THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1916. THE AMERICAN ELECTION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16382, 9 November 1916, Page 6

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1916. THE AMERICAN ELECTION.

The defeat of Mr. Wilson in the American presidential elections will not be regretted throughout the British world on among the Allied peoples. Without expecting anything from his successful rival we may at least hope that Mr. Hughes will have a greater sense of national dignity and will in some measure seek to make the policy of Washington less of a by-word among the nations of the earth. Mr. Wilson secured office in 1912-13, not by the franchises of a majority of American electors, but by the voting of a minority which secured an electoral victory owing to the action of seceders from the Republican Party who refused to support Mr-. Taft and were organised into the Progressive Par.j by the energy of A-r. Roosevelt. This faction quarrel has latterly been smoothed over, both Mr. Taft and Mr. Roosevelt uniting to support Mr. Hughes. Ever. endeavour has been made by the managers of both th'e opposing parties to avoid discussion upon the European question and to confine the campaign to domestic issues. Mr. Hughes has been sphynx-like as to the war, while Mr. Wilson has said as little as possible in defence of his international policy, but prominent supporters of the respective candidates have not been so guarded. Prominent among the champions of the retiring president have been notorious pro-Ger-mans like Mr. Bryan and Mr. Ford, whose professed humanitarianism | has been the thin disguise of their constant activity in the GermanAmerican interest. On the other hand, Mr. Hughes has been worked for by Mr. Taft, who has been unqualified in his indictment of Ger-man-Americanism and its pretensions, and by Mr. Roosevelt, who is the most bitter critic of German methods and American indifference to be found in the United States. If we may judge the presidential candidates from the political company they have kept during the political campaign, the cause of European liberty i 9 far from being a loser by the approaching change in American administration.

The preposterous claim that the German-Americans were striving to oust Mr. Wilson from office because of his attitude upon various war questions may be confidently ascribed to the desire of the Democratic Party organisers to persuade American electors that he has been a very firm and uncompromising president. If the German-Americans threatened to take such a course it would only be with the idea that they might thereby put pressure upon the Washington Government. Mr. Wilson has very successfully maintained a most complete neutrality, doing as little, to prevent the torpedoing at sea of unarmed merchantmen as to interfere with the Allied blockade, but he has thereby made no friends and earned no respect. He has been sii'.nt when he should have spoken, voluble when he might well have been silent, pretentious on paper and complacent in his amazing self-satisfaction. The Germans must certainly wish for an American president who would be more active than Mr. Wilson* has been in assisting their intrigues, but it is inconceivable that they can hope for action on their behalf from a candidate for whom Mr Roosevelt has been fighting tooth and nail. The one noteworthy indication of opinion given by Mr. Hughes was his endorsation of a speech made by Mr. Roosevelt in which speech proGerman Americans were unsparingly denounced ; this drew a repudiation of German-American support from Mr. Wilson. We may take all this for what it is worth, but it is ridiculous to ask us to believe «that the German- Americans have assisted to get rid of Mr. Wilson and to inaugurate Mr. Hughes.

At the same time, there is no good reason why w e should

anticipate any marked change in the American national policy -when Mr. Hughes takes office in March next. The Americans as a whole undoubtedly consider themselves very fortunately situated, even though every intelligent and thoroughly naturalised American understands quite well that if Germany broke • and conquered the Great Alliance, the next war she would prepare for would be one with the United States. They do not concern themselves with any fine principles or profound consideration. They are immersed in money-making and display the contempt of the parvenu for everything else. They are more indignant that we should assert our right to buy from whom we choose and should refuse to allow them to make a profit by acting as transhippers to us of enemy goods than they have been at the violation of Belgian independence, at the torpedoing of merchant ships or at any other outrage upon international law. We have many good friends in the United States, but Germany ha 9 many more friends much more active ; the great mass of the American people are indifferent or only casually interested, while Mr. Wilson deliberately abstained from making the protest against the German attack upon innocent Belgium — as from giving emphatic warning against lawless submariningwhich Mr. Roosevelt claims would have, been made by a Republican Administration, and would have roused among the American people " the stern enthusiasm of strong men for the right."