Book..-.Ai.i£r.. Title w.«y:Q.f?..^.^:^i....Wi.L5..o../v:. Imprint. I^'H WOODROW WILSON AN APPRECIATION ** -I : V J ADDRESS DELIVERED BEFORE THE LITERARY SOCIETIES OF ANTIOCH STATE HIGH SCHOOL By ANGUS WILTON McLEAN LUMBERTON, N. C. 1914 WOODROW WILSON AN APPRECIATION ADDRESS DELIVERED BEFORE THE LITERARY SOCIETIES OF ANTIOCH STATE HIGH SCHOOL By ANGUS WILTON McLEAN LUMBERTON, N. C. 1914 • Mis- THE OBSERVER PRINTING HOUSE. INC. CHARLOTTE, N. C. WOODROW WILSON AN APPRECIATION Mr. Chairman, Members of the Literary Societies, Ladies and Gentlemen: When the subjects appropriate to this occasion passed in mental review before me, there stood out pre-eminently, in my mind's eye, the great character now occupying the central place in the arena of American public life; so that I now come to deliver a short message concerning him who, in my opinion, typifies more perfectly than any other man, all that is good and great in our national life. The story of his life, his character and achievements, should appeal with peculiar force to this auditory, composed as it is of so many who are bound to him by the ties of a common race, common ancestry, and (I may add) a common creed. W'oodrow ^^'ilson is descended from a Scotch-Irish ances- try noted for its culture and its intensity of religious convic- tion. Some of his Scottish forebears, before they emigrated from the hills of Scotland to the north of Ireland, died as martyrs in defense of their religious faith. He is descended also from a long line of preachers and editors — those who con- stantly stand upon the watch-tower, and whose lives are largely consecrated to the common good. William Duane, an early democrat and friend of Jefferson, contributed in no small degree to the educational and religious training of James Wilson, the grandfather of Woodrow Wilson. Duane emi- grated from county Down, Ireland, lured to the shores of the New \\''orld at the early age of twenty-two, seeking fame and fortune. 3 This James Wilson landed at Philadelphia, in 1808, and immediately secured employment in the workrooms of the Daily Aurora, then edited and owned by William Duane, and which was at that time an aggressive force in molding public opinion in those early days of the Republic. Not long after his arrival, he married Ann Adams, a true Irish lass, who came over in the same ship with him ; and soon after their marriage the newly wedded pair cast their fortunes with those who were turning their faces to the then undeveloped West. In 18 12, James Wilson founded the Western Herald, at Steubenville, Ohio, and afterwards the Pennsylvania Advocate, at Pittsburg, Pa. ; and for many years divided his time and efforts between these two enterprises, making a success of each. There was born to James Wilson and his wife seven sons and three daughters ; and their youngest child, Joseph Ruggles Wilson, the father of Woodrow Wilson, soon developed strong aspirations along literary lines. Trained by pious parents, and especially by his mother, who was a Presbyterian of the "most straightest sect," he determined in early life to adopt the Gospel ministry as his life work. He attended Steubenville Academy, and then Jefferson College (after- wards known as Washington and Jefferson College), where he was valedictorian of his Class, thereafter obtaining his the- ological training at Western Theological Seminary, at Allegheny, Pa., and Princeton Seminary. The Rev. Dr. Thomas Woodrow, of English descent, but bom in Scotland, had come from Carlisle, England, as a mis- sionary to the New World, where he settled at Chillicothe, Ohio. While Joseph R. Wilson was teaching at Steubenville, he met the attractive daughter of Dr. Woodrow — Janet by name — sometimes called Jessie, where she was attending school. This meeting soon ripened into friendship, and later they were married, on June 7, 1849. After his marriage. Rev. Joseph Ruggles Wilson taught at Jefferson College, then 4 at Hampden-Sidney College, Virginia, finally accepting a call to the pastorate of the Presbyterian Church at Staunton, Va., to which place he removed in 1855, accompanied by his wife and two small daughters — Marian and Annie Josephine. It was while the family were living at Staunton that Woodrow (christened Thomas Woodrow) Wilson was born, on the twenty-eighth day of December, 1856. When young Wood- row was two years old, the family removed to Augusta, Ga., where his father accepted the pastorate of the important First Presbyterian Church of that city. Both at Augusta, Ga., and Columbia, S. C. (where Dr. Wilson, in 1870, accepted the chair of Pastoral and Evangelistic Theology at the Southern Presbyterian Theological Seminary), while young Woodrow attended private schools, his father was then as ever his chief instructor and intimate companion. Dr. Joseph R. Wilson was one of the most brilliant leaders of the Southern Presby- terian Church. For forty years he was Stated Clerk of the Southern General Assembly, becoming its Moderator in 1879. Dr. Wilson, though he attended closely to his duties as pastor and college professor, always kept himself well informed upon the events of the day, and his keen mentality enabled him to judge men and affairs, to analyze political situations, to detect a sham and shame a pretender. Young Woodrow, by constant association with his father, naturally and