Woodrow Wilson as I Know HimTumulty, Joseph P. (Joseph Patrick)
History
Woodrow Wilson as I Know Him
Tumulty, Joseph P. (Joseph Patrick)
Presidents -- United States -- Biography; Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924
At this same newspaper conference the President, who had not seen the
newspaper group since his arrival at Long Branch, discussed the campaign,
so that they might have what he called the "inside of his mind." His
criticism of the campaign that Justice Hughes was conducting contained
bitter irony and, sarcasm. Evidently, the petty things to which Mr. Hughes
had adverted in his campaign speeches by way of criticizing the President
and his administration had cut the President to the quick. One of the
newspaper men asked him what he thought of Mr. Hughes' campaign, and he
laughingly replied: "If you will give that gentleman rope enough he will
hang himself. He has forgotten many things since he closeted himself on
the bench, and he will soon find himself out of touch with the spirit of
the nation. His speeches are nothing more or less than blank cartridges
and the country, unless I mistake the people very much, will place a true
assessment upon them."
The newspaper men left this conference heartened by the reply he had made
to O'Leary and with the firm conviction that the Democratic candidate was
just "playing" with Hughes and would pounce upon him at the psychological
moment.
In the delivery of the campaign speeches at Shadow Lawn each Saturday
afternoon President Wilson took full advantage of the swing toward the
Democratic side which was manifest after the publication of the famous
O'Leary telegram. While the Republican candidate was busily engaged in
invading the West in his swing around the circle, the Democratic candidate
each week from his porch at Shadow Lawn was delivering sledge-hammer blows
at the Republican breastworks. As the Republican candidate in an effort to
win the West was heaping maledictions upon Dr. E. Lester Jones, the head
of the Geodetic Survey, a Wilson appointee, the President calmly moved on,
ripping to pieces and tearing to shreds the poor front behind which the
Republican managers were seeking to win the fight.
Mr. Hughes campaigned like a lawyer, Mr. Wilson like a statesman. Mr.
Hughes was hunting small game with bird shot, Mr. Wilson trained heavy
artillery on the enemies' central position. The essential difference
between the two men and the operations of their minds was made clear in
the campaign. No one would wish to minimize the unusual abilities of Mr.
Hughes, but they are the abilities of an adroit lawyer. He makes "points."
He pleases those minds which like cleverness and finesse. He deals with
international affairs like an astute lawyer drawing a brief. But has he
ever quickened the nation's pulse or stirred its heart by a single
utterance? Did he ever make any one feel that behind the formalities of
law, civil or international, he detected the heartbeats of humanity whom
law is supposedly designed to serve? Mr. Wilson was not thinking of Mr.
Hughes, but perhaps he was thinking of the type of which Mr. Hughes is an
eminent example when he said in Paris: "This is not to be a lawyers'
peace."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account