WOODROW WILSON
A definite account of the eventful years following 1913 can be written
only after time has allayed partisanship; after long study of the
social, economic and political history has separated the essential
from the trivial; after papers that are now locked in private files
have been opened to students; and after the passage of years has given
that perspective which alone can measure the wisdom or the folly of a
policy. It will be little less difficult to make a just appraisal of
the chief American participants in those years, and particularly of
President Woodrow Wilson. At present it is possible only to avoid
partisanship so far as it can be done, read with open mind whatever
documents are available, and refrain from either praise or condemnation.
On all sides it is agreed that during his administration Wilson
became one of the three or four world-figures, and for that reason
his characteristics, as well as the events of his presidency demand
unusual attention.
Woodrow Wilson was born in Staunton, Virginia, in 1856. His ancestors
were Scotch-Irish and his father an educator and Presbyterian
clergyman. After graduating from Princeton College he practiced law,
studied history and politics, and taught these subjects at several
different institutions. Subsequently he became a professor at
Princeton and later its President. He was a prolific and successful
writer. His book on _Congressional Government_, for example, went
through twenty-four impressions before he became President of the
United States. _The State_, an account of the mechanism of government
in ancient and modern times, and some of his portrayals of American
history were hardly less in demand. His election as Governor of New
Jersey in 1910 and his election to the presidency two years later have
already been mentioned.
The outstanding characteristic of Wilson is a finely-organized,
penetrating intelligence. Somewhat like a silent chess-player he
thinks many moves in advance, a fact which makes it difficult to judge
a single act of his without a knowledge of the whole plan. Before
coming to the presidency he had long pondered on the proper and
possible function of that office, and had drawn in imagination the
outlines and many of the details of the role which he was to play.
Years of careful study had drilled him in the accumulation of facts.
As a specialist in polities and history he was accustomed to make up
his mind on the basis of his own researches, and to change his
judgments without embarrassment when new facts presented themselves.
His literary style is characterized by precision, a close texture and
frequently by suppressed emotion. He thinks on an international scale
and with a profundity that often dwarfs associates who are by no means
pygmies themselves. An unbending will, an alert conscience, stubborn
courage, restrained patience, political sagacity, a thoroughgoing
belief in democracy and above all an instinctive understanding of the
spiritual aspirations of the common people made him the most powerful
political figure in America within a brief time after his accession to
the presidency. On the other hand, his aloofness from counsel during
the later part of his presidency exceeded that of Cleveland, and his
abnormal self-reliance was greater than that of Roosevelt.
In reviewing the history of the years following 1913, it is necessary
to have a sense of the immensity of the problems involved, as well
as a restrained judgment and some knowledge of the chief actors.
Beginning in 1914, the great nations of Europe were constantly menaced
by appalling dangers; their leaders were daily confronted with
decisions of the utmost importance. Because of the close commercial,
industrial and financial bonds between the two continents, America
could not fail to be affected. She too was compelled to take her part
in a drama which was far greater than any in which she had before
engaged. Both the President and Congress were confronted with problems
the solution of which would vitally affect not only the people of
America, but the people of the world; never before had their decisions
been so subject to the possibilities of mistakes which would certainly
be momentous and might be tragic.
When Wilson and his party came into power in 1913, as the result of
the schism among the Republicans, their position was by no means
secure. The President had been elected by a distinct minority in the
popular vote and his practical political experience had been less than
that of any chief executive since Grant. His party had been in power
so little since the Civil War that it had no body of experienced
administrators from which to pick cabinet officers, and no corps of
parliamentary leaders practiced in the task of framing and passing a
constructive program. The party as a whole was lacking in cohesion
and had perforce played the role of destructive critic most of the
time for more than half a century; its principles were untested in
actual experience, and although its majority in the House was large,
in the Senate its margin of control was so narrow as to suggest the
near possibility of the failure of a party program. Wilson was under
no illusions as to the circumstances of his election and he realized
that both he and his party were on probation.
The appointment of the cabinet occasioned unusual interest. Bryan, the
one Democrat who had a large and devoted personal following, became
Secretary of State. His influence in nominating Wilson had been very
great and the adherence of his admirers was necessary if the party was
to be welded into an effective organization. Several of the other
members of the cabinet proved themselves to be men of unusual
capacity, and their ability to cooperate with one another provided
the "teamwork" which the President was anxious to obtain.[1]
His conception of the part which the chief executive ought to play
was a definite one. He looked upon the President as peculiarly the
representative of the whole people in the federal government, as the
leader of the party in power and as commissioned by the voting
population to carry out the platform of principles upon which the
party and its leader were elected. He believed that the unofficial
leaders who are better known as "bosses" existed partly because of the
absence of official leaders. As Governor of New Jersey he had acted on
the principles that he had outlined for the chief executive of the
nation, and upon his accession to the presidency he began at once to
put into effect a similar program.
Congress was called for a special session on April 7, 1913, in order
to revise the tariff. It was a dangerous task--one which had
discredited the Democrats in 1894 and divided the Republicans in
1909--but plans had been laid with care in order to avoid previous
mistakes. The Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means in the
House, Oscar W. Underwood, had begun the preparation of a bill during
the session before and had discussed it with Democratic members of the
Senate Committee on Finance, and with the President.
