The sun., 1919-08-13
Americans Are Swinging Back to
Americanism.


Americanism.
The American people + swinging
back to Americanism.
The national Reputation Of WOOD
ROW WILSON and his personal project
to submerge America In the League
Of Nations means more than the for
NAL rejection Of the mere plan itself.
1t means more than the rescue of
American interests and American In
dependence from momentary peril. 1t
means more than the escape Of Ameri-
can freedom from internationalism
and supersoverelgnty.
It means that virile Americanism
has driven out of popular idealism
the false doctrines of foreign superb
ority which for a quarter Of a CEN
fury were sedulously taught and
widely accepted in the United States.
II means that old fashioned conf
dence in the might. the intelligence
and the destiny of the republic has
been firmly reestablished in minds
only a little while ago led astray by
false teaching into a wilderness of
doubt and timid questioning.
For this triumph of patriotic senti-
ment, firmly based on history and the
contemporaneous records Of American
accomplishment, the war did some
thing. 1t revealed US to ourselves an
essentially homogeneous people. 1t
disclosed to us our unlimited capacity
for cooperation when the times call
for cooperation. 1t made apparent to
us u physical strength. 1t disclosed
to us our national and personal adap-
liability. 1t aroused understanding Of
our united strength.
To it, also, the exposure of WooD-
ROW WILSON and his plans has like
wise contributed. The American cleo
torate, recording the measured judg-
ment of the American population, voted
lack of confidence in Mr.. WILSON in
the November elections Of 1918. The
ballots cast then served notice on the
world that Mr.. WILSON did not speak
for his fellow countrymen. Mr.. WILL
SON refused to abide by the result of
the election. He went to Europe pro-
claiming himself the ~mouthpiece Of a
united citizenship unanimously indoors
ing the projects he put forward. He
neglected no opportunity to assert the
representative character he coveted.
Europe listened, believed and &C
cepted Mr.. WILSON at his W valua-
ton. Europe could not understand
how Americans could refuse to accept
him in the same way. The reception
given to him shook SOM Americans.
The old habit of doubt Of the integrity
Of their own methods and conclusions
was still strong in a few citizens. But
the overwhelming majority stuck by
their W opinion of Mr.. WnsoN/and
waited patiently for its vindlcation.
That v%lndlcation was not long de-
layed. The crumbllng of Mr.. VIII
SONS edlfce Of International idealism
took place before the eyes of Europe.
Europe saw Mr.. WILSON pitch "open
covenants openly arrived at" inconti-
nently out Of the window. Europe
saw Mr.. WILSON drop freedom of the
seas" quietly into the waste basket.
Europe saw Mr.. WILSON bend self
determination of peoples" to meet the
~exigencies Of political expediency in
the case of Fiume. Europe saw Mr..
WILSON traffic with the Bolsheviki
while American soldiers we're fighting
Bolshevik soldiers. Europe saw Mr..
WILSON c~ynically abandon China to
Its fate against the protests of his
own self-chosen colleagues. Europe
saw Mr.. WILSON destroy his own pro-
gramme, and as 1t saw it began to
understand the attitude Of the Amer
lean people as set forth by the voters
Of this country in 1918.
As MI. WILSON'S se~lf-revelation
progressed in Europe, European opin-
ion shifted. Wonder over the refusal
to give Mr.. WILSON the vote of conf.
dence he coveted vas replaced by ad-
miration for the insight of the Amer
lean people. AS Mr.. WILSON'S stock
went down on exposure to the analy-
sis Of public inspection, American
stock went up. The solidity and sta
bility of American public opinion were
established when the rocco embel-
lishments Of Mr.. WILSON'S rhetoric
were mercilessly stripped from his
sleazy idealism.
This process had it's inevitable re-
action in this country. Those who,
stunned by the warmth of Mr.. WIZ