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Show I HAS PRESIDENT WILSON FULLY RECOVERED YET Correspondence in Connection i".; With Retirement of Lansing ,l' Suggests Question. ; ' , (Editorial from Dcscrct News of February 14.) In the light of the summary dismissal dis-missal of his secretary of state yesterday, yester-day, the first thought with many of tho American people will be that if th'e President's breakdown last fall was not more serious than the public were allowed to believe, at least his recovery has not been as complete as has been advertised. The sharp correspondence cor-respondence between he and Mr. Lansing Lan-sing discloses on his part a jealousy, a petulance and a lack of poise quite incomparable with the usual processes of his mind. It is inconcicvable that the sensational breach now laid bare could have originated in the harmless and perfectly natural act of the secretary sec-retary of state in convening tho department de-partment heads in the absence of their bedridden chief. For the latter to seize upon this as a pretext for demanding de-manding the secretary's resignation is to say the least, indigenous and a begging of the question. From tho interchange of notes thus far published, pub-lished, Mr. Lansing emerges with Tather the better of tho main argument; argu-ment; his possible mistake was, as he himself concedes, in retaining his portfolio after he became aware that his relations with tho President were not, and, could not be, as harmonious as they should. In this he was not quite loyal, nor did ho show good judgment, for ho might have known that thereafter his moves would not be free from suspicion, nor his motives, mo-tives, no matter how sound and gen-' gen-' t'fous, be always above reproach. WlL-' "Wh" the President has fit all times Tr tho power to dispenso with the ser vices of an advisor whoso saga'city ! lie doubts and whose decisions ho feels obliged to ignore, it is regarded as tho courteous thing for such advisor to take tho initiative in retiring. To tho extent that Mr. Lansing failed in this opportunity, he cannot bo held without blame in the present incident. The public may, or may not, bo given a further insight into tho actual ac-tual causes that have lead up to" the j final break. Such information would' be welcome, as it would tend to clear ( many obscurities and contradictions that exist with respect to the Amcr- icon1 part in tho treaty-making in, Paris last winter and spring. For this estrangement dates back much( further than tho President's sickness, ' last autumn. However, he is under no obligation to impart it in connection connec-tion with tho present rupture, and Mr. Lansing is obviously restrained from doing so. Tho President's advisors ad-visors nre answerable to him, as he is responsible for their nets and policies pol-icies when he mnkes them his own.; He may remove them at will, or shift j them from one post to nnother, as lie has recently done. Their privatoi 1 grievances against him arc not gens' gen-s' c'rnlly regarded as matters of public interest or importance, and any attempt at-tempt to exploit them usually recoils! against the parties who may fancy, themselves nggrioved. However, tho nation's diplomacy during tho past year and a quarter is at present under searching scrutiny, that the desire for. further light on the subject is easily understandable and is entirely genuine. |