At the opening of the session Wilson broke the precedent established
by Jefferson in 1801, and read his message personally to Congress,
instead of sending it in written form to be read by a clerk. In
substance the message expressed the President's conviction that the
appearance of the chief executive in Congress would assist in
developing the spirit of cooperation, and outlined the tariff problem
which they were together called upon to settle. He declared that the
country wished the tariff changed, that the task ought to be completed
as quickly as possible and that no special privileges ought to be
granted to anybody. He advocated a tariff on articles which we did not
produce and upon luxuries, but he urged that otherwise the schedules
be reduced vigorously but without undue haste. Other considerations
were more important, however, than the substance of the message.
Previous documents of this kind had been long and filled with a wide
variety of recommendations concerning both international and domestic
relations; Wilson's speech occupied but a few moments, it focused the
attention of Congress upon one subject, and fixed the eyes of the
country upon the problem. The nation knew that one task was in hand,
and knew where to lay the blame if delay should ensue. It was a great
responsibility that the President had assumed, but he assumed it
without hesitation.
Underwood presented his bill at once and it passed the House without
difficulty, but in the Senate the Democratic majority of six was too
small to guarantee success in the face of the objections of Louisiana
senators to the proposal for free sugar, and the usual bargaining for
the protection of special interests. When the lobby appeared--the
group that had so mangled the Wilson-Gorman bill and discredited the
Payne-Aldrich Act--the President issued a public statement warning the
country of the "extraordinary exertions" of a body of paid agents
whose object was private profit and not the good of the public. So
vigorous an action resulted in hostility to Wilson, but Congress found
itself unusually free from objectionable pressure. Hence while experts
differed in regard to the wisdom of one part or another of the bill,
it was not charged that its schedules bore the imprint of favoritism
for any particular private interests. Discussion in the Senate was so
extended that the Underwood act did not finally pass and receive the
President's signature until October 3.
The general character of the measure is indicated by the number of
changes made in the tariffs as they existed at the time of the passage
of the act. On 958 articles the duties were reduced; on 307 they were
left unchanged; and on eighty-six (mainly in the chemical schedule),
they were increased. Despite the numerous reductions, the Underwood
law retained much of the protective purpose of preceding enactments.
Attempts were made to decrease the cost of living by considerable
reductions on certain agricultural products and by placing others on
the free list; wool was to be free after December 1, 1913, and the
duty on sugar was to be reduced gradually and taken off completely on
May 1, 1916; duties on cotton goods and on woolens ("Schedule K") were
heavily reduced. Underwood represented an iron manufacturing section
of Alabama, but he showed an uncommon attention to the general
interest by favoring large reductions on pig-iron and placing iron ore
and steel rails on the free list. An important part of the law was a
provision for an income tax, which had been made possible by the
Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution proclaimed on February 25,
1913. Incomes over $3,000 ($4,000 in the case of married persons),
were to be taxed one per cent., with an additional one per cent. on
incomes of $20,000 to $50,000, and similar graded "surtaxes" on higher
incomes, reaching six per cent. on those above $500,000. The board
which the Republicans had established for the scientific study of the
tariff had been allowed to lapse by the Democrats, but was revived in
1916 through the appointment of a bi-partisan Commission of six
members with twelve-year terms.
On June 23, 1913, after the tariff bill had been piloted around the
chief difficulties in its way, the President again addressed
Congress-this time on currency legislation. Again he laid down certain
principles-a more elastic currency, some means of mobilizing bank
reserves, and public control of the banking system. Before mentioning
the further history of this recommendation, however, it is necessary
to have in mind the main facts in the development of the monetary
issue since 1900. Complaint had been common since that year. One
difficulty lay in the fact that the volume of the currency could not
quickly increase and decrease as busy times demanded more or quiet
times required less of the circulating medium. At those parts of the
year, for example, when the crops were being moved there was a greater
demand for currency than the banks could conveniently meet. They
could, to be sure, buy United States bonds and issue national bank
notes upon them as security, but this was a slow and costly process.
The dangers of the existing inelastic arrangement were illustrated in
the panic of 1907.
In that year occurred a financial crisis which resulted in business
failures, unemployment and the indictment of prominent figures in the
commercial world; it was precipitated by a gamble in copper stocks. An
unsuccessful attempt to corner the stock of a copper company led to
the examination of the Mercantile National Bank of New York, with
which the speculators had intimate connections. Meanwhile the
president of the bank and all the directors were forced to resign. One
of the associates of a director in the Mercantile was the president of
the Knickerbocker Trust Company, and depositors in the latter bank
thereupon became frightened, and $8,000,000 were withdrawn in three
hours. The alarm then spread to the depositors of the Trust Company of
America--the president of the Knickerbocker was one of its
directors--and $34,000,000 were withdrawn by the now thoroughly
anxious depositors, who stood in line at night in order to be ready
for the next day. The panic spread to other parts of the nation;
country banks withdrew funds from the city banks, and they from New
York; and at length the government came to the aid of the distressed
institutions and deposited $36,000,000 between October 19 and 31.
Nevertheless, at the time when depositors were trying to get their
money there was sufficient currency in existence to satisfy all needs.
The defect lay in the lack of machinery for pooling resources in such
a way as to relieve any institution that was in temporary straits. The
experts pointed also to the unscrupulous manipulation of the supplies
of currency by New York financiers. There was widespread comment on
the fact that if the magnates did not actually constitute a "money
trust" they were nevertheless able to expand and contract the
available supply to such an extent as to serve their own ends and
embarrass the public.