unconsciously absorbed much of his father's ability along these lines. Woodrow Wilson's mother was a most exemplary woman, possessing many excellent qualities both of head and heart. Her son, therefore, in early life, was deeply imbued with the straightforward resoluteness of purpose, and Spartan qualities of character, for which she was distinguished. To the lessons she inculcated in the youthful mind of her son, may, in great measure, be attributed those sterling qualities which have ever characterized his conduct, both in public and private life. Among the long line of noble mothers whose characters have left their everlasting impress upon the history of the world, 5 and whose sons have reaped the rich harvest of world renown fruited from seed sown by their mother's hand, no one merits higher praise or greater commendation than the mother of Woodrow Wilson. These Christian parents — the father, a great preacher and teacher of preachers ; the mother, a devout follower of Christ and loyal helpmeet in her husband's pastoral and professional duties — in their constant watch-care and solicitude, presented to their young son the most powerful incentive to those exer- tions which have resulted in placing him in the commanding position he now occupies. These consecrated parents, in even his immature youth, began to lay the everlasting foundation of his future great- ness by teaching him the study of the Holy Scriptures — that Book which, in the language of the greatest philosopher and jurist who ever lived, contains / "more true sublimity, more explicit beauty, more pure morality, more important history, and finer strains of both 4 , poetry and eloquence, than can be collected from all other ^^ books, in whatever age or language they may have been ./ composed." / Woodrow Wilson has often expressed to his intimate friends, that he owed his whole success in life to those pious parents, who sacrificed for him, who urged and encouraged him to seek his education, and who instilled into his youthful heart the love of God and his fellow-man, so profoundly taught in the Book of Books. Those who knew the son during the life of his parents, speak eloquently of his filial affection for them. He was always a noble type of the dutiful son. Who doubts that the success which has crowned the life of this loyal and devoted son is, in part at least, a reward of Providence for the faithful performance of this high and holy duty? Are we not taught in the revealed word that Jehovah regards with favorable eye the efforts of filial duty? Is not 6 the first promise in the decalog to him that honoreth his father and mother? Who is there among us that does not thrill at the story of the filial love of the dutiful ^neas as he appears amidst the flames that were consuming ancient Troy, and while the eager multitude were intent only in rescuing their paltry treasures, abandoned all his earthly possessions, and was seen bearing on his youthful shoulders the venerable Anchises, his aged father, to a place of safety? In the days following the Civil W^ar, the chilling ills of poverty prevented many parents of our Southland from sus- taining, even with an economical hand, the needs of their sons attending college, and the parents of young Wilson were no exception to the general condition existing at that time. They made many sacrifices for the son while he was attending college in quest of that knowledge which has enabled him to "Climb The steep where Fame's proud temple shines afar." About 1874, Dr. Wilson accepted the pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church at Wilmington, N. C, and moved to that place, having entered his son Woodrow at Davidson College, North Carolina, then as now one of the strongest institutions of learning in the South. In the fall of 1875, Woodrow en- tered Princeton University, then under the presidency of the distinguished Dr. James McCosh. About three months after he entered Princeton, an event occurred which, in his own opinion, was the turning point in his hfe. While strolling through the library, he one day took down a file of the Gen- tleman's Magazine, and turned to a series of articles entitled "Men and Manners in Parliament," written by the "Member for Chiltern Hundreds," the anonymous successor of the famous Dr. Samuel Johnson. The mind of Woodrow Wilson was literally captivated by these vivid descriptions of the Parliamentary debates par- 7 ticipated in by such forensic giants as Gladstone, Disraeli, John Bright, Earl Granville, Sir William Harcourt, and other great figures in English public life. In his Senior year, Mr. Wilson wrote an article entitled "Cabinet Government in the United States," which was promptly accepted by the International Review, and published in 1879. He criticised the practice of controlling Congressional legislation by committee. He pro- posed, as a remedy for the evils of committee government, a plan which admitted Cabinet members to seats upon the floors of Congress, with the right to participate in debate. It may be remarked in passing that it was to put this idea into prac- tice as far as he could, that recently, as the head of the gov- ernment, he smashed precedent, and appeared in person to deliver his message before the Congress. After his graduation from Princeton, and having reached the conclusion that the study