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f THE SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL
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HOW THE NATION REGARDS
WOODROW WILSON'S SPEECH
L ’ • It is a rare and significant fact that the leading
newspapers of America, regardless of party leanings
and past prejudices, are nearly unanimous in praise
of Woodrow Wilson s acceptance speech—not tie
R* praise of zealous disciples, but that of discriminating
erztica. From divers points of view, they see in this
utterance the mind and purpose of a true statesman
and the omen of a better day for the nation. They
gnd it refreshing for its freedom from political twad
l .• die;., they find it reassuring in its poised and construc
tive tone; they find it inspiring for its keenness and
breadth of outlook.
A fcven the New York Sun, for the moment, drops its
t cynicism to say that this speech has “good luck as
well aa merit,” coming as it uoes, "just in time to
contrast kharply with the interminable Bedlamite
rant of Th. Dentatus Africanus Ferox;” and to add
rhst • Governor Wilson is for repair,/tot for destruc
tian.’
E-• The-Kentucky Avuilles no longer sulks in his tent;
for, says the Courier-Journal: “The real force of the
speech was the force of intelligence, the acuteness,
the clarity with which the student has analyzed con
s ditions and the courage, the sincerity and sanity with
fwhich he approaches the responsibility of their recti
s . ficatlon.”f
“It is to the non-partisan an- large national task
that Governor Wilson directs attention,” remarks
the New York Evening Post, and truly adds, “He
‘ 4 offers himself in unaffected simplicity as a servant
of the people in helpiLS them to recover what, in their
government and in their lives, they feel has been
filched away from them.”
The New York World is particularly impressed
’ , with the fact that Mr. Wilson has driven straight to
the heart of the supreme issue of the day—“ The part
- nerahip between Government and Privilege”— with
. out abuse or partisan bitterness, without egotism
and. above all, without a tinge of demagogy. And
the New York Times sums up the speech by declar-
E* * ing. “It is a proclamation that will satisfy all save
ihose who are determined not to be satisfied.”
It is doubtful if ai?y public utterance of the gen
eration has evoked such widespread and discerning
approval. Why is this? It is because the Seagirt
speech reflects the purpose of a builder and is so ad
mirably free from the cheap devices of the agitator.
The weakest politician can set interest to clashing
upon interest and stir the blood of strife; but only a
rl«yv4ieadfd and honest-hearted statesman can set the
people to thinking and open the way to rightful re
s'* adjustments Only a man who is truly great , can
L prove inspiring without partisansnip and'can Mft his
cause above bitterness and above himself.
” This rare type of greatness is wondrously embod
ied )n the man whom Democracy has chosen as its
national leader. He has proved himself worthy of the
confidence of all good citizens, no matter to what
party they may belong or what their individual in
terests may be.
By his own moral and intellectual force he has
quietly removed the need and excuse for a third
party. He has pointed the way to liberation from
L the abuses which a long tenure of Republican power
F has fastened upon the country, and at the same time,
he has shown that this good freedom can be won un
der the Constitution and without the jeopardies of
t•” a one-man dictatorship.
PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE.
Elsewhere on this page appears an interesting
communication in which Dr. James C. Oakshette
b discusses the dutiqp of a public health officer from
the standpoint of the individual citizen and family
and, particularly, those citzens and families that
live in rural districts.
If there is anyone in Fulton county who labors
• under the prejudice that such an official is a “med
dlesome busybody” whose chief delight consists in
giving people trouble, he should read Dr. Oak
shette’s clear and fact-founded presentation of the
case. t 1
The truth is a Doctor of Public Health who knows
his work and performs it in the right spirit be-
I * comes an invaluable friend to the entire commu
| nity.
He saves the people money.
He enhances the value of their own and their
' neighbors’ property.
He saves human life. ,
he renders, for the general public, a service akin
to that which the family physician renders the
p - household.
•If there jp a source of contagious disease in
»' • a neighborhood. It is to the vital interest of every
r man, woman and child in that vicinity that 11 be
r t * la.d bare and removed. To do this is one of the
duties of the officer of public Health. Without such
service as he can give, an epidemic may break forth,
families may find the savings of years swept away
by a month’sjllness or they may be entirely bereft
of their breadwinner.
