The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1919-02-07
THE TRAINING OF A PRESIDENT

Washington, Feb. 5.-The Republl-
can Publicity Association through its
President, Hon. Jonathan Bourne, Jr.,
today gave out the following state
ment from its Washington Headquar-
ters:
Cup to the time Theodore Roosevelt
entered the White House all but -four
of the "a Presidents who had preceded
him had had national legislative ex-
perience. The first three had been
Delegates to the Continental Con-
gress, ten had served terms in the
Senate, IA had been members Of the
House of Representatives and seven
had occupied seats in both branches
of Congress. Of the four Presidents
who came to the White House without
previous service in the legislative
branch of the Government, two, Tay-
lor and Grant, achieved distinction in
war; one, Arthur, was e-President
and assumed the Presidency upon the
untimely death of Garfield; and one,
Cleveland, came into the public eye by
being elected Governor Of the State
of New York.
,"It is probable that if the Mexican
and Civil Wars had not focused the
attention of the people upon two of
our military leaders it would have
become an unwritten law that a
Presidential candidate must have
served terms in either or both Houses
of Congress in order to be successful.
But the voters departed from their
practice of former years when they
sent Grover Cleveland to the White
House, and with the election of 1884
as precedent three other Presidents
have been chosen without previous
service in Congress-. Col. Roosevelt
had presided over the Senate for a
short time before he entered the
White House. and thus may be said
to have participated to some extent in
legislation, but neither Taft nor VIII
son had had any part in the enact
ment of laws before they assumed
their executive duties.
at cannot be said that the country
has profited by its desertion of the
but tried legislators should be elected
to the Presidency. Judge Taft had
served in the Cabinet and as Govern
or of the Philippines, and hence had
an understanding of legislation that
he would not have otherwise possess.
ed, but even with the knowledge
that he had obtained through his ex-
ecutive positions with the Government
it cannot be doubted that he would
have made more popular President
if he could have relied upon expert
ence gained by previous service in
Congress. But the climax has been
reached in Professor Wilson. With no
connection with the Federal Govern
ment in any capacity before assum-
ing the Office of Chief Executive, his
ignorance of practical legislation has
been painfully evident from the start.
Constant clashes with Congress have
laid emphasis on the impossibility of
substituting merely the theory of
government, treated of at such length
in Wilson's earlier writings, for a
working knowledge of the methods
followed in the enactment of legisla-
tion for governing the country. The
apparent willingness of Congress to
give approval to suggestions from Mr..
Wilson has been because of the ankle
ty of the Democrats in control of both
Houses to maintain party solidarity,
and to avoid all indication of friction
between their political leader and his
supporters. The war, too, has given
an added weight to recommendation