of the science of the law was a necessary part in the education of any man who desired to participate in public affairs, he took a full course in law at the University of Virginia, where he continued his studies of English Government, and contributed several articles to the University Magasine on Gladstone, John Bright, and other noted English statesmen. Leaving the University of Virginia, he spent a year in Wil- mington, N. C, with his parents, for the purpose principally of resting, and recuperating his health, which was then some- what impaired by over-study and close confinement. At the end of this period, he went to Atlanta, Ga., and opened an office for the practice of the law. After waiting rather im- patiently for eighteen months, and clients being slow in de- manding his services, he concluded that the waiting and un- certain career of a young lawyer was rather discouraging, and therefore concluded to renew his studies in the science of gov- ernment, at Johns Hopkins University, at Baltimore, Md., where, in his second year, he held a Fellowship in History. At this time, he was the author of a volume entitled "Con- 8 gressional Government : a Study of Government by Com- mittee," which met with immediate success, and is quoted with unqualified approval by the Hon. James Bryce, in his authoritative work, "The American Commonwealth." Mr. Wilson's ability, as evidenced by these publications, soon at- tracted the attention of the leading colleges of the country, and he was offered, and accepted, the position of Associate Professor in History and Political Economy at Bryn Mawr College. In 1886, Johns Hopkins University conferred upon him the degree of Ph. D., and afterwards engaged him for a series of lectures. He next became Professor of History and Political Economy at Wesleyan University, during which time he wrote another work, entitled "The State." In 1890, he accepted an offer of the chair of Jurisprudence and Politics in Princeton University, thereby becoming a member of the faculty of his alma mater. He soon became one of the most popular pro- fessors, for Princeton had never had, in all of its long and brilliant history, a teacher who so captivated his classes. He taught with absorbing interest the theories of government, and in his lectures fascinated his pupils by impressively apply- ing his views to current events. Twelve years passed by, during which Woodrow Wilson con- tinued to develop, and his mind, broadened by knowledge and enriched by contemplative reflection, mellowed and ripened into its perfect maturity. He continued to write, during this period producing "Division and Reunion," "An Old Master," "Mere Literature," "George Washington"; and there finally appeared his masterful production, the "History of the American People." He had now become an authority and a world figure in the field of scholarship and authorship, his books being used as text-books in many of our colleges and higher institutions of learning, and being translated into foreign tongues. 9 In June, 1902, Woodrow Wilson was elected president of Princeton University. His thorough equipment, his capacity for prudent leadership, his splendid scholarship, his eloquence and popularity as a speaker, his already widespread fame as a writer, his judgment of men and events, and his remarkable executive ability and business sagacity, marked him as a national figure. He had the distinction of being the first lay- man in a long list of preacher-presidents of this famous Uni- versity, covering a period of one hundred and sixty years. By his election to the presidency of the University, a man, who was by natural bent and lifelong training an exponent of genuine democracy, was placed in control of probably at that time the most aristocratic educational institution in the United States. He soon attempted a reorganization of the social life of the campus. He determined to devise a plan by which the ex- clusive clubs, patronized by the wealthier classmen, and main- tained upon a luxurious scale, should be superseded by a num- ber of "quadrangles" — dormitories in which a certain number of men from each class, without respect to their financial standing, together with several instructors, should have their residence. He contended that this would assure a co-mingling of all the students, the upper classmen demonstrating the value of the college training they had already received, and the lower classmen, through personal contact with them, receiving an impetus for their further college career. Under the con- ditions which were then prevailing, Princeton had a dozen swell clubhouses, to which only students possessed of large means could afiford to belong, and to which none others could secure admittance. Thus a minority of exclusive riches domi- nated the life of the University, setting up an aristocracy of money instead of brains, with the natural result of heart- burnings, jealousies, bickerings, and factional strife among the student-body. The exclusive club spirit was also the dominant character-forming influence. 