The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1923-06-27
PORTRAIT OF WILSON
BY ARDENT FRIEND

"The reason why the people do not
take our leaders more seriously is be-
cause they 90 not take themselves
seriously. They are against a pop
ular referendum when the porrlat
referendum does not go their way.
But when the popular referendum
does go their way, then they speak
boastfully of the mandate of the peo-
pie. When the popular referendum
does not go their way, then the peo-
pie are not able to inform them
! selves, are not interested enough to
act intelligently. Then we have
government of delegated powers and
must come back to it or lose our
standing as a nation. But when there
is a wave of prejudice sweeping over
the country to which they can appeal,
then every one of them is on the
stump, urging the people to rise in
their sovereign capacity and show
that they know what they want and
will act for themselves ."-Des Moines
Register.
Such a statement on the part of
the Des Moines paper comes from
an unexpected source. The Register
has been such a partisan Of Wood
row Wilson that this just criticicm is
really astonishing. When Mr.. Will
son was president and was playing
the political game for all there was
in it, he took his pen in hand one
morning just before the congressional
election of 1913 and wrote a note to
the American people, in part a fol-
lows:
"The congressional elections are at
hand. They occur in the most critl-
cal period that Jul country has ever
faced or is likely to face in our time.
If you have approved OF my leader
ship and wish me to be your unem-
barrassed spokesman in affairs at
home and abroad, l earnestly beg that
you will express yourselves unmis.
takably to that effect by returning
a Democratic majority to both the
e senate and house of representatives
The people did not respond to this
. plea of Mr.. Wilson. On the %contrar!
they did exactly opposite and re
turned a Republican majority, for tn
first time in eight years, to bot
n houses of congress, and Presiden
~ Wilson acted Just as the Registe
= says politicians act when the refer
endum is against them. He paid n
- attention to the voice of the people.
Then MI. Wilson had another rel
~ erendum in 1920. "a solemn refer
endum," he called it. He stumpe
the country in support of the leagu
of nations and asked the people
Oy elect a Democratic administratio
and congress if they believed in tt
league. When election day role
around the people responded, rep
'e dating the presidents Administrative
and saying by the largest majoriI
u ever recorded at any election in tn
40 country that they were opposed
80 the Wilson program.
20 True to form, Mr.. Wilson was u
'od convinced. He still thinks the peoT
''OOo do not know what they want and
even now concocting plans to g
some sort of an endorsement for t
o ~ league at the next election. II
, oo fails again he will have a wors op
oo1 ion than ever of the good sense OF
American people.
20 The Register is certainly entitled
aoS great credit for its ability to dr.
such a fine word picture of Mr.. v
II SON. The unsophisticated viii r
: ognize at q glance the likeness VIII
Dol is so remarkably true to life. "Dii
o44 would have to expend many hours
. produce anything so readily rec
= nized as a flawless picture of
junior ex-president. Webster c
80. Iowa, Freeman Journal.