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Show THOMAS A. EDISON WILSON SUPPORTER American Genius, Always Republican, Re-publican, Puts Patriotism Above Party in Declaring for the President. (By George Creel.) Some weeks alter the two conventions, conven-tions, I interviewed Thomas A. Edison on industrial preparedness, a movement move-ment to which he has been giving much of his time and thought. Something Some-thing that he said gave very plain indication in-dication of his admiration of Wood-row Wood-row Wilson, and although I knew that he always had been a Republican, I ventured to ask him whother or not he had "made up his mind" between Mr. Wilson and Mr. Hughes. "Not yet" He shook his head Impatiently. Im-patiently. "Wait until we see what this man Hughes has got to offer." On the day of Mr. Hughes' final speech in California, the wind-up of his coast-to-coast campaign tour, I made a second trip to .West Orange. "Well, Mr. Edison," I began, "I " "Wait a minute," he interrupted. Leaning back so as to gain ingress, he pushed his hand into his trousers pocket the old-fashioned kind that opens at the top, not the side and drew out a bunch of crumpled yellow paper. "There!" he said. "Everything's right there." I smoothed them out four or five sheets torn from a cheap tablet all written over in pencil, the writing firm and curiously like old English print. Glancing through them, I saw that he had merely Jotted down a number of flat statements of political belief. "But what about a discussion of these issues, Mr. Edison?" I urged, "The people o the United States feel that you " "Shucks!" With his fingers he wiggled wig-gled the compliment away from him. "I say that I'm for Woodrow Wilson. I say it because I feel that It's up to every man In times like these to take a position. But, pshaw!" He shook his head. "It's just my opinion." "Mr. Edison has always been a Republican," Re-publican," suggested W. L. Saunders, the mining engineer, who was present; pres-ent; "and " "Don't put in anything about party," Mr. Edison caught the suggestion and dissented vigorously. "Times are too serious to talk in terms of Republicanism Republic-anism or Democracy. Parties are all right. Reckon we've got to have them with our system of government But when It's America that's at stake, men have got to vote as Americans, and not aB Democrats or Republicans. Many Big Problems to Solve. "This man Wilson has had a mighty hard time of It," he continued. "I don't believe there was ever a president presi-dent who had as many big questions to decide, as many big problems to solve. One has followed the other, and now and then they have come in bunches. He hasn't always pleased me, Just as I suppose he hasn't always pleased other people, but when you look the record, over, it's so good that criticism comes close to being nothing noth-ing more than cheap fault finding. "A fool or a coward would have had the United States in all sorts of trouble. trou-ble. As it is, we are at peace, the country was never more prosperous, and we have the strength that comes with honor and integrity of purpose." "So you don't agree with these people peo-ple who insist that the United States has earned the contempt of the world?" I asked. "Bosh! Neutrality Is a mighty trying try-ing policy, but back of it are International Interna-tional law, the rights of humanity and the whole future of civilization. Wilson Wil-son has won victories by diplomacy that are far more Important to mankind man-kind than any vlmtories that we could have won by war. I am no pacifist. I believe that there are times when a nation has got to fight. But war for the sake of war, or war for purposes of conquest Is horrible and unthinkable." unthink-able." "As I said at the start," he continued, contin-ued, "it has just been one big thing after another with Wilson. I have never known so many dangerous questions ques-tions brought up for decision to any one president. Look at the general railroad strike that piled up on top of Mexico and all the other things. Why, if carried through, such a strlko would throw the whole country into confusion, and would prove a calamity calam-ity that, in certain eventualities, would have disastrous results bound to oxtend over a long period of time. I think he rose to the occasion splendidly, splen-didly, Just as he has risen to every other occasion that called for courage and wisdom, and Is doing the best he can. "In my opinion, Mr. Hughes, if president, pres-ident, would have found it difllcult to decide on the best course for the government gov-ernment to take In such matters. His capacity for hindsight, as we learn from his speeches, Is highly devel-opened, devel-opened, but as to his foresight, we are not equally well informed." Working all day and far into the night, as he does, the wonder is that Mr. Edison finds time to do any read- ' ing at all. And yet it is almost Impossible Im-possible to touch upon any current subject with which he is not familiar. "They say Wilson has blundered." Ho raised both hands to drive home his point. "Perhaps he has. But I notice that he usually blunders FORWARD." FOR-WARD." He rocked on his heels for a second, sec-ond, and then, even as his hands reached out to take some papers from a secretary, he finished with this declaration: dec-laration: "Mr. Wilson has now had about four : years of experience, and I think that - he has earned faith and trust. I do I not think It a logical or sensible thing I to change to an inexperienced and un- H ' tried man Just for the sake of change, H or without much better reason being H : given for the change than any I have H noticed, U "Roosevelt was my choice. He had B s had experience, and is one of the best Americans. But tho machine-con- II ' trolled Republican party would not H have him. Therefore, 1 am for Wood- ,! row Wilson." m i " I! |