10 The democratic heart of Woodrow Wilson throbbed in a burning desire to overthrow this pernicious system, so ahen to his ideas of representative American Hfe. The trustees (save those who, when students, belonged to these same clubs) endorsed the president's recommendation, but such howls of protest went up from those who belonged to these clubs that the trustees became frightened, and requested President Wilson to withdraw the proposition. Of course he was com- pelled to do so, as the trustees were supreme in the control of the government of the University. Mr. Wilson acquiesced in the turn of events against him, but he felt at heart that his opportunity for valuable service, under the conditions prevail- ing, was much lessened and impaired. He determined, there- fore, at the first opportunity, to sever his connection as head of the University. This opportunity soon came, with the Democratic nomination for the Governorship of New Jersey, which he accepted gladly, for it opened up new avenues for the great public service for which his whole life had been an unconscious preparation. Woodrow Wilson's splendid campaign as a candidate for Governor of New Jersey caught the eye of the whole country. He convinced the people everywhere of his sincerity of pur- pose, the integrity of his political character, and of his free- dom from the control of political bosses. He was elected Governor by a plurality of 49,150, whereas Taft had carried the National ticket in that State two years before, by a plural- ity of 82,000. Upon his inauguration as Governor, he found the legislature composed of twelve Republicans and nine Democrats in the Senate, and eighteen Republicans and forty-two Democrats in the House of Representatives. The platform on which he was elected Governor promised certain vital reforms. Bitter op- position developed in the legislature, not only on the part of the Republicans, but among members of his own party. It II was generally predicted that the Governor would be helpless in his attempt to carry out the reforms promised in his plat- form, but he reasoned, argued, and persuaded, Democrats and Republicans alike, winning over some by his logical reasoning and others by his magnetic personality. He never made threats, but often smilingly suggested that public opinion was back of him. In a legislative session of three months, in spite of the fact that the upper house of the legislature was of the opposite political faith, and that there were recalcitrants in his own party. Governor Wilson fulfilled every demand of the people, in securing the enactment of the important measures pledged in his platform. He demonstrated then, as well as in every other contest in which he has been engaged, that he is a born leader of men. Governor Wilson's extraordinary success as leader of his party in New Jersey, as well as the national reputation that he had already acquired, which his career as Governor greatly augmented, gave him a strong lead in the contest for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency, and when the Democratic Convention met at Baltimore, on June 25, 1912, he was in a strong position among the candidates. On the first ballot he received 324 votes, and on the forty-sixth he was nominated, having received 990 votes. The convention which nominated him was the greatest convention ever held by any political party, and those of us who were present, and participated in the stirring scenes which characterized that assemblage, carried home impressions which will never be forgotten. After his nomination, he entered upon the campaign with great zeal and earnestness, delivering a number of speeches in many States. The triangular character of the contest, and the bitterness between the leaders and in the ranks of the Repub- lican and Progressive parties, made it the most interesting political campaign in American history since the campaign in 12 which Lincoln took so prominent a part. Wilson received 6,293,454; Roosevelt, 4,119,538; and Taft, 3,484,980 votes. Wilson, however, carried a large majority of the States, and received an overwhelming majority in the Electoral College, the vote there being Wilson, 435; Roosevelt, 81; Taft, 15. In his inaugural address, he captivated the country. He showed his sincere belief that his campaign pledges were the sacred covenants between him and the people. He concluded a masterly address, which will go down into history as one of the greatest state papers ever written, with the following appeal : ":|^ "This is not a day of triumph ; it is a day of dedica- ■ tion. Here muster, not the forces of party, but the forces of humanity. Men's hearts wait upon us ; men's lives hang in the balance ; men's hopes call upon us to say what we will do. Who shall live up to the great trust? Who dares fail to try? I summons all honest men, all patriotic, all forward-looking men, to my side. God help- ing me, I will not fail them, if they will but counsel and sustain me." When he called together the Congress in special session, members of his own party feared, and the opposition freely predicted, that on account of the small Democratic majority in the Senate, and also because of the dissension among some members of his own party, the President would never obtain a satisfactory revision of the tariff at the hands of Congress. The advocates of protection were highly elated at this pros- pect of failure. They referred derisively to the spectacle created in their imaginations and vividly depicted in current cartoons of the angry school teacher, unable to control and discipline his disobedient and obstreperous