The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-10-19

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS.


washtngtoa, d. c., Oct. H.,
When one reviews the long saccss-
sion of presidential elections In the
United States, considers the meth
DDS, manners and emotions Of them.
and the types OF men they have
thrown into the highest once, few
facts stand out sharp and unmis-
taxable.
1t is clear, for example, that our
presidents have been Of two types.
Many Of them. and perhaps most Of
them. have been commonplace poll
ticians largely because Of their
negative qualities. A few Of them
have been men Of marked personal
ity and intellect. and those always
seem to have arrived either By acci-
dent or by reason Of the fact that
their unusual qualities were not
known. II We get . president OF
large caIiber it 10 not because Of
the system by which he Is chosen.
but in spite Of It.
Until the time Of Andrew Jack
son We were ruled by an aristoc-
racy. The men who won the revo-
luton and founded the nation did
not believe in the capacity Of the
people to rule. They believed In q
strong central government, admin
istered by men Of brains and con-
science, in the interests Of all
classes. Washington, Adams and
Jefferson were notable examples of
this type Of man. They were all
men who had personality and abil-
ity, and who were chosen by their
peers for that reason.
Jackson WAS the first Of our
politician-presidents. He was nomi-
mated by a sort Of outlaw popular
convention and elected by an i'm
mense popular vote, to the distress
and amazement Of the old aristo-
cratic Clique. jackson, as it hap
pened, was also q man of personal
ity and brains, but he was q man OF
the people, full Of personal and par
tisan prejudices and animosities
He was the father of practical poll
tics as We knew it, Of the spoils sys.
tenn and Of the political machine
After his death the machine he
created fell into less able hands
other machines were built to com.
bat it, and the merry game was ON
The Jackson Revelation.
Jackson; a strong man, haG
snatched the power away from tn,
aristocratic clique, and, theoretic
ally, he had put it in the hands o
all the people. But practically h,
had created a system by which
weak and INSCRIPTIONS men coult
WELD that power. Bosses an.
demagogues began springing up al
over the country. Never great mel
and seldom good men, their on
great desire was to place in ONO
men who were not any stronge
than they. Hence came our politi
cal conventions, carefully manage
from behind the scenes. at whic
the politicians strive nightly, an
usually with success, to nominal
men who they can manage afte
election. -
Il Occasionally they make a mi,
take. Lincoln was such d mistak
His reputation before he was cleo
? ed was that Of . shrewd countr
+ politician. He had played practic,
politics with skill. and had been
staunch party man. He had show
|, himself amenable to party disc
pine and had not announced an
, radical or original views on any
, thing. He was chosen by the pol
: ticians at convention in direct d.
fiance Of popular will. because tn
politicians believed he was safe
Il After he got into ONCE Lincol
displayed several qualities whic
no one had suspected him of po,
sessing. He developed a fine col
science, for one thing, which hes
tated to make compromises vii
expediency. For another thing,
showed a far-reaching sympatf
which extended even to his wor
enemies; and unlike most pres
dents he developed no symptoms
big-head. He was not carried ava
by ambition or by any convictit
n that he was an inspired superma
n As a result, a tremendous oppos
. ton u him among the POLITICAL
4 developed, and he was elected +
a the second time in the face of tn
v opposition, largely because Of a vi
r tory in. the field which came at d
crucial moment.
, What Cleveland Did.
a Cleveland. another man of II
n doubted ability. was also chos
y under the misapprehension that