The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-08-17
Political Activity During the Ad-
journment OF Politics Explained.

Political ACTIVITY OuEink tuo hu-
Journment OF Politics Explained.
The American public Is indebted to
Mr.. DAVID LAWRENCE for candid at
tempt to elucidate President WILSON'S
ideas of an adjourned politics. Mr..
LAWRENCE is the accomplished Wash
ington correspondent Of the Evening
Post. His explanations Of the less
obvious aspects of Administration
policy are always Intelligent. fire.
uuently instructive, sometimes marked
by visible signs of inside Information,
and generally inspired by an indie
pendent judgment. even II they sell
dom seem so shaped as to be wholly
,,ispleasing to the exalted parsonage
whose thoughts and purposes Mr..
LAWRENCE undertakes to interpret
for the benefit Of the bewlldered. In
many instances We should readily
prefer his version to that OF more
formally recognized distributor of
White House opinion; even to Mr..
GEORGE CRELL's version, for example.
From this respectable source we
got yesterday n luminous statement
of what Mr.. LAWRENCE believes to be
the principles underlying these re-
peated and apparently highly politi-
cal acts of the President which have
been so widely criticised as incon-
sistent with his patriotic declaration
that politics is adjourned. When he
attributes "disloyalty" to a Senator
or Representative in Congress run
ming for reelection It has puzzled THE
SrN. among others, to know whether
? he means disloyalty to the Govern
ment or to the Administration.
Now, Mr.. DAVID LAWRENCE points
out in the Post that the President.
being too busy to follow infinitely the
political situation in q given State,
depends for guidance on two or three
political advisers as we'll as the lead
ers who are on intimate and friendly
terms with the Administration. They
steer him; and IL he makes mistake
it Is true that those who guide him
are fundamentally to blame, but the
responsibility Is fundamentally with
the President That Is proper dis
tinction: and the relation as afore-
said between the President as leader
of the Democratic party and the To-
cal experts On whom he depends for
steering is entirely legitimate In the
political sense. But 1t strikes us that
the state of affairs here described can
hardly be regarded. even by the Wild
est stretch Of the tolerant magma
ton, as denoting the adjournment Of
politics.
Mr.. LAwRENcE's second point Is
that the several cases Of President
WILSON'S Intervention have not been
in elections, but In primaries. This,
of course, would be sufficient ex-
PLANTATION Of the mystery II 1t could
be maintained that politics has moth
ing to do with the primary contests
and begins only when the candi-
dates have been designated by the
preliminary process. THE Presi-
dent" says this observer, sis leader
Of the Democratic party. He is nat
urally anxious to improve the person
mel of the Democratic party and .
is interested now in getting men who
will be wholeheartedly with the ex-
ecutive branch of the Government In
steady prosecution Of the war to
a successful end" Again:
When the President speaks of men
who have been opponents Of his Admin
istration, he means men who have not
hesitated by ono means or another to
obstruct tho path Of legislation both in
the open and In secret. :.
When a man goes before his con-
stituency and frankly states that he has
opposed the Administration and wants
TO be nominated on that platform. he
Is dealing frankly with his people ana
the Administration u perfectly willing
to leave the decision to tho free act OF
the State or district concerned. But
when man goes before his constituency
and with appropriate gestures says
I have stood by the President; I have
given him every dollar he asked for;
have supported the Administration and
then the people OF that district appeal
to the White House to tell them whether
that is 30 or not, the President is bound
TO give an answer"
The explanation may appear some
what subtle, but 1t Is perfectly intelli-
gble In the light of the preceding
announcement that as leader Of the
Democratic party Mr.. WILSON con-
ceires 1t to be his duty, although
President, to. supervise closely the
personnel OF the pSrty's candidates