pupils. The opposition claimed, as it had claimed in the contest for the nomination at Baltimore, that Woodrow Wilson was only a scholarly professor, spoiled by his long experience in the dog- matic atmosphere of the lecture-room, and that he was a mere 13 theorist, unacquainted with the practical side of pohtics or statecraft. When the tariff bill was being considered, there were frequent and alarming reports of dissension, treachery, and insurgency among members of the president's own party. The false prophets began to exclaim with one harmonious voice, "I told you so. The Democratic party is not susceptible of constructive leadership." These critics further contended that the Democratic majority in the House was too large and un- wieldy, while the majority in the Senate was too much of the hairbreadth variety to insure safety. Mr. Wilson started out to redeem the sacred pledges of his party, by putting through Congress a low tariff measure, framed and founded upon the Democratic idea of government — that greatest of all principles of free government — "Equality of opportunities and equality of burdens," for which free men have fought from the earliest periods in the history of all government. It was the demand for this same great principle which shook the foundation of old-world governments prior to, and at the time of, the French Revolution. Woodrow Wilson, ably aided by his first lieutenants, Sena- tor Simmons and Representative Underwood, performed a task that at one time seemed well-nigh impossible of per- formance, and within the briefest period in which a great tariff bill was ever enacted the Congress placed upon the statute books the only tariff act ever passed by any political party in the interest of the whole people. This so-called "impracticable theorist," in the opinion now of even his political enemies, had demonstrated beyond any question his capacity in the art of practical politics. When controversies arose during the heated debates, he sent for the warring combatants, so diplomatically smoothing out their differences that he converted them into active co-laborers in the common cause. When insurgency threatened, he argued, 14 persuaded, and even implored the insurgents to desist, and when these "tufts of grass" failed, he "cast stones," and smilingly overrode the insurgent opposition, but afterwards expressed to the most active among them, in almost tearful tones, his profound regret at his inability to agree with them. There were occasional outbursts of resentment in both Senate and House, but in every instance the superb leadership of the President, displayed in his many conferences, overcame all obstacles, and finally this great leader, surrounded by his faithful lieutenants, affixed his signature to the Underwood- Simmons tariff bill, and stood forth in his true character as a practical and constructive statesman. But — did he, on this occasion of his great victory, exalt himself, after the manner of that numerous horde of modern politicians, some of whom have, even lately, held the high office of President ? Did he show any evidence of being afflicted with the "exaggerated ego," as so many would have done under the same circum- stances ? He did not, but on the contrary gave most, if not all, the praise to those who assisted him, as the following words spoken by him when he signed the bill bear eloquent witness : "It is with a feeling of profound gratitude that, working with the splendid men who have carried this thing through with studious attention, and doing justice all around, I shall have had part in serving the people of this country. "I was quoting to some of my colleagues in the Senate those lines from Shakespeare, which have always appealed i>^ to me — 'If it be a sin to covet honor, then am I the most offending soul alive' — and I am happy to say that I do not covet it for myself alone. I covet it with equal ardor for the men who are associated with me ; and the honor is going to come from them. I am their associate. I can only complete the work which they do. I can only counsel when they ask for my counsel. I can come in only when the last stages of the business are reached. And I covet the honor for them quite as much as I do covet it for myself, and I covet it for the great party of which I am a 15 member ; because that party is not honorable unless it re- deem its name and serve the people of the United States. "So I feel tonight like a man who is lodging happily in the inn which lies half way along the journey, and that in the morning, with a fresh impulse, we shall go the rest of the journey, and sleep at the journey's end like a man with a quiet conscience, knowing that we have served our fellow-men and have thereby tried to serve God." This spirit of unselfish poHtical courtesy has few parallels in the history of American politics, and reminds one forcibly of the unselfish Christian courtesy displayed by Paul in recognizing the services of his co-workers, so vividly ex- pressed in his Epistle to the Romans. That great newspaper the Neiv York World, in a forceful editorial in its issue of October 4, 1913, refering to the signing of the tariff bill by the President, among other things, said : "It was no mere personal victory that had been won when President Wilson signed the Underwood-Simmons tariff bill last night, and made