Evening star., 1924-02-28
CHAPTER Nv.


What Mr.. Wilson Thought of His
COtempOraries-Taft and ROO~e-
veIt-Their Methods OF Dealing
with Congress and His Own.
Woodrow Wilson was probably the
only President of the United States
who spent twenty years or more
studying the power and duties of
the Chief Executive long before he
entered public life. The theory of
government was his hobby. AS
professor in Princeton University on
constitutional government, his lee
lures were voted by the students year
in and year out the most popular in
the curriculum.
Little did l dream as l took notes
with my classmates in the spring of
1909 that exactly four years later the
professor before us would be actually
applying his doctrines of government
in the White House and that 1 would
be reporting them for the Associated
Press.
What was said In the lecture room
in those days was by common con-
sent private affair. Reporters were
never present. And for that reason
DR.. Wilson was as free with his COM
ments on current news as if he were
in the seclusion of his own home.
Views OF the Presidency.
1t was April, 1909, and President
Taft had just been inaugurated after
a record breaking vote. The new
Dr. yid NO IN, tn IL
with the tariff Aldrich was in COM
mand of the United States Senate
and Cannon was enthroned in the
House of Representatives. DR.. Will
son would read to US a paragraph or
two from the daily newspapers giving
the gist of Washington dispatches on
the legislative situation and would
make his comments thereon.
Nobody in Congress" he used to
say again and again, represents the
national will. Every member of the
House and Senate represents his dis
, triCt or his state-his section. The
sum total of their desires is not the
national will. Only one man, the
Chief Executive, is responsible to all
the people. He must assume leader
ship and determine what is best for
all and not for one section or group
or class. If President Taft appreci-
ates that he will make headway. If
he does not, he will fail"
Presently the dispatches from
Washington announced that Presi-
dent Taft had summoned Messrs
Aldrich and Cannon and other re-
publican leaders in Congress to the
White House, urging them to frame
tariff law that would be in the
national interest. This particular
development elected from DR.. Wilson
warm expressions of approval and
prompted a comment on the Roose-
veltian attitude toward Congress.
Whatever else we may think or
say of Theodore Roosevelt" remarked
DR.. Wilson, I'VE must admit that he
was an aggressive leader. He led
Congress-he was not driven by Con-
gress. We may not approve of his
methods, but we must concede that
he made Congress follow him."
Chance to Try Out Theories.
Two years later when Woodrow
Wilson had been inaugurated Gov
ernor OF New Jersey after campaign
that was full of cynicism about the
"schoolmaster in politics" the pro-
fessor tried out his theory on the
members of the state legislature.
The democrats had called a caucus to
adopt legislative program. No one
ever had thought of having the gov
ernor present at such a meeting. But
MIR. Wilson attended. 1t precipitated
a debate as to the propriety Of his
presence there. One of the speakers
insisted that the executive Of the
state had no business in a conference
of members of the legislature. Some