Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-03-03
HOW WILL THE FUTURE VIEW
Mr.. WILSON'S PHILOSOPHY?
Earnest but AudaeIous Handling Of IRE
mendous Forces Characterized The
Dying Adm nlstratlon

nendous Forces Characterized the
Dying Administration
THE criers-out for peace, the hsters of
l. unreason and injustice, the great vision
aries who are always ready to destroy much
for the sake of better future the lonesome
men who yearn to be the dclivcrcrs Of hu-
manity from its inherited pain and it's endless
confusions move in q procession through all
history. They always have been. They
always will be. When one OF them appears
he has to speak or perish.
Such as these sat at the gates Of ancient
cities and bitterly condemned the existing
powers. They have shouted dark prophecies
Mt passing kings. 4 few have led armies
and others have done great services for
modern peoples and modern governments.
Most of them have been solitary antagonists
Of destiny who were dcridcd BY the mighty
people who, in the course OF time, did sit
upon the ground and mourn"
That one of them should have been at the
very top of the world, in a position of pn-
exampled power and unchallenged authority
at time when humanity was enduring It's
greatest agony, will be u matter Of wonder
to future historians. That he should have
failed and fallen in his turn probably will
be a matter of amazement.
For Mr.. Wilson unqucstionasly belongs in
the company of orderly minded revolution
aries and venturcrs who. no matter what you
may feel about them and the logic Of their
actions. feel and speak for masses who ore
themselves inarticulatc.
The President who is about to leave his
Office is not essentially politician. lie re-
spccts nothing because OF the mere fact OF its
existence and it's general acceptance. His
first theories Of American politics expressed
in his earliest essays and books reveal
desire to revolutonize the traditional func-
tions and relationships OF the executive, the
cabinet and Congress.
Mr.. Wilson was revolutionary at Prince
ton. He was revolutionary in Jersey
politics. He virtually revolutionized the
banking system during his term in Wash
ington and he was working detcrmincdly
when the war broke ont to rcvoutionize in
ternational trade by making Democratic
low tariff harsh reality. What he would
have been in two terms OF untroubled peace
It Is not easy TO imagine.
II is the Wilson OF the war period who
will be known, studied and SpcCulated upon
The Wilson of the first administration is
already forgotten. And in view of what hns
been happening it il possible 10 feel that Big
Jim Nugent and Big jim Smith and Colonel
George Harvey and the ultra conservative
board of directors at Princeton University
functioned for years, without knowing it, as
forces of higher destiny. Fighting Mr.
Wilson. they aided him enormously And
what other man in America could Lave been
80 brilliant and so audacious as the prrsi-
dent has been, so careless Of personal con d.
sequences in crisis after crisis, so steadily
assured of the rightnCss Of his purposes as
TO overawe for time even the most arrogant
leaders of European war .makinC ciQues? I?
il Is doubtful whether any other American
of the moment could have so nobly expressed
the silent hopes and wishes Of mutitudes
everywhere as Mr.. Wilson expressed then.
in his messages Of the war period or led the
mind OF the world 10 n place where. for
little while, it seemed ready to follow
>,snywhere,
II President Wilson failed it probably was
because of an essential difference between
Wilson the man and Wilson the revolution
ary philosopher. Everybody says he has
failed That is, everybody but one
1t is said in Washington that thc Prcsi-
dent does not believe that he has failcd--
that he is leaving tho White House in nm
almost jublant spirit. That may he. But
hs missed the accomplishment Of things upon
which he had set his whole heart and he
missed it because of an ingrowing, change
Tess and incurnhle dislike of every man who
makes a living by politics and the erploita
ton OF political parties. That trait was
responsible for some Of his achievements
Similarly. it las been the cause of loss onL
defeat and humiliation in more than onr
crucial instance Of tho last five years.
He was not even fair to the politicians
He humored Bryan and used that old leadc,
for his purposes, Then he treated Dryar
badly lie dismissed Secretary Of War Gar,
rison for offering advice that seems now u
have been sound. Secretary Lansing was n
great use to him at Paris, but he virtunll,
ordered Lansing out Of the State Depart
meat. The Presidents detestntion OF Eena
tor Lodge and men ~ Senator Lodges sor
Of mind is n"xprPssb", 1t is passion tina
Mr.. Wilson has never been able to concea
and Il certainly has had tremendous efcc
on the political life Of the country, brcaus
Lodge and his kind make no secret OF thei
furious hatred of Mr.. Wilson. There ar
men in the Senate who could not agree wit
The President about the time Of day.
The great virtue Of tho President was hi
faith In the wisdom Of mass Judgment in