Whatever improves the sanitary conditions of a
[ X coi munlty and thereby protects the home against
sickness and death is a blessing to the common
Interests; find the official who sees that healtu
laws are observed and really aids the people in
observing them is one of the public's truest friends.
THE WATSON COLLAR.
The Ethiope cannot change his skin, nor Thomas
E. Watson his treachery. In the outset of the pres
idential campaign, when every true Democrat is
rallying to the party’s chosen leader, we find this
political panderer, as is his wont, skulking over to
the enemy’s camp. He is insidiously fighting the
Democratic nominee; at the same time, he is boost
ing the fortunes of Roosevelt; and, were the latter,
out of the field, Watson would doubtless be plying
his trade in the interest of Taft.
Certainly, there is no cause for regret but rather
for keen satisfaction that the candidacy of Woodrow
Wilson is not besmirched with such support. There
is, indeed, only one befitting role for Watson to play;
it is that of the hired slanderer. Let him, then,
resume his old campaign of libel, let him seek new
wages from other masters for the falsehoods in
which he trafficked before the primary; for, thus he
will at least remain consistent, and true to the Bib
lical proverb: “The dog is turned to his own vomit
again and the sow to her wallowing in the mire.”
There would be no occasion for comment on his
present tactics in the national campaign, w-ere it not
for the fact that he is also seeking to dominate the
approaching state and district primaries. In the
midst of his covert attacks on the party’s presidential
nominee, he has brazenly put forward his candidates
for state house offices, for the railroad commission,
for congress and for other important offices.
The voters should clearly understand that Watson
cares nothing for these men themselves or for any
principles they may represent. He is not urging
their nominaton for any service ho thinks they may
render the state. He is not concerned with any ques
tion of their competency or trustwprthiness. He has
simply taken them up as pliant tools for his own
purpose. He has chosen them as so many mascots on
another buccaneering expedition.
Watson will treat the rules and pledges of the
forthcoming primary as lightly as he has treated
those of every other Democratic primary in which
he has participated. Unless his own servants are
nominated he will at once proceed to bolt and begin
his petty war against the regularly chosen nominees.
His record proves that no reliance whatsoever can
be placed in his political promises. He will enter
the August primary solely for what he can get out
of it for himself. He is forever fighting within the
party but he never fights for it. He assumes its ob
ligations only to fling them aside whenever it
serves his selfish interests to do so. That is his
method and purpose today just as ft has been in the
past. That is the significance of his present effort
to fill a number of important offices.
Is it not time for true Democrats the state over
to unite and rid themselves, once and for all, of this
party highwayman?
Certain it is that no candidate who truckles to
Watson’s support is worthy the suffrage of self
respecting Georgians.
No man, however pure his character or high his
motives, can afford to submit himself to the control
of this enemy of the party and of the people.
No office seeker who consents to wear the Watson
collar should be trusted with the administration of
public affairs.
There are many questions on which the Democrats
of Georgia may stand divided. But there is one
issue on which all men who love civic decency should
henceforth stand united; and that is the issueof
whether Thomas E. Watson shall be permitted to
drag our politics through the filth of his own mer
cenary ways.
It is a simple task to rid ourselves of his influence.
He possesses no real power, for he represents no prin
ciple or conviction. He thrives solely on his pur
chasable stock of slander and trickery; and just so
soon as the people let it be known that they will
accept no candidate who stoops to trade in this noi
some merchandise, the last vestige of Watsonism will
have been purged from the state.
We owe it to the party, to the cause of good gov
ernment and to our own self-respect to see that his
is done. Let us treat the alliance of Watson with
any faction or with any candidate as a badge of
disgrace to the cause that has sought his support.
But more good things come to those who go after
thefn.
Some people act foolish and then get sore because
others notice it.
It wouldn’t take long for most people to tell what
they think of you.
If a man is smart, he never has reason to men
tion it.
Unhappiness seldom abides with a man who loves
his home.
We’ve had so much weather already that we
won’t recognize the equinox.
THE T>EMAKD FOR APPLES.
It is a singular and suggestive fact that in 1910
this country had fewer "bearing” apple trees than
in 1900. The United States department of agricul
ture reckons this decrease at fifty thousand trees.
This record is somewhat modified by the circum
stance that within this period there were planted
some sixty thousand trees which had not begun to
yield when the last census was taken. It is never
theless apparent, as the Farm and Home Magazine
remarks, that we are scarcely holding our own in
this important field of horticulture.