In the meanwhile many experts, among them Senator Nelson W. Aldrich,
had been studying the entire banking system. The result of this work
was the Aldrich-Vreeland Act of 1908 providing a temporary method for
making the supply of currency more flexible and also arranging for a
National Monetary Commission to investigate the currency and banking
systems in this and other countries. The Commission published
thirty-eight volumes of information and recommendations, which were a
storehouse of facts concerning the problem, although no legislation
resulted. All that Taft did was to pass the task along to Wilson.
As has been seen, President Wilson seized the opportunity at once.
Senator Owen and Carter Glass, Chairmen of the Senate and House
Committees on Banking and 'Currency, together with William G. McAdoo,
the Secretary of the Treasury, and the President himself drafted the
Federal Reserve bill. This measure received careful attention, being
the cause of extended hearings and debate in Congress and of
discussion in banking circles. The special session wore on and came to
an end, but the regular session began at once (December 1), and
consideration of the measure continued without interruption. At length
on December 22 the House acted favorably, thirty-four Republicans,
eleven Progressives, and one Independent assisting the Democrats in
passing the bill; on the following day the Senate passed it, one
Progressive and three Republicans voting with the majority. In many
details the act as passed differed from the original plan, but in its
essential points it was not amended. Although its precise form was the
work of a few men, the project in general, of course, represented the
labors of many persons extending over many years, and for that reason
embodied the best that American experts could give.
The Act provided for the establishment of Federal Reserve Banks, to be
placed in districts--the number being eventually fixed at twelve. The
capital for each Reserve Bank was to be supplied by the banks in its
district which became member banks. In other words the Reserve Banks
were to act as banks for their members, but not for private
individuals. In control of the twelve was a Federal Reserve Board,
composed of the Secretary of the Treasury, the Comptroller of the
Currency and five persons appointed by the president for terms of ten
years. It was at this point that the chief controversies raged between
the bankers and the proponents of the administration measure. The
bankers desired one central bank, which the administration opposed
because it feared centralized control over the currency supply; and
the bankers disliked the proposal for a Reserve Board appointed by the
president, because they apprehended the entrance of politics into the
appointments. The President and his supporters were determined,
however, not to allow the bankers to appoint the Board or any portion
of it, because they wished the system to be operated solely in the
public interest.
Greater elasticity was given to the currency supply through the
issuance of federal reserve notes, at the discretion of the Federal
Reserve Board, to the several regional Federal Reserve Banks. These
notes were to be obligations of the government and were expected to
replace the former national bank notes. When a local bank requires
more currency it may deposit with the Federal Reserve Bank such
valuable commercial paper as may be acceptable--for example,
promissory notes of reliable business firms--and receive at once a
supply of federal reserve notes. When business is brisk and large
supplies of currency are demanded, the local banks will deposit
whatever paper may be necessary to meet their needs; when the
emergency has passed they will withdraw notes from circulation, return
them to the reserve bank and receive their paper again.[2] The second
great purpose of the new system was to supply central reservoirs for
the storage of the reserves of the member banks. Each local bank is
required to keep certain prescribed balances in the reserve bank of
its district, and the federal government may also deposit funds in it.
In conformity with strict regulations the reserves thus accumulated in
a Federal Reserve Bank may be directed here and there in the district
as needed, and even from district to district, under the control of
the Federal Reserve Board. Moreover they are not available for those
speculative ventures which have caused so much trouble in the past.[3]
The operation of the law has apparently more than met the expectation
of its friends. It had hardly been established when a war broke out in
Europe, but the unusual financial situation which resulted in America
was cared for without great strain.
The third major plank in the Democratic platform of 1912 called for
legislation concerning trusts, and the President accordingly turned
his attention to that topic in his address to Congress on January 20,
1914. He declared that there was no intent to hamper business as
conducted by enlightened men, but that, on the contrary, the
antagonism between business and government had passed. He recommended
the prohibition of interlocking directorates by which railroads, banks
and industrial corporations became allied in one monopolistic group,
and he suggested that the processes and methods of harmful restraint
of trade be forbidden item by item in order that business men might
know where they stood in relation to the law. Finally, he believed
that the country demanded a commission which should act as a clearing
house for facts relating to industry and which should do justice to
business where the processes of the courts were inadequate. The
results of this undertaking were the Federal Trade Commission act of
September 26, 1914, and the Clayton Anti-trust act of October 15.
The former of these laws created a Commission of five persons to
administer the anti-trust laws and to prevent the use of unfair
methods by any persons or corporations which were subject to the
anti-trust laws. Whenever it had reason to believe that such
expedients were being used, the Commission was to issue an order
requiring the cessation of the practice. If the order was not obeyed,
the Commission was to apply for assistance to the circuit court of
appeals in the district where the offense was alleged to have been
committed. The purpose of the provision was evidently to prevent
unfair practices rather than to punish them. Another section of the
law empowered the Commission to gather information concerning the
practices of industrial organizations, to require them to file reports
in regard to their affairs, and to investigate the manner in which
decrees of the Courts against them were carried out. Under direction
of the president or Congress, the Commission could investigate alleged
violations of the law, and on its own initiative it might report
recommendations to Congress for additional legislation.[4]
The Clayton act specifically prohibited many of the practices common
to industrial enterprises. Sellers of commodities were forbidden to
discriminate in price between different purchasers--after making due
allowance for differences in transportation costs; corporations were
forbidden to acquire any of the stock of other similar industries,
where the effect would be substantially to lessen competition; and
directors of banks and corporations were prohibited, with stated
exceptions, from serving in two or more competing organizations. The
Clayton act also settled, at least for the time, several of the
complaints raised by the labor interests, especially at the time of
the Pullman strike. Labor and agricultural organizations were
specifically declared not to be conspiracies in restraint of trade;
injunctions were not to be granted in labor disputes unless necessary
to prevent irreparable injury; and trials for contempt of court were
to be by jury, except when the offense was committed in the presence
of the court. The law also prohibited the railroads from dealing with
concerns in which their directors were interested, except under
specified conditions.
