Great Falls daily tribune., 1920-10-23
THE HASKIN LETTER
PRESIDENTIAL MPAIGNS.
XXIV.-The Surprise of 1916.

Washington, =. c., Oct. 11.-Tht
campaign of 1916 will doubtless live
| long in the memories of men as an elec-
| ton when thousands of persons. includ-
| ing the Republican candidate. went to
! bed believing that the Republicans had
won and woke up to find that the re-
verse was the case.
All of the Republicans and many of
the Democrats seemed to believe that
it was q Republican year. and the whole
strategy of the Republican campaign
seemed to be based on the assumption
that the Republicans would surely win,
/ provided they did not commit any eyre
gous blunder.
The rift in the Republican ranks, caus-
/ ed by the detection Of Roosevelt four
years before, had been ostensibly heal
ed Roosevelt had lunched with Hughes,
| the Republican candidate, and had
emerged with the announcement that he
and Hughes were in complete accord.
| that the Grand Old Party was once more
flawless unit in the battle for right
eousness and prosperity. Democratic
| and independent organs, however, did not
| fail to remark that the Republican plat
| form of 1916 bore no resemblance what
| ever to that Of the Progressives in 1912,
and that good many Progressive lead
| ers were not obviously following their
late champion back into the fold. Roose-
welt was cartooned as the prodigal son
returning home bringing his own fatted
bull moose calf with him, and the said
/ calf was pictured as small and reluc-
| tant creature. Certainly it was not the
husky animal that had caused SO much
commotion four years before.
A Say-NothIng Campaign.
The Hughes campaign was distin-
kguished by its remarkably negative char
acter, Never, in fact, was such another
non committal campaign been conducted
be considered as breaking all previous
records in that direction. Mr.. Hughes
announced that he was for undiluted
Americanism, but both he and his sup
porters refrained from any exact defin-
ition Of that quality. He also announ-
ced himself as III favor of very con-
seryatiye view Of the presidential office,
stating that in his opinion the president
was merely the administrative head of
the government and not the leader of
his party. He advocated higher tariff
as necessary for the interests of labor,
but indicated that the making of this
tariff was up to congress and not to
him.
4 ub ItdSUHlIlk ou &ut pau w AhSphDiI~
can leaders which lay back of this non-
committal campaign is not hard to guess,
nor was it then employed for the first
or for the last time. 1t was fact ad-
mitted by all that Wilson had raised up
host Of antagonisms against himself.
The prot Germans were against him
because he had written rather sharp
notes to Germany, and the red-rag
patriots and allies were incensed
that he had not declared war on Ger
many The Irish were more or less
peeved about his attitude toward Ire
land, and the Catholics did not like his
Mexican policy.
The professional politicians who man
age campaigns doubtless argued that
the wise thing to do was to sit tight and
let these animosities beat the Democrats.
1t was not necessary, they reasoned,
for their candidate to take any very
positive stand, and it was imperatively
necessary that, he should not provoke
any antagonisms on his own account
He was chosen as man of high char
acter and fine record whom no one had
anything against. and the big idea was
Ato keep him unsullied. Hence he was