it the law of the land. It was no mere partisan victory. It was a victory for Ameri- can institutions, and it should inspire the American people with new confidence in their system of government. "Whether tariffs should be high or low or moderate are matters about which honest men can differ. Whether a government should raise revenue by a tax on incomes is a matter about which honest men can disagree. But whether the political leaders of a democracy should keep their pledges, whether a party that is intrusted with the powers of government should keep the faith — these are matters about which there can be no disagreement among honest men. "Unless men elected to office redeem their pledges, unless a party that triumphs at the polls keeps the faith, republican institutions are a fraud and a lie. There can be no representative government, except in name, when the people are tricked and hoodwinked or defrauded. "Whatever anybody may think about downward revi- sion of the tariff, no man can deny that the Underwood- Simmons act embodies the promises that the Democratic 16 Party made to the country in the campaign of 1912. This is no tariff by log-rolling, by manipulation, by intrigue, by lobbying, by bribery. It was bought by no campaign contributions. It was dictated by no conspiracy between corrupt business and corrupt politics. It is a tariff made in the open, by men who took the country into their con- fidence and did their work in the sight of everybody. It is a tariff that is exactly what it pretends to be; and it is a tariff that was promised at the polls." The Wilson administration, in the first days of its existence, was called upon to consider grave diplomatic questions, in- herited as a legacy from the former administration, which at once enlisted the most serious attention of the new President. When the far-reaching question concerning our national rela- tions with Mexico arose, great pressure was brought to bear upon the President to resort to extreme measures in dealing with the helpless, and in many respects, pitiful condition of our neighboring Republic. His great mind at once grasped the true situation. He knew that to accede to the demands made upon him by those who had selfish interests to serve meant a long, expensive, foreign war, in which thousands of valuable American lives would be sacrificed, and a billion dollars or more of money expended, with no resultant gain in our national well-being. With firmness and dignity, un- moved by the jingoistic clamor, the President made clear his determination to make friendliness and justice, as exemplified in the principles of the great brotherhood of mankind, the duty and the mission of this Republic. As an evidence of his frankness and sincerity, he appeared before the Congress, and delivered to its members and the people of the United States, in simple and impressive words, the attitude of this govern- ment towards the Mexican people. Thus, for the first time since Washington's day, a Presi- dent of the United States appeared before Congress to discuss delicate foreign aflfairs. I had the good fortune to be present on this occasion, and saw and heard the delivery of this won- 17 derful address. The scene was an inspiring one. Assembled in the hall of the House of Representatives were the members of the Congress, the members of the Cabinet, the Diplomatic Corps, Justices of the august Supreme Court of the United States, distinguished army and navy officers, both American and foreign, members of the press, and private citizens of almost every country in the world. Applause greeted the President's almost every utterance. A remarkable feature was the heartiness of the applause given by leaders of the opposite parties, who, for the time being, forgot the selfishness of partisan politics, and gave way to patriotic sentiments in- spired by the efforts of the President to act for the best in- terests of the whole country. There are some, however, who disagree with the president in his peaceful attitude towards Mexico, who denounce his policy of "watchful waiting," and who demand that we should intervene even if war is thereby precipitated. In all serious- ness, I believe that it is the duty of every patriotic American citizen to uphold the President in his earnest endeavor to avoid war with Mexico, Japan, or any other foreign nation. Our Southland has had enough of war. We should earnestly desire and strive for peace and peaceful commerce. We should never forget that war and commerce are the two great antagonistic principles which struggle for the mastery of the human race — the function of one being to preserve, and that of the other to destroy. Peaceful commerce causes cities to be built, fields to be cultivated; diffuses comfort and plenty and all the blessings which usually accompany industry and peace. It protects property and life ; it disarms pestilence, and prohibits famine. War, on the other hand, destroys. It disorganizes society, ruins cities, depopulates fields, makes defenseless widows and helpless orphans, brings grief, misery, and want upon those who are least able to withstand them. It condemns men to idleness, teaches them to kill and maim their fellows ; and the l8 only remedy it offers for the cessation of the horrors it brings upon men is to shorten the misery of its victims by giving