The success of the President in pushing his party program made his
prestige the outstanding fact in politics. His leadership was
indisputable and it was evident that he regarded a party platform as a
serious program, to the fulfilment of which the party was committed by
its election. While the trust legislation was under discussion,
however, he asked for an act which required all the strength that he
could muster.
It will be remembered that the Panama Canal act of 1912 had exempted
American coast-wise traffic through the canal from the payment of
tolls. The law had been passed under a Republican, President Taft, and
both the Progressive and Democratic platforms of 1912 had favored
exemption. On March 5, 1914, Wilson appeared before Congress and urged
the repeal of the act on the ground that it was a violation of that
part of the treaty with Great Britain in which this country agreed
that the canal should be open to all nations upon an equality, and
that it was based on a mistaken economic policy. He was opposed by
Underwood and Champ Clark, two of the most powerful Democratic
leaders, but he had the aid of Senator Root, a distinguished
Republican who had been Secretary of State under President Roosevelt,
and in the end he was victorious. The division in the party was
quickly healed and forgotten.
The Congressional elections of 1914 greatly reduced the Democratic
majority in the House, although leaving control with that party, but
they slightly increased its margin in the Senate. European affairs and
the election of 1916 occupied political attention during the second
half of the administration, nevertheless the President and Congress
proceeded with their program of legislation. Important acts were those
providing for the development of the resources of Alaska, the Newlands
act for the arbitration of disputes among railway employees, a law
providing for federal aid in the building of state highways, measures
giving a larger amount of self-government to the Philippines and Porto
Rico, and one establishing a series of Federal Farm Loan Banks
intended to enable the agricultural population to get capital at low
rates of interest.[5] The major items, as well as the smaller ones in
the Democratic program were in line with many of the proposals made by
the Progressives in their platform in 1912. Attracted by these
accomplishments and by the forceful leadership of the President large
numbers of the Progressives made the transition into the Democratic
party, and from 1913 to 1916 much of the political strategy of both
Democrats and Republicans was devoted to attracting the insurgent wing
of the Republican organization.
The enactment of such a body of legislation, with the resulting
appointment of many officials and clerks, brought the President face
to face with the same civil service problem that had caused so much
trouble for Cleveland. Upon their accession in 1913 the Democrats had
been out of power so long that they exerted the pressure, usual under
such circumstances, for a share in the offices. The merit system,
however, was even more firmly entrenched than in 1897 when Cleveland
had made such additions to the classified lists, for both Roosevelt
and Taft had extended the merit principle to certain parts of the
consular and diplomatic service. Roosevelt had also made considerable
extensions in the application of the system to deputy collectors of
internal revenue, fourth-class postmasters, and carriers in the rural
free-delivery service; Taft had also increased the number of employees
who were appointed under the merit system, notably about 36,000
fourth-class postmasters not touched by his predecessor. Some of the
acts passed early in President Wilson's administration--the Federal
Reserve law, for example--expressly excepted certain employees from
civil service examinations. Bryan, as Secretary of State, showed a
lack of devotion to the cause of reform in the conduct of his
department. On the other hand the President took a most important step
in relation to postmasters of the first, second and third classes,
which had always been appointed by the president with the advice and
consent of the Senate, and had been among the plums in the gift of the
executive that had been most sought after. On March 31, 1917, Wilson
announced that thereafter the nominees for postmasters of the first
three classes would be chosen as the result of civil service
examination.
While the United States was absorbed, in these various ways, in the
task of internal construction, an event was occurring in a town in
Bosnia which was destined to affect profoundly the course of American
history. On June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir-apparent
to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy was assassinated by a
youth of Serbian blood and sympathies in Sarajevo. In Austria the act
was looked upon as an incident in a revolutionary movement intended to
detach a part of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and unite it with
Serbia. A month later Austria declared war on Serbia, and in a brief
time, such was the state of the European alliances, Austria and
Germany were opposed to Serbia, Russia, Belgium, France, Montenegro
and Great Britain in a devastating war. In August, Japan joined the
"Allies," as the nations on Serbia's side were known, and Turkey, in
November, took the side of the Teutonic powers. The act that brought
Belgium into the war was of interest to the United States. Germany had
declared war on Russia, the friend of Serbia, and expected that
France, Russia's ally, would step into the fray. Being thoroughly
prepared for war, Germany believed that she could crush France before
the latter could take any effective steps. The most convenient path
into France lay through Belgium, a small, neutral nation with no
interest in the conflict, and the German armies were thereupon poured
across the boundary. High German authority freely admitted the wrong
of the act, but excused it on the ground of military necessity.
Belgium felt that she could not do otherwise than resist the invader
and was thus drawn into the vortex. Her danger helped bring Great
Britain into the conflict.
The relation of the United States to the conflict seemed remote, and
President Wilson on August 4 issued a formal proclamation of
neutrality, which was soon followed by an address to the people of the
country urging them to be neutral both in thought and in act. For a
time it was not difficult for the country to obey the injunction.
