Life, 1917-04-19 · page 16 of 42
Life — April 19, 1917 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine page defends President Wilson's fitness as a wartime leader against recent criticism. The text references columnist Mr. Gilbert's earlier Tribune piece questioning whether Wilson—described as overly intellectual and refined—lacked the primitive aggression necessary for war leadership. The article cites Wilson's reluctance over the Vera Cruz incident as evidence of his unsuitability. However, the author argues Wilson's apparent pacifism reflects principle, not cowardice. Soldiers themselves often hate war most. Crucially, Wilson has now committed his will to war, and once resolved, he will prosecute it effectively—he's neither inefficient nor timid. Ambassador Gerard apparently affirmed Wilson would make an excellent war president. The small cartoon "A Sight Draft" appears to be unrelated satire. The "Great Americans" caption ironically references a sermon on humility (the meaning unclear without context).
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
676 Mr. Wilson As a Fighter HERE has been a good deal of doubt about President Wilson’s qualifications as a fighting man. War with guns and soldiers has seemed not to he his line. Mr. Gilbert, who writes from Washington to the Tribune, re- marked not long ago that “ War is the most primitive thing in the world, and Mr. Wilson is the least primitive man who ever sat in the White House.” Very likely that is so. Mr. Gilbert thought that Mr. Wilson had all the primitive lust of physical combat re- fined out of him and could not make up his mind to go to war, and so his Cabinet was making his decision for him. Mr. Gilbert recalled Vera Cruz, and how hard Mr. Wilson took it that some American bluejackets were killed there. We often think of that. All the same, he makes his own decisions. Tt seems a hard case, the scholar face to face with war, and no appetite for it, and his blood running against it! And yet Mr. Wilson is not alone in having had “all the primitive lust of physical combat refined out of him.” That is a common condition. Never was war so abhorred as this war is abhorred, A SIGHT DRAFT PE eee GREAT AMERICANS THE REV, DR. MEEKAN LOWLEIGH, WHO PREACHED THAT BEAUTIFUL SERMON ON HUMILITY and the people who hate it worst are to be found among those who are fight- ing in it and have dedicated themselves to fighting it through. They see in it a war against war, and they feel that they must win it or perish. Mr. Wilson has never been backward in doing what he wanted to do. His backwardness has all been about work- ing against his will. His will has been against war. But now it is for it, A great change in his deportment may be looked for as a consequence of this change of mind. He is not an ineffi- cient man: far from it. Neither is he timid. Mr. Gerard declared the other day, after seeing him, that he would make a great war President. That is what we want him to be, and what we hope to see him become. His will is now for war, and he will work to wage it.