The Washington times., 1920-06-01

or more unsqoivoc4I Impression an my
mind thar PrasicsDt Wilson. Yet few
men have been the sueJeet % more
Grotesque misrsAdins. And thtAs not
so much from foreigners. perhsps' as
by his own eountrymen.
During a recent visit to America i
heard, even In nominAlly reputuble
circles. suggestions In regard to hi.
personal character 80 odious nat
they would have been shocking
they had not been merely silly. rhe
ISLANDERS become nonsensical enough
In the presence OF the man himseh
He carries with him the atmosphers
OF the Scotch manse. Quaiined by
gaiety OF mind that makes the es-
sential gravity OF the man curiousiy
iridescent and playful
Behind his play OF fancy thore
dwells the spirit OF the Scotch Coy
enanter. He Is q moralist In politics
The government of men 10 TO him not
a game; II is a religion. He has none
OF the gay, adventurous empiricism
OF MT Roosevelt; none OF the nimp,e
opportunism OF Mr.. Lloyd George. ne
does not understand these things.
They revolt his sense Of the eternai
sanctities.
seeks oniy Risht
The Ark OF the Covenant 10 sacrea.
and the table of tho law must not pe
broken. And In his conscience ne
finds the table of the law written IL
he is in doubt about his course, no
has one simple expedient. He sum
mons to his aid the counsel Aho ca
ample of the father whose memory
he reverences and sees the
through that flial medium Oh AZ
proach. ..n,.
He does not ask what u praeuc~o.o
or popularJ he asks what 10 rSn.
does not seek TO placate tse pes'
he seeks 10 pIacate his own conscs-
cnc~. Hence the sense OF aioofness
from. the popular mind, his air OF the
recIuse. his reputation of the inac-
ces.ibIe autocrat.
Hence the rigidity of his intellect
ual processes and the STIFFNESS oi MO
political relationships. He has none
OF the easy indifference TO moral pur-
pose and character that the agile pro.
fessional politician displays. He VIII
not buy of opposition with a brioe'
nor silence a critic whom ne despises
with a sop. He Is widely different
from Lincoln, who used inferior men
with a whole magnanimity even while
he knew they were disloyal to him.
From this rigorous and unyiefd1ng
habit OF mind have come many ef his
troubles.
Conscience His Idol.
A little slackening OF the moral
resin, a sweetening Of the public air
with the spirit of fun which irradi-
ates his private life, would have eased
his path enormously and profoundly
changed the course Of history.
One can make toe much OF an iAos
even OF ones own conscience. Virtue
shNnuA mt hA a1I0vved n MAY
the tyrant over our activities.
1t was a wise man. and an Ameri-
can, who, being asked whether
money. or oratory, or organization, or
a papular cause was the most power
full weapon in political warfare. re-
piled that it was none of these things.
"The most important thing in public
AFFAIRS" he said, "is the management
of men"
President Wilson has not managed
men. He thinks hard. he thinks
straight, he thinks alone. and he 10
not afraid to act. No man ever took
more pains to arrive at a just con-
clusion. but having reached a con-
clusion. no man Is more difficult to
turn back on his traces.
Has single-Trsck Mind.
His singie-track mind Will enter
tain NO alternative route.
To turn back is to admit that he
has gone the wrong way. and that
cannot be possible where all the steps
I have been 50 iogicsl and irrefutable.
There is not enough allowance for
the play Of accident human fraiIty
and -intractables circumstances. The
essential calyinism Of hts mind .ex-
c1ades the arts of political legerde-
main. Hence the strange concluding
phase of the Peace Conference.
In Mr.. Keynes words. 1t had taken
Mr.. Clemenceau and Mr.. Lloyd George
Ave months to bamboozle him, and
when they sought to de-bamboozle
him they found they could not do it
in Ave days.
"a second installment Of Mr.. Gar
diners article will be published in
another issue.)