Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-02-07
VIII SON IN RANKS
Of WORLD GREAT,
LAWRENCE ASSERTS
RY DAVID LAWRENCE
Heased Wire Service to The JOurnal.)
Copyright, 1920

| WASHINGTON, Feb. 5.-W ood-
row Wilson has passed into history
Partisanship, an attribute Of life's
fitful struggle, has vanished before
deaths mellowing influence. Re
! publicans and Democrats, friends
and foes politically, unite in recog-
milton Of the supreme effort made
by a leader OF world thought to raise
the standards Of International mo-
rality.
For four and a half years, the
death of Woodrow Wilson has been
anticipated-ever since his break
| down at Wichita. Kan, the end of
! life given to a great cause has been
! confidently expected. But not untlI
the hour of death itself did anyeocy
| realize the emotional reaction which
| today sweeps the national capital,
| the seat of Woodrow Wilson's great
est battles.
Could Woodrow Wilson in life but
have known the remarkable words
| of praise being given for his indoml-
| table spirit even by the men Whc
| were his bitterest opponents, 1t
| would nave I1dOS i'm SolctN''
vindication which he looked for at
| the hands of posterlty would have
| to an extent been his even thus
| early.
Lofty Motive Recognized
For while all the tributes recog-
nize that the problems of contro'
versv have by no means been solved,
there is a uniform appreciation OF
| one thing-a sincerity of purpose
and a loftiness of motive. The proc
| lamation Of President Coolidge was
written in that vein. The speeches
in the senate and house are of SIM
! liar tenor.
The flags Of foreign embassies
and legations are fluttering at hall
staff, the crowds still pass silently
before the house that shelters the
dead president and over Washington
itself there has come pail of sad
ness, a sense of historic happenings
of which future generations will al
WAYS wish to read and discuss.
The verdict of history? Already
the testimonials give some indication
of what statesmen and publ1clsts OF
today think the appraisal should
be. There are those who would rank
Woodrow Wilson with Lincoln ana
Washington as the third of Amer
icas national heroes. There are
those who would give Woodrow VIII
son an even more conspicuous place
by regarding him as the greatest. in
ternational figure America produced.
1.-THE Lincolns and the Washingtons
Of other countries bulk large in the
imagination Of foreign people - the
Bolivars, the Garibaldis, the Bis
marcks, the Cromwells - all these
men claim first place in the hearts
of their countrymen. But the inter-
national heroes, Napoleon, Nelson,
Alexander the Great, these are the
world figures who placed their mark
on the map of the world
World Knows Wilson
So is Woodrow Wilson given on
all sides an appreciation from the
international viewpoint, because he
was president of the United States
during the greatest war of all his
tory and because his name and his
utterances were carried to the far
corners of the globe rs the typifica-
ton OF the American effort in the
great war To Europe, Woodrow
Wilson will always be greater man
than any other American, because
Woodrow Wilson affected their des-
TIMES, he was the offieial leader of
the great armed forces which turned
the tide of war. He was also the
exponent of an idealism which car
ried the war to victory and helped
break down the morale OF the enemy.
The tributes cabled from abroad give
higher praise in some respects than
do the comments Of his fellow citf
zens.
When a president dies there are
/ ,..lD l.
high with Washington and Lincoln
Some Of the qualities of leadership
p which both these great men had
were undoubtedly present in the Will
son personality, but after all he was
different from any other man who
ever sat in the White House.
He was a unique figure in Ameri-
can history, puzzle to his friends,
a thorn in the side of his enemies,
a man of irrepressible fighting spirit
a fearless and daring statesman
whose works will reveal upon an
alysis many mistakes. But at this
hour all is submerged in the human
reactiOn--the sympathy for the lit
II tie group who kept the vigil night
\ and day for four and a half years,
the faithful physician and the faith
full wife, the friends who never
missed an opportunity either on an
armistice day celebration or on his
birthday to renew their expressions
Of loyalty and devotion and to show
him that the defeats of the past
had not lessened their belief in the
ultimate triumph of his ideals, how
ever changed might be the circum-
. stances of their application at a
future day.
Dramatic Life and Death
AS dramatic as We're the scenes
of his troubled life were those at
his death. The kneeling crowds, the
. sympathetic throb of the people for
! a great spirit, the slow flicker of
life's flame, the readiness to meet
the end the conclusion of a period
of nearly three years of almost UNI
broken silence on public questions,
a dignified attitude toward Mr..
Harding and Mr. Coolidge, not a
word of criticism of them and not
an effort to interior in the congress
sional controverses-it makes the
closing chapter of Woodrow Will
sons life a vivid contribution to
world history. His forebearance and
restraint, his unalterable views were
to the end maintained. He sub
mitted his case when he left the
White House on March 4. 1921 aft
err eight years of service. On that
record he was willing to depart to
eternity leaving it to the followers
> who survive to carry on the battle
| for which he gave his life.