Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-01-07

the like of Roosevelt is to be found
again--whethcr similar genius is being
tempered somewhere in the ranks to rise
and come to them in their time of need.
Nothing less than genius will suffice in
the times Immediately ahead. And it is
this crisis in the G.. O. p that tempts an
analysis of the qualities that all great
| political leaders must have in these roar.
ing years Of great responsibilities and
| great change.
The qualities of craftsmanship have
undergone forced changes in the last
few years. People are more critical and
they are better informed. They are more
sophisticated. Their needs are greater.
Neither of the two great parties is
blessed at this hour with many so-called
leaders who measure up to the times
they live in.
Imagination is the element most neccs-
sary to any great achievement. 1t is the
force that makes wisdom activc-that
makes conquest sure in almost any field
1t cannot be acquired. 1t doubles the
power of wise minds. It enables one to
know what is in the hearts of people.
1t was Lincoln's Imagination that
brought upon him the hurt and the tor
ment Of wounded soldiers in far places
so that he shared every sorrow endured
throughout his country during the Civil
War. And it was his imagination that
enabled him to speak always for the
inner consciousness Of the people and to
articulate things only dmly felt and yet
eternally true. Roosevelt, because he
was devoted and sincere and gifted with
imagination, could perceive needs and
desires in the country that the lesser
politicians of his time couldn't see. He
gave utterance to hopes that were deep
seated throughout all America. And so
he became the medium Of the best popu-
lar impulses in America. He became
Teddy when in him the people recog-
nized all that was best in themselves.
1t is this same imaginative quality which !
is the secret Of Mr.. Wilson's success in |
the ideals of the people.
The death of Colonel Roosevelt leaves |
Mr.. Taft and Mr. Hughes as leaders of |
almost equal prestige at the head of the |
Republican party. Both are men of .
talent, Of sincerity and great power /
Both are gifted with a genius for fair
dealing and are the richer for judicial .
minds. Mr., Taft especially has proceeded .
through the extraordinary political
changes Of the last few years with
mind constantly temperate, fair and lust. /
He has met and passed crisis after crisis
with serene compos;rc and a fixed dcvo- .
tion to justice He is one of the few
men in America who have been able 70
keep above the tumult of the storm for
a clear view He has a genius for tran
qullIity. And it is there that he mani
tests lack Of that sixth sense that was
Rooscvct's. Imaginative men are not
Lincoln was not TRANQUIL nor
was Roosevelt Indeed it is the great
trouble of geniuscs that they must live
forever in sort Of tempest, praised and
blamed hated and loved with equal pas
sion. But they usually have eyes to see
and hearts to feel and ears to hear things
in the common heart of mankind that
are unknown to mere statesmen. So
they take their chances and go it alone,
and usually they 60 upward.
1t is for such figure that the Rcpub-
lican party will have to search. Lacking
success in that quest Mr.. Taft is unducs-
tionabIy the suroSt dependence of the
Z. o, p. Elsewhere in the party, as well
as upon the Democratic side, with the
Of Mr.. Wilson, are leaders of
the conventional type, inspired chiefly by
the memories Of Clay, or Webster, or
Jefferson, or Jackson thinking in ruts
worn deep generations ago. Many Re-
publicans Of prominence and prom
Use might be mentioned, but at present
they seem to lack stature when viewed
against the Stupcndous background of
1919, and, excepting Mr. Wilson, the same
IS true in the Democratic ranks.
1t is not too much to suppose that men
will come upward from oblivion a they
are needed.
America never has lacked leaders in
my crisis, In the minds of younger men
n both parties the affairs Of today ,,,u.+ !