Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-10-14
Presidential Campaigns
XIV. The Surprise OF 1919.
XIV. The Surp
RyFretieric j. Haskiu.

Washington. d. C. Oct. 1.-THE cam
naien of 1916 will doubtless live long
IN the memories of men as An eiection
when thousands of persons, lnciudlng
the Republican candidate, went to bed
believing that the Republicans had won
And woke up to find that the the reverse
was the case.
All of the Republicans and many OF
the Democrats seemed to believe that
IL was a Republican year, and the whole
strategy of the Republican campaign
seemed to be based on the mption that
the Republicans would surely win, provid-
ed they did not commit any gorgeous
blunder.
The rift in the Republican ranks,
caused by the detection OF Roosevelt
four wears before, bad been ostenslbiy
healed. Roosevelt had unched with Hughes
the Republican candidate, and had
emerged with the announcement thathe and
Hughes were in complete accord. All
of the Republican papers announced that
the Grand Old Party was once more
fiswlesss unit in the battle for righteousness
and prosperity. Democratic and lndepen-
dent organs. however did not fail to remark
that the Republic an platform OF 1916
bore no resemblance whatever to that
of the Progressives in 1912, and that
good many Progressive leaders were not
obviously following their late champion
back into the fold. Roosevelt was car
tooned rs the prodigal son returning
home bringing his own fatted bull moose
calf with him. and the said calf WAS pic
tuned as a small and reluctant creature.
Certainly it WAS not the husky animal
that had caused 80 much commotson four
years before.
sAY-NorHIleG CAMPAIGN.
The Hughes campaign was distinguish
ed by IT'S remarkably negative character.
Never, in fact, has such another nom
committal campaign been conducted In
this country unless the present year he
considered as breaking all previous rec
ords in that direction. Mr.. Hughes an
nounced that he was for undilutsd Ameri-
canisrn, but both he and his supporters
refraIned from any exact definition OF that
n,alIty. He also announced himself ~ In
favor of a very conservative view OF the
presidential office, stating that IN his
opinion the President was merely the ad-
ministrative head of the government
and not the leader of his party. He ad-
vocated higher tariff as necessary for the
interests of labor, but Indicated that the
making of this tariff was up to Congress and
not 70 him.
The reasoning on the part Of Republican
leaders which lay back OF this non-com-
initial campaign is not hard TO guess,
nor WAS it then employed for the first
or for the last time IL WAS a fact admitted
by all that Wilson had raised up host OF
antagonisms against himself. The pro
Germans were agsinst him because he had
written rather sharp notes to Germany,
and the red-rag patriots and pro-allies
were incensed that he had not declared
war on Germany. The Irish were more or
less peeved about this attitude toward
Ireland, and the Catholics did not ike
his Mex,can policy.
age campaign doubtless argued that the
wise thing to do was to sit tight and let
these animosities beat the Democrats.
IL vE not necessary, they reasoned, for
thcr candidate 20 take any very positive
stand, and II WAS lmperatIvely necessary
that he should not provoke any antagon
lsrns on hls own account. He was chosen
rs 3 man of high character and fine record
whom no one had anything against, and
the big idea was to keep him thus unsullied
Hence he was put IN a glass case Of conser-
vatIsn, and set to blowing pretty soap
bubbles OF platItude and generalization
while Mr.. Wilson and his supporters went
about the country hurting hard bricks
of fact about what they had done and what
they were going to do.
ARE VOTERS INTELLIGENT?
THIS Republican campaign was based
upon an idea which is in direct discord with
the theory of Democratic government.
and has often proved TO be In direct ac-
cord withthe facts Of & The theory is that
the American voteri q person of indie
pendent Judgment and good sense who
votes always IN obedience to those quail
ties. The fact has often appeared to be
that he Is blinded by personal prejudice,
and votes according to his emotion of the