like these" the scruple
of taste in his appeal to the American
people for the return of a Democratic
Congress, Of course. invites a re-
spectful consideration and discussion
by every loyal American citizc1 OF
what he says.
The appeal of the President is
! forcible, but specious. The unified
leadership he asks Is autocratic pow
err in felds in which the constitution
and principles of democracy require
! that he should consult other repre-
sentatives of the people than himself.
In pursuit of his policies he consults
neither his own party nor any other.
He wishes a Democratic Senate, not
because he wishes to seek the assis-
lance of the Democratic senators in
the foreign policy concerning which
by the fundamental law they are to
advise and consent. but because he
can mold them absolutely to his will
without consulting them. lie has
visited his displeasure on every Dem
ocratic member of either house who
has differed with him and called upon
that members constituency to re-
ject him.
Is IT necessary for the country's
welfare that he should be absolutely
ruler of this nation for the two years
ensuing from March 4 next?
That is the premise upon which the
soundness of his appeal. in its ulti-
mate analysis, must rest.
Do we need during the life of the
next Congress a dictator?
One who knows the facts of tins
war, and our part I'm II. and who loves
liberty and popular government. must
answer no. The war is nearly won.
II may take year longer. We hope
II will be less. The complex ques-
tions of the terms of peace are to be
settled in the term OF the Congress
now to be elected
The still more difficult questions
of reconstruction after the war are
to be met by that Congress.
Do the American people by their
action in the next election wish to
make both the terms of peace and the
reconstruction after the war depend
on the uncontrolled will of Woodrow
Wilson? That is the issue which he
puts 10 them in his appeal. Unless
you give me uncontrolled power. you
repudiate me and my leadership be-
fore the world" Aut Caesar aut
nullus
Never in the history of this cOun-
try has the President had such vast
and unlimited power as he has to-day.
IL has been often exercised through
agencies selected by him without
great consideration of the individual.
Far to many instances OF partisan
ship in the selection of these agencies
are known of all men to give point
in this appeal. The people have re-
strained protest against the arbitrary
exercise of power in their anxiety to
win the war The power which the
President has was voted to him by
the Republicans in both houses. They
manifested no partisan desire to
withhold 1t in spite of the knowledge
that its possession would tempt the
use of it for partisan purposes.
The great measures for which the
President can claim credit in this
war are the two draft acts. The first
he could not have secured, but for
the Republican support. The second
he did not initiate until after Repub-
licans and certain Democrats he had
for differing with him
had forced it upon his reluctant at
But for the Republican congress
sional support that he had in this
war he could not have conducted IL
to its present status. He charges
Republican leaders with seeking to
take the choice of policy and con-
duct or this war out of his hands
by putting it under instrumentalities
Of their own choosing. The difficult
ty with this statement is that 1t is
not true. The mere mention of the
name of julius Kahan, and his work
In this Congress, answer every re-
lection the President makes on the
Republican minority.
What the Republican leaders at
tempted to do was to furnish the
PRECEDENT with an executive organiza-
ton by which he might carry on the
war more effectively. There was not
the slightest suggestion that he
was not to appoint those who were
to exercise the powers under his SUI
pervision and direction, but he did
not wish to delegate sufficient power
10 his appointees to enable them to
achieve what had to be done, and so
objected.
In the end he was driven to do In
4 more awkward way that which