Show I Lansing's R Resignation s 1 CE bet between President Wilson Ilson an and d A Secretary of State Robert Lansing with the at attending at- at tending indin resignation of or the cabinet officer merely confirms confirms con- con firms a public suspicion which has hns existed for months J Ever vcr since the Bull Bullitt tt testimony before an investigating inS ing i g committee of the legis branch was offered t Ibe break between President Wilson and Secretary Lansing has bas been considered inevitable It will tiIE be remembered that Secretary Lansing was accredited with statements questioning tho the wisdom of certain decisions with reference to the thc league of nations arrived at in the ParisI Paris conference The fhe statements were never denied denic nor 1101 did the secretary make an effort to confirm them Notwithstanding the fact fat that the assertions asser- asser tons accredited to Mr rr Lansing were in direct conflict b with ith the determination of tho the President there was nothing noth noth- ing di disloyal loyal or unpatriotic in iii them As a matter of fact act they were of a n high patriotic order sounding the thc dangers besetting the thc path of America It was here that Mr Lansin Lansing made his greatest mistake mistake mistake mis mis- take conceding with the Wilson Pilson program when ho j felt idt the course coin contral contrary to the welfare of this nation The Tue United States of America is bigger big than any uny one I man inan and should come first in the tho allegiance of the citizen cit- cit I zen izen be he lie official or private individual Personal loyally loy- loy tHy ally becomes despicable when it demands what the tho sub sub- party regards an act against his liis country But Butr r this is largely a matter mater for the conscience to decide since the act ma may be a question of opinion Mr Wilsons Wilson's pro program m may have ha been the essence of wisdom but Mr 1 Lan Lansing ing did not believe it On the contrary he lC felt that it involved the sacrifice of American American Amer Amer- ican rights He should have e made his choice then he should have refused to be a party to any aILY program that t he e felt fell threatened the future of his country Something than the majority de decision ision was ras involved since Mr Lansing sensed harmful in the action something pro pro- i posed This ho however ve er is not the issue on which the correspondence js based f I I 1 Unlike many documents recording past changes in inv n v the thc Presidents President's cabinet the Lans Wilson Lansing Vilson correspondence correspond correspond- ence elice is us clear and frank The c case c is fully presented and the public is ih in a n good position to Jo draw its iti own conclusions con- con elusions Mr Ir Wilsons Vilson's complaint int is based on cabinet c-abinet meetings held during his illness declaring that the see sec 1 tary ri-tary of state usurped l the tile presidential prerogatives in calling the cabinet together tog for informal sessions To be 10 consistent he should call for forthe the res resignations ons of or tho tim other cabinet members who participated in the sessions Surely the they verc re not puppets in jn the hands o of Mr Lansing Lan- Lan sing The Tle public generally will hold no will will iII for Mr Lansing fur for the part he took in the cabinet conferences conference as an any other cour course e would have meant a cessation in inthe the the thc functioning of our government The Thc President was unable to attend to his duties and md lack of stamina probably ably prevented the tile vice ice president from taking ling over O the duties h which th naturally lly devolved ed upon him in this emergency In this predicament the Ule ranking member of f. f the he cabinet did id the only wise thing to be d done clone ne The country outry could not be expected c to mark time until the I President recovered Much time has Ims been lost d despite the tile emergency precautions taken but the public will not condemn Mr Lansin Lansing solely for the part he played in forestalling a complete tc breakdown down in our government t. t f- f No 10 doubt Mr 1 Lansing ser served serJ J the tile President better belter than Je lie e knew for CO Congress would never ne have e permitted the o which President Wilson now seems to think should have been ben followed 4 4 |