The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1920-02-28

the movements of the president as q
public man. the present condition OF
date Of his seizure in September. but al
most a year before The president
really came To a crisis in his health IL
October and November 81 l9lS. During
the war he had formulated and Rad
given expression 10 what ar" unTu"S-
tionablr the best state papers that came
from any person IN connection with the
conflict. The power 81 thought and the
ability in expression which enabled him
10 excel every other living statesman
remained with him up TO almost tho
very day Of the armIStlCn. He was al
no time in better form than during the
month OF October. when he was called
upon, to conduct the correspondence
with Germany which led up TO the ar
miS,ice. That was n piece Of work In
volvlng the greatest delicaCy and the
highest responsibility. and II was done
with not merely adequate skill. but ex-
traordinary skill.
But at that very moment several
things happened which reduced his Gle
avtion-reduced il ~ such degr""
that the conduct Of that correspondence
with Germany In October. 1918. stands
as a climax OF his career. and every
thing since has been anti-climax
Change Duo to Many Causes.
The things which brought about the
change were these: In the first place.
there was the ending OF the war.
bringing with il FOR President Wilson
that cessation of strain which in itself
frequently causes the commonly obSerF-
ed phenomenon Of exhaustion coming AT
tho end of supreme EFFORT. That alone
might we'll have been enough TO ac-
count for physical and nervous let
down. necessarily accompanied by
lessenencd quality OF intellectual nro-
duct. But TO this cause was added an
other. and later on still others-mahF
others.
The second thing that happened it is
fair 10 believe. made deeper I'M
pressto'- upon the Presidents person.
al!ty than was commonly understood at
the time. II will be recalled that just
preceding the Congressional elections
Of November. 1915. at the very time
when the President was engaged in the
supreme test of answering the German
notes requesting an armistic". he issued
n call 10 the American people ASKING
them to elect 4 Democratic Congress.
That call. while Il contained his own
phraseology and was over his own sig
nature and undoubtedly did pass
through the prism OF his own intellect.
nevertheless did not come from his own
Initiative. II came from the initiative
Of his private secretary add member
OF his Cabinet, two men OF crude par
tisanshlp, with defects Of vision char
acteristic Of the step which they over
persuaded the President TO take at
moment when the sinEle-track mind was
primarily OCEuplcu WIN hHpNH'' i'tf'''
ant thing. the writing Of the armistice
notes.
Nevertheless and properly, when the
issuance Of the call created a public up
roar Of resentment. President Wilson
was blamed and had TO bear tho blame.
The country IN its resentment elected
Republican Congress. The election was
a rebuke TO the President, and those or
rs who were in Washington AZ the time
had opportunity to OhServ" that he felt
tho rchuke kceuly. He spent consid-
cradle period in partial SeCluSiOn. COM
n,unicating with his secretary for the
most part by notes.
Good Reason to be Upset
This was during the very days when
he was looking forward 10 the Peace
Conferences. time when normally he
should have been in daily contact with
the state Department. But tho fact
was tina, any one who went to the State
Department during those weeks and in
ou!red about the preparations which
were being made for the Peace Confer
ence was able TO get no reply other than
a hafned shrug Of the shoulders and
nossihly an answer TO the effect that
''unhodv knows what the Old Man is up
to-.
The President had good reason 10 be
unset hy the rcbuke. Il put him N the
p,sitjon OF beng Il prophet without hon
or IA MS own country at precisely the
moment when his honor IN other
countries was a; its highest II was
,.,,lI aid ostcutat iouS slight put upon
him =, his own family. so 10 speak. at
the precise rronsr: when all the stranS-
.rS IN the world were turning 10 him as
a source Of Inspired light. II was