Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-11-19
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10. 1918
HOME HIS PLACE

TIME PreSidentS reasons Tor md
ing it necessary" to attend
the opening sessions of the
peace conference in Europe will not
appeal to many Americans. Just why
it is necessary" for him to sit at the
peace table, even if the meetings
were held in the United States, is
not clear. The country will be repre-
sented by able delegates, who would
be perfectly conversant with his
views, and who would be better able
to sound out the sentiments of the
other delegates than the President
himself, since the expressions of the
executive would be regarded as pro-
nouncements of opinion from which
he might find it embarrassing to re-
cede, If that became necessary. Fur
S thermore, the President at the peace
conference will outrank all of the
other delegates, which is not fair
either to France or Great Britain,
which have borne the brunt of the
war.
There appears to be no reason
why the President should absent him
self from his own country where other
great problems are waiting solution
to engage in peace discussions which
might just as well be left to other
American representatives quite as
we'll qualified as the President to
pass upon the points at issue as they
come up.
Even since the fifth of November,
when the people answered the
Presidents demand for a partisan
Congress, there has been an evident
purpose among his friends to force
the head of the government into a
position where he alone may exercise
power which should rest equally
upon the legislative and executive
departments.
The Congress which will assemble
5 at the conclusion of the present ses-
sion will not be a rubber-stamp body.
It is going to insist upon a proper
participation in all matters affect
ing the government of the United
States and as the President has
raised the issue he must abide by the
consequences. One of the most
astute of the press correspondents
at Washington says, Mr.. Wilson
himself never has trusted his own
Congress, although it has been
manned by Democrats ever since he
has been President. He never has
consulted with its leaders, even of
his own party, except to call them
in and issue his orders to them. The
Republicans he has ignored COM
pletely because they might not have
agreed with him in all details of
domestic legislation and Mr.. Wilson
has only contempt for men not Of
his own view."
But the conditions have changed,
and realizing that he can no longer
use Congress as a rubber stamp the
President now seeks to force his
views and dominate the peace settle
ment without regard to the clear
impression of public sentiment at
the November election.
President Wilson has developed an
ambition which will not be gratified
by the people of the United States.
nor will the able men in the Senate
and House at Washington consent to
his being the exclusive arbitor of
the issues of the European war. I'm
fortunately fer the President, his
attitude from the very beginning of
the war and before the entrance of
the United States into it has not
strengthened his hold upon the
people, He has switched too often
to be regarded as a superman to
direct the peace conference. On this
point the Washington representative
Of the Boston Transcript says:
The country had no sooner
plunged itself heroically and
whoIe-heartedly into the war than
the President began talking
peacei not that there were any
signs OF peace on the horizon or ,