dis- ease, pestilence, famine, and the merciless sword, ample com- mission to destroy their lives. It thus appears that war is the great enemy, while peaceful commerce is the great friend, of humanity. The admiration of the American people for the manner in which President Wilson has handled the difficult Mexican sit- uation was expressed so uniquely by William Allen White, in an editorial in the Emporia Gazette, that I cannot do better than reproduce it here: "How well he seems to have managed it — this whole sordid business of going to war ; how fair he has been ; how patient, how dignified, how infinitely gentle and kind! No bluster, no threats, no stickler of anticipation ; no lick- ing of the nation's chops — just a simple-souled, grave, soft-hearted, hard-headed man. It is sad enough to go into war of any kind, at any time ; but it is less sad to go knowing that every honorable means has been taken to keep away from war. And this consolation President Wilson has given us by his wise, forebear ing. Christian attitude before the provocation of a foe, mad and des- perate and foolish. "The good God. who knows all and watches over all, and sees all, and directs all, was in our hearts deeper than we knew, when as a nation we chose this great, serene soul to lead us." While Mr. Wilson is ready to resort to all reasonable means to avoid war, let no-one be deceived in thinking that he lacks courage. x\ll his past record shows that he is brave and cour- ageous. He is not afraid of a fight; and if the time ever comes, in our relations with Mexico or any other nation, when the material rights of this government or its citizens are jeopardized, and peaceful means to obtain redress have failed, he will resort to the stern measures of war with the same grim determination which characterized the conduct of Lee and Lincoln. 19 Another great measure which has enlisted the earnest efforts of the President is the reform of our currency and banking system. Members of Congress, worn out by their summer- long labors on the tariff bill, were reluctant to enter upon the work necessary to pass a currency bill at that session of Con- gress. The President, however, appeared again before that body, and read a message on the currency question, saying among other things : "The work to be done is pressing, and so fraught with great consequences that we know that we are not at lib- erty to weigh against it any point of personal sacrifice." He realizes, as every intelligent man must realize, that the reformation of our currency and banking system, including a proper scheme of agricultural credits, and land banks, is the greatest single question that has agitated the public mind in America for a generation. The farmers of the country have been discriminated against by the system of bond-secured national bank currency, in a manner that would have destroyed our agricultural interests except for the fact that our natural resources in agricultural wealth are constantly renewing and reproducing themselves. There will, no doubt, be a sharp and severe struggle between the opposing forces in Congress on this great measure of currency reform, but those of us who have learned to follow, implicitly and with unwavering con- fidence, the leadership of our President, hope and believe that he will not relax his efforts until this great public need shall have been accomplished.* The world has, in all ages, produced some great leader, who towered above his fellows in the forum of human endeavor. Alexander the Great, king of Macedon. matchless leader of the ancient Greeks, won fame, not only by his triumphant suc- *NOTE :— Since this address was delivered. Congress has enacted, under the leader- ship of the President, the great Federal Reserve System of banking and currency, which has already proven to be one of the most important pieces of constructive legislation ever enacted by Congress. 20 cess in building up so vast an empire ; but his military career also excited among mankind the greatest admiration. Han- nibal, the great military hero of the Carthaginians, won his fame by the intensity and implacableness of his hatred of his enemies ; and his claim to fame is largely that he kept a vast empire in a state of terror for fifty years by the power of his victorious sword. All these great leaders in the world's his- tory possessed many marks of genius, but, unfortunately, all of them show defects in their personal or moral character, which forever obscured and marred their greatness in other respects. In the character of Woodrow Wilson, we fortu- nately find most of the admirable qualities of leadership and statesmanship which characterized the famous men of his- tory, but differing from them in that his private and moral character and religious convictions have always been above reproach. Under Woodrow Wilson's leadership, the Democratic party has achieved a capacity for constructive work which it has not shown for at least a generation. He took a party confused by contentions between the so-called radical and conservative elements, and welded it into a cohesive, constructive, political organization, to the surprise and satisfaction of the leaders of his own party, and to the dismay and chagrin of the leaders of the opposition. Our last Democratic president, Grover Cleveland, was a great man, and made a