Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-03-08
MOSTLY BUNK,

MOSTLY BUNK.
In the course of a brief editorial IN.
which the Des Moines Tribune idoliz-s
Woodrow Wilson. and Classics as men
Of extreme med!ocrity all who for any
reason deign to differ or criticise him.
We find this conclusion:
The debates Of this whole war period
have shown how few secrs there are in
either house of congress. For the FIST
time in our American history a great
crisis has come without calling out
single speech in congress which any
body can point to with distinction.
Never was the senate more common
place than it is today. Senator Lodge,
who probably ranks the senior in abil-
ity, is not the equal of Elihu Root, and
will not stand with men like Sewal u,
Evarts or even Edmunds in the an
nails. He is not the equal of his for
mcr colleague, Senator Hoar. And not
ono of these men was a top notCher III
the old days. Senator Dolliver. had he
lived would have been the one con-
spicuous senatorial figure of the war
period.
There is temptation to lose patiencN
end characterize such statements as
PURE buncombe. There isn't a SEM
blance of justification for such claims
az the Tribune sets UP on this line.
A. calm and candid survey of tho
situation in the United States today
will convince any sane man that the
general level Of intelligence, integrity,
capacity, ability and other worth while
human attributes was never high-,
than it is today. The senate of the
United States today is just as higI
grade as any OF it's predecessors.
Take the present general assembly OF
Iowa as an example. From a close
view it looks extremely mediocre.
! Looking back twenty and thirty years
and we are inclined to exclaim: All,
but we had giants in those good, old
days" But the general assemblies of
Iowa are growing better with tho
! passing of years. There was a time
when committee rooms at the capitol
were filed with lobbyists and mileage
/ books and now and then a consignment
! of booze. There is nothing of the kind
now about the capitol. The present
assembly is high class. These state
ments are just as true Of congress as
| they are Of the Iowa assembly.
h ~ lsaN n
men at the present time is not new.
In every age in the world men have
entertained the same opinion. Die
lance lends enchantment.' Familiar
ity breeds contempt"
Following the election OF Lincoln u
the presidency in 1860 the president
! elect spent the time intervening be-
fore his inauguration consulting with
prominent men in the country with a
Among others called to Springfield
was Thurlow Weed. To his visitor H.
Conhded his innermost thoughts anu
asked for his candid advice. Weed
wrote in after years of this interview
Lincoln said the making Of cabinet
now that he 1ad it to do, was by NJ
means as easy as he supposed; that
ne had, even, before the result of the
election was known, assuming the pro-
liability OF success, fixed upon the two
leading members of his cabinet; but
that in looking about for suitable
men to fill other departments, he had
been much embarrassed, partly from
his want of acquaintance with the
prominent men Of the day and partly
he believed. because that, while the
population had greatly increased, really
tgreat men were scarcer than they used
to be-"
The Tribunes view Is narrow and
provincial. 1t is a view warped and
biased by adulation. In the mind OF
the Tribune there is but one strong
man in the world today and that is
Wilson. Beside him all others are
pigmies. The same bent Of MIND
which puts Wilson on a pinnacle In
the judgment Of the Tribune natural.
ly and logically puts everybody elst
where Wilson puts them-on medi
oere level by comparison.
Specifically, the Tribune contend!
that Senator Lodge does not compar'
! with his late colleague, Senator Hoar
AS matter Of fact Lodge Is head ant
shoulders above Hoar. Senator Hoa
was strong rs a philosopher, scholar
theorist and writer He went down Y