Yet, within the past decade, the population has
grown by leaps and bounds and the demand for
apples has sped forward at an equal pace. There
is perhaps no other fruit that is in such constant
and universal demand and certainly there is no
other that offers the producer fairer returns upon
his labor and investment.
This subject should be of peculiar interest to the
south and especially to Georgia. The southern mer
chant and consumer have, for years, been importing
their apples from distant sections of the country
paying, as a result, heavy transportation rates and
prices that often appear exorbitant.. How unneces
sary is this wasteful practice, when here in our
own state we have a climate and a soil which ex
perts have pronounced ideal for apple culture!
It is gratifying to note that Georgia enterprise
is at length preparing to do away with this condi
tion of affairs. Investors are becoming practically
interested tn apple growing and it is not unlikely
that a decade or so hence we shall be selling Geor
gia grown apples to the rest of toe country instead
of buying from far-off sections.
An opera singer should never let a note go to
protest
THE ATLANTA SEMI-WEEKLY JOURNAL, ATLANTA, GA., TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 1912.
TEN MILLION CHILDREN
ARE PARTLY DEFECTIVE.
u Of the twenty million school children in
this country, not fewer tha-i seventy-five per
i cent need attention for physical defects which
are prejudicial to health and which are partly
or completely remediable.'"
This slgntfilcant statement has been published by
the government's bureau of education as the testi
mony of Dr. Thomas D. Wood, of Teachers College,
Columbia University. It is based upon careful in
quiry and is issued in the hope that it may stimulate
not only parents, but also state and county and city
governments to a more watchful and intelligent in
erest in the health of children.
Dr. Wood’s investigation showed that while a
comparatively small percentage of pupils are serious
ly afflicted, a large majority labor under defects
which tend to reduce their effciency. Os the twenty
million cases considered, only about one and a half
per cent show organic heart diseases. About five
per cent give evidence of tuberculosis of the lungs.
Five per cent have spinal curvature, flat feet "or
some other moderate deformity serious enough to in
terfere with health. Over five per cent have defective
hearing.”
These figures are not particularly distressing, but
when we come to the matter of vision we find twenty
five per cent of the school children in America, or five
million individuals, have defective eyes. An equal
number are suffering from malnutrition. More than
thirty per cent have enlarged tonsils, adenoids or
enlarged cervical glands which need attention. Over
fifty per cent, or ten million children, have defective
teeth, which are hampering their general vigor.
Every state and every community in the Union
should take this record home to itself and meet its
responsibilty. No system of education that fails to
keep due watch over the health of children can be
adequate or true to its purpose. Every school in
Georgia should have a thoroughgoing system of mem
cal and sanitary inspection, in order that these de
fects of the pupils may be promptly discovered and
corrected.
Such a system will increase mental as well physi
cal vigor of the children; it will strengthen them mor
ally and, in the long run, it will make for a higher
and a more useful citizenship.
It is Interesting to note in ths connection that
there is now before the General . assembly a measure
which bears directly on this subject. It is the bill by
Mr. Ellis, of Tift, to establish a system of state-wide
sanitation. One of its provisions is to the effect that
there shall be in each county an officer of public
health who, as one of his duties, shall examine the
pupils of his county’s schools for the purpose of
ascertaining any maladies or defects from which
they may be suffering. The bill has many other com-
L-endable features, but if it provided for this alone,
it would merit the Legislature’s unanimous support.
Those cities that have established a system of
medical inspection for their schools furnish abundant
evidence of its practical and far-reaching value. The
children of rural as well as urban districts are enti
tled to this advantage and protection. It is gratifying
to note that Fulton county has already taken steps
along this progressive path. Every county in the
state will do well to follow the example.
The weather man is probably supplying rainfall
fc - the next two or three years.
Governor Wilson could get a job as editorial
writer any time he wanted it, and on the score of
good writing, at that.
England is indgnant over our action on the Pana
ma canal, and naturally so, since England expected
about a half interest in it.