Although stories of the ruthlessness, of the German soldiery in
Belgium poured into the columns of American periodicals, the people
found difficulty in believing them because they had long admired the
efficiency and virility of the Germans. Scarcely a year before the war
broke out, ex-Presidents Roosevelt and Taft had extolled the German
Emperor as an apostle of peace, and President Butler of Columbia
University had declared that the people of any nation would gladly
elect him as their chief executive. More than a month and a half after
the invasion of Belgium, Roosevelt published an article in _The
Outlook_ in which he expressed pride in the German blood in his veins,
asserted that either side in the European conflict could be sincerely
taken and defended, and continued:
When a nation feels that the issue of a contest in which ... it
finds itself engaged will be national life or death, it is
inevitable that it should act so as to save itself.... The rights
and wrongs of these cases where nations violate the rules of
abstract morality in order to meet their own vital needs can
be precisely determined only when all the facts are known and
when men's blood is cool.... Of course it would be folly to jump
into the gulf ourselves to no good purpose; and very probably
nothing that we could have done would have helped Belgium. We
have not the smallest responsibility for what has befallen her.
In view of the mass of conflicting rumors concerning the war, which
reached American attention, it was natural to take the neutral
position adopted by Roosevelt, but it was inevitable, because of our
racial diversities, that sympathies and opinions should soon differ
widely. Within a short time, pamphlets were published containing the
correspondence among the several European powers which had taken place
just before the outbreak of the war. These and other documents were
widely studied in the United States and led to the belief that
England, France and Russia had been the real peace lovers and that
Germany had been the aggressor.
The immediate economic effect of the war, in the meanwhile was the
unsettlement of American financial and industrial affairs, but when
the English navy obtained the mastery of the seas, the vessels of the
Teutonic powers were driven to cover in neutral ports or kept
harmlessly at home, and American trade with neutral nations and the
Allies took on new life. Moreover the latter were in need of food,
munitions and war materials of all kinds and they turned to American
factories. Manufacturers who could accept "war orders" began at once
to make fortunes; wages and prices rose, and it became evident that
the United States would be profoundly affected by the struggle.
England's control of the sea, moreover, early presented other
problems. According to international practice, both sides in the
European conflict might purchase munitions from neutrals, of which the
United States was the largest, but on account of her weakness on the
sea Germany was unable to take advantage of this opportunity, while
the Allies constantly purchased whatever supplies were needed. At
first, the German government protested through diplomatic channels,
but our government was able to show not only that international
practice approved the course followed by the United States, but also
that Germany had herself followed it in previous wars.
There then followed propaganda on a large scale by German agents
under the direction of Dr. Bernhard Dernburg, which was intended to
influence public opinion to demand the prohibition of the shipment of
munitions to the Allies. As this activity failed of its purpose,
resort was then had to fraudulent clearance papers by which military
supplies for German use were shipped from the United States without
conforming to our customs regulations; bombs were placed in ships
carrying supplies to England; fires were set in munitions factories;
strikes and labor difficulties were fomented by German agents and at
length the government had to ask for the recall of the Austrian
Ambassador, Dr. Dumba, and the German military and naval _attaches_
at Washington, Captain Franz von Papen and Captain Karl Boy-Ed.
Relations with the Allies, in the meantime, were far from
satisfactory. The unprecedented scale on which the war was being
fought made huge supplies of munitions, food and raw materials such as
copper and cotton absolute necessities. England was able to shut off
the direct shipment into Germany of stores having military value, but
this advantage was of little use so long as the ports of Holland and
the Scandinavian countries were open to the transit of such supplies
indirectly to Teutonic soil. When England attempted to regulate and
restrict trade with these countries, the United States was the chief
sufferer. Ships were held up and their cargoes examined-during 1915,
for example, copper valued at $5,500,000 was seized while on the way
from the United States to neutral nations. On December 26, 1914, the
United States protested against the number of vessels that were
stopped, taken into British ports and held, sometimes, for weeks; and
in reply England pointed out the large increase in the amount of
copper and other materials sent to countries near Germany, and
declared that the presumption was strong that these stores were being
forwarded to the enemy.
With her navy driven from the seas, Germany began to feel the effects
of the blockade, and accordingly turned to the submarine as the hope
for victory. On February 4, 1915, Germany declared the English channel
and the waters around Great Britain a war zone, in which enemy
merchant vessels would be destroyed "even if it may not be possible
always to save their crews and passengers." Great Britain replied on
March 11 by an order that merchant vessels going into Germany or out
of her ports, as well as merchant vessels bound for neutral countries
and carrying goods bound for the enemy, must stop at a British or
allied port. At these points the cargoes were looked over and any war
materials or goods which were regarded as "contraband" were seized.
Even though the owners were eventually reimbursed for the cargoes
taken, the delay and the interference with trade were burdensome, and
the United States accordingly protested that England was establishing
an illegal blockade and that the United States would champion the
rights of neutrals. Some slight retaliatory legislation aimed at the
Allies was passed by Congress, but for the most part interest in this
controversy died in the face of the growing irritation with Germany.
The German declaration of February 4, 1915, in regard to submarine
warfare caused an energetic protest by the United States on the ground
that an attack on a vessel made without any determination of its
belligerent character and the contraband character of its cargo would
be unprecedented in naval warfare. The American note declared Germany
would be held to a "strict accountability" for any injury to American
lives and property. Nevertheless, the results of the submarine
campaign began to appear at once, and in ten weeks sixty-three
merchant ships belonging to various nations were sunk, with a loss of
250 lives. On May 7 the United States was astounded to hear that the
passenger ship _Lusitania_ had been torpedoed, and 1,153 persons
drowned, including 114 Americans. The allied and neutral nations were
profoundly stirred, and from that moment there grew an increasing
demand in the United States for war with Germany. The President called
for a disavowal of the acts by which the _Lusitania _and other vessels
had been sunk, all possible reparation, and steps to prevent the
recurrence of such deeds.
