Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-06-18
Fiue Minutes A Day
With Our Presidents
4 Presidents Momentous Decision.
By JAMES MORGAN.

AS ne stood at the clerks desk IN
the hall of the House of Rep
April 2, 1917, President Wilson was
the central figure in one of the great
moments of world history. Not only
his own people III mankind stopped
to listen.
The President had been reelected
only five months before because The
kept us out of war; Alas, the war
would not keep out Of the United
States.
For two years and a half the Presi-
lent and people together had con-
tinued to draw back from the yawn-
Ing inferno into which events were
pushing them. AS lately as June,
1915 both political parties in their
National convention, agreed on one
thing and n thing only; Each
~squarely declared itself in favor of
neutrality.
Nevertheless the President himself
publicly admitted a few days before
his reelection that neutrality Is
played out" AS the one remaining
means Of keeping US out of war. he
tried to stop the war in December
and again In January by appealing
to the belligerents to make peace.
His voice vas drowned in the roar of
the guns.
The war took on new fury with
the resumption of ruthless submarin-
ing which Germany had modified the
year before at our demand. The
President t%hereupon handed the Ger
nan Ambassador his passports, ano
next he proposed that we should arm
our merchant ships. The flibuSter-
ing Senate. failing to give him this
authority, he proceeded himself to
arm them But u shipping van
ished from the sea, with it's hidden
terror and at last he called the newly
elected Congress In extraordinary
session to receive q communication
concerning grave matters of Ma
tional policy"
Did he mean wal or something
short of war;? All afternoon of the
meeting day the country and Nations
beyond the, sea waited in suspense
while Congress was organizing and
getting ready to receive this history
making message.
No other President in the whole
course of his service has had to take
so many momentouS decisions as
| Woodrow Wilson has had to make In
the solitude of his study at the White
House in hose anxious days before
the assembling of Congress. He
could not divide the burden of such
a heavy responsibility; he had to e
1t alone and without a precedent to
guide him.
The course seemed plain enough,
nee we had entered upon 1t. But
first the President had to chart 1t by
himself.
Should we give q further trial to
armed neutrality? Or should we en-
ter upon an Independent naval war
fare against the submarine to
our shipping? Or should we back
the Allies with money and supplies,
but leave Thorn to do the fighting?
Or should we join forces with them
unreservedly, contrary to the historic
policy of America to go 1t alone?
Those alternatives were in every
mind in that bewildering period, and
the President had to choose between
them in framing the policy to be sub
mitted to Congress . He a the
holder choice of going into full part
nership with the Entente Allies.
pooling with them all our u
u man power money power and
our producing power, and resorting
for the first time in our history to
compulsory universal military SER
vice.
The broad plan which he unfolded
and which Congress quickly approved
assured in advance the success Of the
great unparalleled undertaking, and
he pushed 1t through to victory with
grim, unrelenting persistence. Amer
leans generally assumed at the start.
and the British Government agreed
with them. that we should not have
TO send a great army to Europe, If
Eindeed any at all. But when 1t be-
came an imperative necessity to go
at double quick TO the relief of the
broken line in France. the foundation
was so well laid that we rose TO the
unforeseen emergency building up in
q yea and a half an army of 4,000,-
900 and ferrying 1000 900 soldiers
across the Atlantic.
The brains Of the country, all the
talents were modified for the war.
merchants and scientists, bankers and
railroad men labor leaders and
clergymen. each being charged with
the task for which his training fitted
him. The chronic weakness of our
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. was
permitted to show its head. Mistakes
aplenty were made in meeting some
of the new problems of warfare. But
at least we did not repeat the mis-
takes of our past wars. For once our
soldiers were not sent TO the front
under political Generals and colonies
and left dependnt upon the supplies
OF political contractors. For the
first time in our military history
politics were sh utout of the army. :
at Is q race between Wilson and
Hindenburg,' said Lloyd George.
when the big German drive surprised
the Entente and smashed through its
front in the spring of 1918. Well.
whoever won the war Hindenburg
lost that race. We surprised our
selves and dumbfounded the German
General Staff by the speed and ell
cheney with which this unmilitaristie
Nation put an immense army into {
field 1900 miles away.