The Hat Problem in, 1790
The Handel festival was originally given in West
minster Abbey, and the official notice of 1790 an
nounced that “no ladies will be admitted with hats,
and they are particularly requested to come without
feathers and very small hoops, if any.” As eccle
siastical law demands that female worshippers shall
cover their heads in church, this regulation was cu
riously anomalous. A suggestion in regard to la
dles’ headgear was also made by Sir Frederick
Cowen in 1905, when he gave it as his opinion that
the ladies might discover in their wardrobe some
“extremely fascinating flat hats,” which would not
obstruct the view. The “fascinating flat hats” were,
however, chiefly conspicuous by their absence, owing
presumably (we write subject to feminine correc
tion), to the fact that the fiat hat was not among
the fashions of that year.—London Chronicle.
Truth About the County
Public Health Service
Editor The Journal: There may be in the minds of
some of our out-of-town friends an idea that a public
health officer is a meddlesome sort of an Individual, an
official busybody, puffed up with a little brief authori
ty, who “noses around” to stir up a fuss.
Let us get this thing right at the start. There are
two sides to this matter. The health officer’s side and
that of the country-dweller.
The public health officer is a man skilled by special
study and experience, in the conditions that make for
sound, robust, vigorous, healthy individuals their homes
and communities. His first care and duty is to give
freely from that broad knowledge all the assistance
possible to the people, that they may be healthy and
their children also, that they may live in healthy sur
roundings. because it doesn't pay to be sick. Epidemics
of typhoid, scarlet fever and such things are costly
luxuries we can well do without.
The public health officer is—in every sense of the
word —a true friend to those who want tc live in
healthy environments. Just as your family physician is
a trusted friend.
On the other hand—this is purely a matter of self
preservation. Self defense against conditions which,
if allowed to go unchecked, mean sickness, disability,
death; loss of earning capacity (that is money lost),
broken homes and broken hearts.
The doctor of public health is the good friend who
comes along arjd does his level best —with your help—
to save you all this loss and damage and harm.
Get that clearly. It’s the straight truth.
When the health officer asks you to abate a nuisance
it is for your good, not his. When he points out some
source of danger to the health of your family or neigh
bors, it is for your good. Take his advice. Help him
and you help yourself.
The earnest, capable doctor of public health is one
of the best friends the community has. Every true
man and woman, every real good citizen will welcome
him. Will co-operate with him to the limit.
DR. JAMES C. OAKSHETTE.
WHAT THE NATION THINKS
OF WOODROW WILSONS SPEECH
A Speech That Will Live
New York World.
Woodrow Wilson’s speech of acceptance is the
ablest, clearest, sanest statement of high public pur
pose this country has known in a generation.
Without passion, withoyt invective, without abuse,
without partisan bitterness, without denunciation,
without egotism, without demagogy, he has driven
straight to the heart of the supreme issue of American
institutions—the partnership between Government and
Privilege.
Every great conflict within the lifetime of the re
public has hinged, upon this one question. Every great
reform marking a milestone in the political progress
of the American people has forced the dissolution of
such a partnership.
Federalism was destroyed under the leadership of
Jefferson because federalism had become a partnership
between the government and a small class of property
owners.
The Democratic party swept Into power under Jack
son because the government had entered Into partner
ship with the United States bank and its financial
allies.
Under Lincoln the Republican party obliterated the
partnership of government and slave-owners in "the
mightiest struggle and the most glorious victory as yet
recorded in human annals.”
It was the government’s partnership with a shame
less plutocracy which rehabilitated the Democratic par
ty under the leadership of Tilden. Because of the
government’s long partnership with Privilege under the
McKinley, Roosevelt and Taft administrations we are
face to face with the old Issue in a new form. Again
we have what Governor Wilson rightly describes an
“awakened nation Impatient of partisan make-believe.
Os all the candidates for president. Woodrow Wil
son alone meets this issue frankly and sincerely. The
Republican party under Mr. Taft still holds to its
ancient partnership with the beneficiaries of extortion
ate tariffs. The Progressive party under Mr. Roosevelt
frankly purposes to maintain a perpetual partnership
between the government and the trusts. But the
Democratic party under Woodrow Wilson has set forth
to re-establish a partnership between the government
and the people, and this is the one adequate solution
of the whole problem.
It is the utterance of a statesman and student,
who promises only the rule of right and justice in re
lation to all public questions, and who has proved his
promises by his works. It is the simple confession of
one man’s faith in the rank and file of his fellow-man,
the simple confession of one man’s faith in the power
of the American nation to work out its destiny under
its constitution; the simple confession of one man’s
faith in a government of the people, by the people and
for the people, and the application of that faith to all
the problems of the hour.