Within a few days of the _Lusitania _catastrophe and before the
protest of our government was made public, President Wilson spoke in
Philadelphia, and in the course of his remarks said, "There is such a
thing as a man being too proud to fight." The address had no relation
to the international situation, and moreover the objectionable phrase
carried an unexpected and different meaning when separated from its
context and linked to the _Lusitania_ affair. The words were seized
upon by the President's critics, however, as an indication of the
policy of the government in the crisis and were severely condemned. On
the other hand the formal protest was received with marked
satisfaction. It was understood to be the work of Wilson himself, who
practically took over the conduct of the more important foreign
affairs. When the German government replied without meeting the
demands of the President, he framed a second note which brought the
possibility of war so near that Secretary Bryan resigned rather than
sign it.[6] A second reply merely prolonged the controversy and Wilson
thereupon renewed his demands and declared that a repetition of
submarine attacks would be regarded as "deliberately unfriendly." The
statement brought the nation appreciably nearer war, but if the
comments of the newspaper press may be relied upon as an index of
public opinion, the President had again expressed the feelings of the
people. In the meanwhile German submarine warfare was modified in the
direction desired by the United States. Instead of sinking merchant
vessels on sight and without warning, the commanders of submarines
stopped them, visited and searched them, and gave the passengers and
crews opportunity to escape. On August 19, 1915, the _Arabic _was sunk
without warning, but the German government in conformity with its new
policy disavowed the act, apologized and agreed to pay an indemnity
for American lives lost. The negotiations concerning the _Lusitania_
continued to drag on, but otherwise relations between Germany and the
United States had reached the point where peace could be maintained if
no further accident or provocation intervened.
Despite the general approval of the President's firm stand against
Germany, there was an inclination in some quarters to do everything
possible to avoid a conflict, even if the effort necessitated the
relinquishment of rights that had hitherto been well recognized. In
February, 1916, Representative McLemore introduced a resolution
requesting the President to warn American citizens to refrain from
traveling on armed belligerent vessels, whether merchantmen or
otherwise and to state that if they persisted they would do so at
their own peril. The House, according to the Speaker, was prepared to
pass the resolution. The positions taken on this subject by the
administration had not been entirely consistent, but the President was
now holding that Americans had the right under international law to
travel on such vessels and that the government could not honorably
refuse to uphold them in exercising their right. "Once accept a single
abatement of right," he asserted, "and many other humiliations would
certainly follow, and the whole fine fabric of international law might
crumble under our hands piece by piece." Moreover he felt that the
conduct of international relations lay in the hands of the executive
and that divided counsels would embarrass him in dealing with Germany.
He therefore asked the House to discuss the McLemore resolution at
once and come to a vote. Under this pressure the House gave way and
tabled the resolution, ninety-three Republicans joining with 182
Democrats against thirty-three Democrats and 102 Republicans.
On March 24 the French channel steamer _Sussex_ was sunk, with the
loss of several Americans, and the submarine issue was thus brought
forward again. The President accordingly appeared before Congress and
reviewed the entire controversy. "Again and again," he reminded his
hearers, "the Imperial German Government has given this Government its
solemn assurances that at least passenger ships would not be thus
dealt with, and yet it has again and again permitted its undersea
commanders to disregard those assurances with entire impunity." He
asserted that America had been very patient, while the toll of lives
had mounted into the hundreds, and informed Congress that he was
presenting a warning that "unless the Imperial German Government
should now immediately declare and effect an abandonment of its
present methods of warfare against passenger and freight carrying
vessels this Government can have no choice but to sever diplomatic
relations with the Government of the German Empire altogether." The
_Lusitania _notes, the _Sussex_ address and other speeches made by the
President wore read all over the United States and, indeed, throughout
a great part of the world. He was attempting the novel and daring
experiment of framing a foreign policy in public view, and was thus
becoming the recognized spokesman of the neutral world.
Our international relations were in a disturbed and critical condition
when the presidential campaign of 1916 came on. The Republicans and
the Progressives planned to meet in Chicago on June 7 for the
nomination of candidates, in the hope that the two parties might unite
upon a single nominee and platform, and thus defeat Wilson who was
sure to be the Democratic candidate. At first, however, the two wings
of the Republican party were in complete disagreement. As far as
principles went they had not thoroughly recovered from the schism of
1912. For their candidate the Progressives looked only to Roosevelt,
whom the Republicans would not have. Roosevelt himself refused to
enter any fight for a nomination and announced, "I will go further and
say that it would be a mistake to nominate me unless the country has
in its mood something of the heroic." After conferences between
Republican and Progressive leaders which failed to bring about
unanimity, the Republican convention nominated Justice Charles E.
Hughes of the Supreme Court, and the Progressives chose Roosevelt.
Hughes was a reformer by nature, recognized as a man of high
principles, courageous, able and remembered as a vigorous and popular
governor of New York.
The Republican platform called for neutrality in the European war;
peace and order in Mexico, preparedness for national defence, a
protective tariff and women's suffrage. It also advocated some of the
economic legislation favored by the-Progressives in 1912. The
Progressive platform laid most emphasis on preparation for military
defence-a navy of at least second rank, a regular army of 250,000 and
a system for training a citizen soldiery. It also urged labor
legislation, a protective tariff and national regulation of industry
and transportation. The Republican platform severely denounced the
administration, but the Progressives stated merely their own
principles.