great President, under many trying difficulties. My admiration for, and loyalty to, the memory of Mr. Cleveland are sufficient to protect me against the charge of unfriendliness when I say that he utterly failed to control the discordant factions in his party in Congress. He admitted this failure when he repeatedly expressd his misfortune in having "a Congress on his hands." President Wilson has suc- ceeded where Cleveland failed. No-one can say that Presi- dent Wilson has a "Congress on his hands"; but all agree that 21 Congress has a President in the lead or at its back — as occa- sion may indicate — used by him as the most appropriate means for securing the successful performance of party pledges. In- stead of President Wilson's waiting to see what Congress is going to do, he takes the lead, and by his counsel and active conferences with party leaders he smoothes out differences and accomplishes definite results. Some few men, in all ages, have demonstrated that they were born leaders of men. This rare gift is typically exemplified in the person of our present President. As proof of this assertion, he established in a few months' time a leadership in his party which has no parallel since the days of Andrew Jackson, and this he accomplished without the threats, the bluster, or the use of patronage which characterized the leader- ship of "Old Hickory." For the first time in a long period of years, the Democratic Party is moving steadily and aggres- sively, along affirmative and constructive lines, instead of be- ing merely a negative force — a party of opposition only. Some of you, no doubt, who have not had the opportunity to see Woodrow \\'ilson, are interested to know what manner of man he is, and what are some of his personal characteristics. Although I have seen him on several occasions, and under varied circumstances, I declare to you that it is difficult to de- scribe him. He possesses, in a very remarkable degree, a cer- tain combination of mental and personal attractions, which, in every age, gives to those who exhibit it a mysterious and almost unbounded ascendancy over all who come within the sphere of their influence. He is a scholar beyond comparison with any man in public life in this generation, and perhaps of any period in the history of this country. He possesses, in the language of Milton, "a complete and generous education, that which fits a man to perform justly, skillfully, and magnanimously, all duties, both public and private, of peace or war." 22 He never shrinks from the discharge of any pubHc duty be- cause of difficulty, apparent or real ; but is always ready to take an unequivocal stand on public questions, and unflinchingly to abide the consequences of his decision before the people. His thoughts and perceptions are rapid, and his plans are often formed and executed while others are deliberating and doubtful of the course to pursue. He has ever shown, by precept and example, his quiet, deep-seated, unfaltering, and unreserved faith in human freedom, and has never wavered in his support of all the means and agencies which may con- tribute to the greater freedom of mankind. In short, he is as genuinely democratic as Thomas Jefiferson professed to be, and, in addition, possesses many of the other good traits of Jefferson ; but, at the same time, he is superior to Jefiferson in his moral and religious convictions. He is not only free from the sinister influence of self-seeking men, but his natural convictions upon this phase of our public life are such that he is constantly on the alert to detect such eft'orts, and quickly flees from the very appearance of this evil. As an evidence of this quality, permit me to repeat a statement made to me recently in New York by a man who has had long experience in observing public men. Aly informant stated that he dif- fered from the President very widely upon most, if not all, the public questions of the day ; but he frankly confessed that Mr. Wilson was the only President in his recollection who could not be influenced or controlled by somebody, and that he was thoroughly convinced of his honesty and sincerity in everything he undertook. The career of Woodrow Wilson is one of the most fascinat- ing and intensely interesting of any man who has held high public office in this or any other generation. His administra- tion of the affairs of government marks a new epoch in our national life. With him, honesty and purity in politics is a cardinal principle, and during his incumbency of the chief place at the head of the Nation, talent, virtue, and merit, 23 instead of political chicanery and intrigue, will be considered as passports to power. He is, in my opinion, the greatest leader in the army of civic endeavor who has occupied the chief station in our government during our national existence, and if we of the rank and file will but do our duty in aiding him to consum- mate the exalted and much-to-be-desired ideals which he has in mind for his country, "The blessings of the patriot will gild the pathway of his journey through life, and the tears of the patriot will descend upon his tomb forever." The author acknowledges his indebtedness to the Hon. Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy, for much of the personal data used in this address. 24 \ V // / I I lllliimiiii III,. . ^^^3 981 602 A