But after reading that confession every honest man,
from the humblest to the most fortunate, ean say in
Woodrow Wilson’s concluding words, “I thank God and
will take courage.”,
Calm and Poised.
New York Evening Post.
After the earthquake, a still small voice. After the
raging torrent of epithets at Chicago, a calm and poised
discussion of the chief political issues before the peo
ple. Governor Wilson’s speech of acceptance today has
a literary form rare in such productions. It bears out
the reputation which he long since won for ability to
express himself with exquisite precision. And beneath
the attractive style there appears a spirit of the ut
most frankness. Never did a presidential candidate
so completely drop the Sir Oracle manner. Governor
Wilson is a man who takes time to think, and that al
most necessarily means that he is aware of the limits
•of his knowledge. “I do not know enough about this
subject to be dogmatic about It,” Governor Wilson says
in that part of his address referring to the reform of
currency and banking. This is highly refreshing, as
contrasted with the attitude of the candidate who
knows It all, who is cocksure of things that contradict
each other, or who seeks to hide his Ignorance under
bombastic generalities. What Governor Wilson does
is to come forward In a perfectly Informal and almost
confidential way to “talk politics” with the American
people. ...
For nothing else is Governor Wilson s speech more
notable than for its sure reading of the signs of the
time. He sees clearly that what the people are seek
ing is nothing partisan. So he indulges in not one
word of twaddle about those “historic principles” of
the Democratic party which are often prated about
but never defined. It is, rather, to a non-partisan and
large national task that Governor Wilson directs at
tention, and, in undertaking it, invites co-operation. He
offers himself, in unaffected simplicity, as a servant of
the people in helping them to recover what, in their
government and in their lives, they feel has been filched
away from them. That, in a word, is the burden of his
speech of acceptance, which is admirably fitted to be
the beginning of his campaign.
The People’s Partnership.
Charlotte Observer.
Naturally, the address deals quite extensively with
the overshadowing question of the tariff, which should
become a business and not a political proposition. In
its revision, he would have the people taken into part
nership. In its revision, he would act with caution and
prudence, so, While eventually securing the desired
end, would do so without having unsettled the busi
ness conditions of the country. He wants an immedi
ate revision unhesitatingly downward, beginning with
the schedules that have been used principally to kill
competition. His revision of the tariff would be a
chapter of readjustment, of no rough disturbance, a
turning back from the abnormal to the normal, a res
toration of the laws of competition and unhampered
opportunity.
So, in like manner. Governor Wilson goes down the
list of each of the great tasks confronting the people
and advises the remedy to be applied. Were Wilson’s
plan of government to be established there could be
but little doubt of the fact that this country wouiu be
rescued from much government which is bad and put
in the way of a career of increasing prosperity.
The Purpose of a Builder.
Charleston News and Courier.
All that Governor 'Wilson has to say is character
ized by a moderation of statement which shows how
little basis there has ever been for the fears of those
who have sought to paint him as a rabid revolutionist.
Nothing could be more apparent than that here is a
man keenly alive to the grave responsibilities of the
office to which he has been placed in nomination; a
man whose purpose would be to conserve and upbuild;
a man who would be guided always by an enlightened
intelligence; but a man who could not be controlled
and who would acknowledge no shackles, a man who
' could not be influenced against what he regarded as
the public weal no matter what the exigencies.
About hfte,attitude as he advances to the contest
there is much that is reminiscent of the youthful shep
herd lad as he went forth in the valley of Elah to
meet the giant of Gath whose Insolent taunts had
struck terror to the hearts of the soldiers of Israel.
He is not weighted down with arms and accoutrements.
He does not rush forward with blind rage or rash im
petuosity. He is calm and confident, keenly sensitive
to the dangers and difficulties which he faces, but not
deterred by them; untouched by vainglory but su
premely trustful of the commission which he holds.
For Repair, Bot Destruction.
New York Sun.
Governor Wilson’s speech of acceptance has good
luck as well as merit. It comes just in time to contrast
sharply with the interminable Bedlamite rant of Th.
Dentatus Africanus Ferox. And, if without contempt
of campus it may be said, though written by a college
president, very recently retired, it is in the English lan
guage, not anaemic and seldom with suspicion of prig
gishness or donnishness, though it has an air, a cer
tain academic distinction of its own.
