Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-03-27

| company in the United States, Canada, South
! America. World publica tion rights reserved
| by Current News Features, IncorpOrated.)
XIII.
wv OODROW WILSON did not
wv feel bound by party plat.
forms in the making of which
he had had no part. Certain prin-
ciples of policy appealed to him as
worthy of emphasis, but knowing
the hasty manner in which platforms
were drafted and perfunctorily
adopted, he construed each document
to be really g. series Of suggestions
and not a program of action. In his
formal speech accepting the nominal
ton in 1912, he revealed that inter-
probation but it's true significance did
not become apparent until Mr.. Will
son as president developed his legis-
lative programs. He wrote practical
Iy all Of the 1916 platform himself
OF the Democratic party.
Two planks on the 1912 platform
Mr.. Wilson never mentioned during
that campaign. One was that which
pledged the party to a constitutional
amendment restricting president
of the United States to single term
action Of the Democrats in enacting
law exempting American vessels
from payment of Panama canal tolls.
Mr.. Wilson believed the discussion
OF the one-term plank was none of
his affair because if the party chose
it could repeal that plank in a SUBJ
sequent convention-it was only
binding upon party in convention as
sembled and not upon individuals
who inevitably would be compelled
to accept the party's decision. The
Democratic party-not Woodrow
Wilson-reversed itself in 1916 by
nominating for a second term the
man who, In the judgment of the
delegates, had made a worthy record
in a single term. Similarly Mr.. Will
son held that the 1912 plank relating
to Panama canal tolls was merely an
off-hand Endorsement of the ACTON of
the Democrats in congress ann that
il the Democrats on Capitol hHll in
their wisdom chose to reverse thenS
selves, the party would be compelled
to approve that reversal.
Throughout the campaign Mr.. Will
son felt a certain admiration for
many OF the planks in the Bull
Moose platform. After he was elect
ed he did not fail to seek the sup
port of many OF those who had voted
the Bull Moose ticket by striving to
meet the wishes of the progressive
! leaders, men and women, who had
| supported the third party.
Praise Was Ungrudging
! Mr.. Wilson's praise for the third
! party platform was ungrudging. The
| author and several other newspaper
men were seated with Governor Will
| son on q train going to New York
| two days before the election in 1912
when someone in the GrOu9, realiZ-
! ing that no one of us could be home
! on election day, raised the indiscreet
! question of how each one would vote
| if he had the opportunity. Fortunate
! ly another wisely suggested that the
vote be taken on the que~-ion of plat
forms rather than individuals and
when the author st ed he would
/ vote neither the Republican nor the
/ Democratic ticket in 1912, but the
/ Full Moose ticket because of its
! platform, Mr.. Wilson, with a twin
! llle in his eye, admitted there was
/ a great deal to be said in favor OF
/ that viewpoint.
Running throughout Mr.. Wilson
/ political career is a streak of indie.
/ pendence which, did not bind him
/ to the Democratic party as a life
/ Ions proposition. 1t is not difficult
/ 20 conceive of him as the candidate
/ OF some party other than the Demo
cratic. He sensed the division OF
/ groups in American politics along
/ the lines of conservatives and radi.
! Gals. reactinaries and progressives,
/ standpatters and liberals.
Parties, in Mr.. Wilson's judgment,
depended entirely for their appeal
on the leadership given them. Just
as many sincere Republicans finally