In the course of his actions after the nomination, however, Roosevelt
indicated his belief that the public welfare demanded the defeat of
the Democrats. He declared that he did not know Hughes's opinions on
the vital questions of the day and suggested that his "conditional
refusal" be put into the hands of the National Progressive Committee
and that a statement of the Republican candidate's principles be
awaited. If these principles turned out to be satisfactory then
Roosevelt would not run; otherwise a conference could be held to
determine future action. Subsequently Roosevelt issued a declaration
expressing his satisfaction with Hughes, condemning Wilson and urging
all Progressives to join in defeating the Democrats. Such an action
would, of course, spell the doom of the Progressives as a political
organization, but he declared that the people were not prepared to
accept a new party and that the nomination of a third party candidate
would merely divide the Republicans and ensure a Democratic victory.
The action of Roosevelt commended itself to a majority of the National
Committee, but a minority were displeased and supported Wilson.
The Democrats met at St. Louis on June 14 and renominated President
Wilson in a convention marked by harmony and enthusiasm. For the first
time in many years the party could point to a record of actual
achievement and it challenged "comparisons of our record, our keeping
of pledges, and our constructive legislation, with those of any party
at any time." After recalling the chief measures passed during the
administration, the party placed itself on record as favoring labor
legislation, women's suffrage, the protection of citizens at home and
abroad, a larger army and navy and a reserve of trained citizen
soldiers.[7]
The campaign turned upon the question whether the country approved
Wilson's foreign policy, rather than upon the record of the Democratic
party and its platform of principles, and in such a contest each side
had definite advantages. As the candidate of the party which had been
in power most of the time for half a century, Hughes had the support
of the two living ex-presidents and the backing of a compact
organization with plenty of money. He had been out of the turmoil of
politics for six years as a member of the Supreme Court and hence had
not made enemies. His party was strong in the most populous portions
of the country and in the East where dissatisfaction with the
President's foreign policy was strongest. In particular the unhappy
Mexican difficulty, which has already been mentioned, had not been
settled, and it was an easy matter for Hughes to point out real or
alleged inconsistencies and mistakes in his opponent's acts. Wilson
had been elected four years before by a minority vote and had served
through a term of years that had brought forward an unusual number of
perplexing questions on which sincere men disagreed, and had,
therefore, aroused a host of enemies. On the other hand, he had the
advantage of being in power, and his supporters could urge the danger
of "swapping horses while crossing a stream." He had a foreign policy
which the people knew about, experience in the Presidency and a record
for leadership in constructive accomplishment.[8]
The particular characteristics of the campaign were mainly the results
of the activities of Hughes, Roosevelt and Wilson. In his speech
accepting the nomination Hughes attacked the record of the
administration in regard to the civil service, charged the President
with interfering in Mexican affairs without protecting American
rights, and asserted that if the government had shown Germany that it
meant what it said by "strict accountability" the Lusitania would not
have been sunk. He also announced that he favored a constitutional
amendment providing for women's suffrage. Later he made extended
stumping tours in which he reiterated his attacks on the
administration, but he disappointed his friends by failing to reveal a
constructive program. Roosevelt, meanwhile, assisted the Republican
candidate by a series of speeches, one of the earliest of which was
that of August 31, in Maine. That state held its local elections on
September 11 and it was deemed essential by both parties to make every
effort to carry it so as to have a good effect on party prospects
elsewhere. Roosevelt's speech typified his criticisms of the
administration. He declared that Wilson had ostensibly kept peace with
Mexico but had really waged war there; he asserted that the President
had shown a lack of firmness in dealing with Mexico and had kissed the
hand that slapped him in the face although it was red with the blood
of American women and children; he compared American neutrality in the
European War with the neutrality of Pontius Pilate and believed that
if the administration had been firm in its dealings with Germany there
would have been no invasion of Belgium, no sinking of vessels and no
massacres of women and children.
Wilson followed the example of McKinley in 1896 and conducted his
campaign chiefly through speeches delivered from the porch of "Shadow
Lawn," his summer residence in New Jersey. In this way he emphasized
the legislative record of the Democrats, defended his foreign policy
and attacked the Republicans as a party, although not referring to
individuals. An important part of his strategy was an attempt to
attract the Progressives to his support. He met his opponent's
vigorous complaints in regard to his attitude toward Mexico and the
European War by pressing the question as to the direction in which the
Republicans would change it. As Hughes was apparently unwilling to
urge immediate war on Germany, he could only retort that a firm
attitude in the beginning would have prevented trouble, and there the
matter rested throughout the campaign. Supporters of Wilson also
defended his foreign policy, summing up their contentions in the
phrase, "He kept us out of war."
Foreign policy as a political issue was pressed temporarily into the
background by the sudden demand of the railroad brotherhoods for
shorter hours and mote pay, threatening a nation-wide strike if their
plea was unheeded. Neither party wished to risk the labor vote by
opposing the unions, and the public did not desire a strike, much as
it deprecated the attitude of the labor leaders in threatening trouble
at this juncture. The President took the lead in pressing a program of
railroad legislation, part of which was a law granting the men what
they desired. This was immediately passed, although the remaining
recommendations were laid aside. In the House the Republicans joined
with the Democrats in putting the law through, although nearly thirty
per cent. of the members refrained from voting at all, but in the
Senate party lines were more strictly drawn. In many quarters the
President was vigorously condemned on the ground that he had
"surrendered" to a threat. Hughes joined in the dissent, but somewhat
dulled its effect by giving no evidence of opposition until the law
was passed and by stating that he would not attempt to repeal it if
elected. During the closing days of the campaign Hughes issued a
statement declaring that he looked upon the presidency as an executive
office and stated that if chosen he would consider himself the
administrative and executive head only, and not a political leader
commissioned with the responsibility of determining policies. At the
close of the campaign, also, the benefits of a protective tariff were
urged as a reason for electing Hughes.