Governor Wilson Is for repair, not for destruction.
“We need no revolution; we need no excited change.”
This is the marrow of his speech, the little counsels
of perfection or doctrinairism that sprinkle it are sub
ordinate to its general conservative and constructive
tone. If he still sniffs a money trust, if there is one,
he wants to prevent it without destroying or serious
ly embarrassing any sound or legitimate business un
dertaking or necessary and wholesome arrangement.
The Interests of the People.
Nashville Democrat.
Governor Wilson docs not minify the seriousness
of the problems economic and social that confront the
nation, nor does he offer specific panaceas for the varied
evils and the conditions complained of. He holds, how
ever, that these matters must be adjusted as far as
possible by the servants of the people who are clothed
with the responsibility of legislation and administra
tion, with the interests of the whole people as the
constant and dominant desire and aim.
Governor Wilson’s speech, while indicating a firm
adherence to the pronouncements of the platform up
on which he was nominated, should be reassuring to
all legitimate business interests and commend him to
the confidence of the country.
Full of Inspiration.
New York Times.
This is not the dream of an idealist. If the head of
the government during more than seven years could
keep up the war cf interest upon interest, and bring
on a business depression that has continued through
the whole term of the succeeding administration, is it
too much to hope that a wiser servant of the people,
disinterestedly devoted to the welfare of the whole
people, can accdffnplish those accommodations and ad
justments which will restore peace and make way for
the return of prosperity? With Mr. Wilson it is fund
amentally a question of good faith and morals. Be
yond that, it is a question of right action and of sim
ple justice. Os the two great things to be done, “one
is to set up a rule of Justice and of right” in such
matters as the tariff, the trusts, banking and curren
cy, and labor.
This is Woodrow Wilson’s idea of the rule of the
people, that they should rule themselves wisely, under
leaders and with servants who will in good faith and
with knowledge advise them what it is well that they
should do. The shipper and the farmer cannot pros
per if the railroads are crippled by restrictions unjust
ly imposed. The people as a whole cannot prosper if
laws are enacted and enforced in hatred of the great
modern instrument of industry, the corporation. In
dustrial peace, not industrial war, is Mr. Wilson’s idea.
The greatest blessing that he and his party, that any
president or any party, could confer upon this republic,
is the realization of that idea. “What we are seeking
is not a destruction of any kind,” he says, “nor the de
struction of any sound or honest thing, but merely the
rule of right and of common advantage.” > Again, “it?
would be a chapter of readjustment, not of pain and
rough disturbance.” and again, “our task now is to
effect a great adjustment, and get the forces of the
whole people once more into play. We need no revolu
tion; we need no excited change; we need only a new
point of view and a new method and spirit of counsel.”
These are words of reassurance, the most reassuring
that any man within the shadow of actual or coming
responsibility has spoken to the American people in
recent times. • . . . It is a proclamation that will
satisfy all save those who are determined not to
be satisfied. It is full of inspiration and hope, and of
the new light of reconciliation between interests now
at war. It is a portent of industrial peace and pros
perity.
“Exceptionally Impressive.’’
Louisville Courier Journal.
It is not exaggeration to say that Governor Wil
son's address in acceptance of the nomination of the
Baltimore convention was exceptionally impressive and
inspiring. That it would be scholarly, thoughtful and
well expressed, was expected as a matter of course.
That it would be marked by the ability of the man
of intellect, the student both of books and affair, was
equally anticipated. But with all this its real force
was the force of the intelligence, the acuteness, the
clarity with which the student has analyzed conditions
and the courage, the sincerity and sanity with which
he approaches the responsibility of their rectification.
With a thorough appreciation of the fact that there
has been a great awakening of the people and that the
country is at the beginning of a new epoch, he defines
his conception of the responsibilities which the voters .
of the United States are to place upon his shoulders
with no suggestion of cowardice, yet no taint of dema
gogy. In his masterly treatment of /the tariff and
trusts he urges that our policy in working reform
should be neither rash nor timid, and this lack of both
rashness and timidity characterizes the definition of
his attitude on the various important questions touch
ed upon in his address.
The party to which the country is to intrust the ad
ministration of its government next March is for
tunate in having so lucid and forcible a spokesman,
and the country will be doubly fortunate if, under the
presidency of Woodrow Wilson, it shall see realized
the soundly progressive policies enunciated by him
at Seagirt yesterday.
A Pilot Who Knows the Way.
Raleigh News and Observer.
The message of Woodrow Wilson to the American
people is the acceptance of a mission rather than of a
candidacy for the White House.
If there lingered In the mind of any citizen a doubt
of Woodrow Wilson’s calling in the republic at this
hour; if there existed the shadow of a question of his
fitness to lead his people from the wilderness in which*
they have groped these last sixteen years, that doubt
will dissolve and that shadow be lifted as the light of
his speech of acceptance breaks upon the minds of the
American people today. And it will require neither
priest nor prophet to tell them that he “has come to
the kingdom for such a time as thia”
It is difficult to write of such an utterance. One
fears that analysis may - rob it of its perfection, may
destroy its poise, may take away from it the spirit of
the man back of it —the man in it. We would
say: Read the message, and so leave it in its integ
rity.
We daresay that the first' impression of the mil
lions on whose lips Mr. Wilson's name has been these
recent weeks —a period of strident cries and counter
cr j es —will be of the utter poise and saneness of his
speech. Compared with Taft’s despairing defense and
apology and his Jiollow resounding appeal to the con
stitution, or with Roosevelt’s vociferations, denuncia
tions and protestations—how calm are the words of
Woodrow Wilson! And yet who will say that, not
withstanding the sane and even temper of his message,
it does not contain more of the tonic of true reform
and of the antidote for all the political evils of our
time than any public utterance since the day of con
fusion in our American politics was ushered in? Its
very poise and calmness carries assurance, not only of
the sanity and trustworthiness of the new leader of the
American Democracy, but of the skill and the wisdom
and the clear vision of the new hand at the helm. One
feels that we have found a pilot who not only would
make for port, but who knows all the way.
Banks With Jefferson.
Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Read carefully every line of Wilson’s address and ,
you will find in it not a misplaced word, nothing in
definite; you will also find an idea clearly enunciated
In every sentence.
The Democratic party has nominated for president
a profound student of the vexing problems of govern
ment, and the address shows the man to have a keen
conception of the fundamentals of this republic, chief
of which is the right of every man to a free chance
and to reap for himself an adequate reward for the
labor he does or for the services that he may dis
charge. Mr. Wilson’s speech is a monumental essay
on the science of popular government. It will go into
contributions on the ideal republic ranking with the
deliverances of Jefferson. Madison and Benjamin Har
rison.
The address rises above a campaign document in
dignity of expression. In the simplicity of its direct-,
ness it shows its author to be worthy of *the high
office his fellow-citizens have asked him to seek at the 1
hands of the American people.
Broad and Statesmanly.
Mobile (Ala.) Item.
The speech is not denunciatory; it is conciliatory.
It shows the Democratic nominee to be a man of very t
broad ideas, in full sympathy with the popular mind,
yet untrammeled by the spirit of unchangeable hostil
ity to certain elements in the national life which nan,
drawn more than lheir share of popular criticism. IM
this attitude Governor Wilson Is as far above bin trsrv
petitors as Lincoln is above Roosevelt in history. His
speech is an admirable presentation of the Democraoc
position on the subjects that are now uppermost in the
public mind, and has all the quality of a judicial find
ing in his treatment of these subjects.
Wilson ths Master.
Baltimore Sun. t
Governor Wilson's speech of acceptance makes it
perfectly clear that Jie does not intend to be led away
from the dominant Issue cf this campaign—the reform
and revision downward of the tariff—into any discus
sion of side issues, or of questions which are of State
rather than of national concern. His speech is a plea
for the administration of the government, and especial
ly the taxing power of the government—the greatest
of all powers —in the interest of the whole people, and
not for the benefit of any special class or private in
terest. . . .
There is the ring of genuine Jeffersonian Democ
racy in every line of it, and no man can read it with
out realizing that Wilson does not merely profess, as
so many public men are in the habit of doing, a belief
in Jeffersonian Democracy, but that he understands
what Jeffersonian Democracy is, and that is what can
not be said of most of its professed advocates. . » . ...
In the handling of the tariff question Woodrow
Wilson is the master man of the day. There is none ?
like him. There has been nene like him among Eng- |
lish-speaking people since the days of Richard Cobden,
same clearness of vision and clarity of expression.
His discussion of the trust question is marked by the