[Illustration:
Election of 1916, by Counties]
The result of the balloting on November 7 was in doubt for several
days because the outcome hinged on the votes of California and
Minnesota, either of which would turn the scale. In the end Wilson was
found to have received 9,128,837 votes and Hughes, 8,536,380. The vote
in the electoral college was 277 to 254. The outcome was remarkable in
several respects. Each candidate received a larger popular vote than
had ever before been cast; Wilson won without New York or any of the
other large eastern states, finding his support in the South and the
Far West; each side was able to get satisfaction from the result, the
Republicans because their party schism was sufficiently healed to
enable them to divide the House of Representatives evenly with their
opponents, and the Democrats because their candidate was successful in
states which elected Republican senators and governors by large
majorities.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
In the nature of the case, any bibliography which concerns the events
of so recent and important a period is of temporary value only. Ogg
presents an excellent one, but many important volumes have been
printed since 1917, his date of publication.
A reliable account of the chief events is contained in the _American
Year Book_. The numerous biographies of President Wilson are written
under the difficult conditions that surround the discussion of recent
events. Available ones are: E.C. Brooks, _Woodrow Wilson as President_
(1916), eulogistic, but contains extracts from speeches; W.B. Hale,
_Woodrow Wilson, The Story of His Life_ (1912); H.J. Ford, _Woodrow
Wilson_ (1916); A.M. Low, _Woodrow Wilson, an Interpretation_ (1918),
a friendly and substantial analysis by an English newspaper
correspondent; W.B. Dodd, _Woodrow Wilson and His Work_ (1920),
sympathetic, written in the spirit of the investigator, and the best
life up to the time of its publication. Better than any biography is a
careful study of Wilson's addresses and speeches, editions of which
have been prepared by A.B. Hart, J.B. Scott, A. Shaw and others.
Periodical literature concerning the legislative program of the first
Wilson administration is especially abundant. On the tariff, in
addition to Taussig, consult: _Quarterly Journal of Economics_ (1913),
"The Tariff Act of 1913"; _Journal of Political Economy_ (1914), "The
Tariff of 1913." On the federal reserve system, _Political Science
Quarterly_ (1914), "Federal Reserve System"; _Quarterly Journal of
Economics_ (1914), "Federal Reserve Act of 1913"; _American Economic
Review_ (1914), "Federal Reserve Act"; _Journal of Political Economy_
(1914), "Banking and Currency Act of 1913"; H.P. Willis, _The Federal
Reserve_ (1915); E.W. Kemmerer, _The A B C of the Federal Reserve
System_ (1918). On the anti-trust acts, _Political Science Quarterly_
(1915), "New Anti-Trust Acts"; _Quarterly Journal of Economics_
(1914), "Trust Legislation of 1914"; _American Economic Review_
(1914), "Trade Commission Act." For the early stages of the European
conflict see the references under Chapter XXV.
The best accounts of the election of 1916 are in the _American Year
Book_, and in Ogg. Other readable accounts are: _Nineteenth Century_
(Dec., 1916), "The Re-Election of President Wilson"; W.E. Dodd,
_Woodrow Wilson_ (1920).
* * * * *
[1] The cabinet, 1913-1920, was as follows: Secretary of State, W.J.
Bryan (to 1915), R. Lansing (to 1920), B. Colby; Secretary of the
Treasury, W.G. McAdoo, C. Glass, D.F. Houston; Secretary of War, L.M.
Garrison, N.D. Baker; Attorney-General, J.C. McReynolds, T.W. Gregory,
A.M. Palmer; Postmaster-General, A.S. Burleson; Secretary of the Navy,
J. Daniels; Secretary of the Interior, F.K. Lane, J.B. Payne;
Secretary of Commerce, W.C. Redfield, J.W. Alexander; Secretary of
Labor, W.B. Wilson.
[2] On Apr. 23, 1920, the amount of federal reserve notes outstanding
was $3,068,307,000.
[3] On Apr. 23, 1920, the reserves deposited by member banks reached a
total of $2,083,568,000.
[4] The Commission superseded the Bureau of Corporations.
[5] The appointment of Louis D. Brandeis to the Supreme Court brought
to that body a well-known proponent of the newer types of social and
economic theory. At first the opposition to confirming his nomination
in the Senate, based upon certain facts in his career and allegations
concerning them, was uncommonly pronounced. Dissent diminished,
however, in the face of investigation, and the nomination was
confirmed by a large majority on June 1, 1916.
[6] Bryan remained in sympathy with the administration in other
respects, and aided in the campaign of 1916.
[7] Despite Roosevelt's refusal to run, the Progressive
Vice-Presidential candidate continued the campaign. The Socialist
Labor party, the Socialist party and the Prohibitionists also
presented candidates.
[8] The Republican campaign fund was $2,445,421 contributed by 34,205
persons; the Democratic fund, $1,808,348 given by 170,000 persons.