ident of the revolt against the Payne-Aldrich tariff
and the break in the Republican Party had been the internal revolution
in the House of Representatives, taking away from the Speaker the power
of controlling legislation which he had for some time enjoyed, and
which would have been a serious obstacle to Presidential leadership
such as Wilson had in mind. Moreover, the activity of Cleveland and
Roosevelt had shown the public that even in time of peace an energetic
President had a much wider field of action than most Presidents had
attempted to cover, and the more recent example of Taft had increased
the demand for a President who would act, would not leave action to
those men around him who "knew exactly what they wanted."

_Early Accomplishments of Administration_

_Underwood-Simmons tariff, establishing the lowest average of
duties in seventy-five years, enacted October 3, 1913._

_Federal Reserve act, organizing the banking system and stabilizing
the currency, December 23, 1913._

_Clayton Anti-Trust law._

_Creation of Federal Trade Commission._

_Repeal of Panama Canal tolls exemption._

_End of dollar diplomacy._

_Negotiation of a treaty (never ratified) with Colombia to satisfy
the Colombian claim in Panama._

There were, however, two great obstacles to the operation of Mr.
Wilson's theory. The first was constitutional. In Europe the Premier
who directs the legislative policy of the Government is answerable not
only in Parliament but to the people whenever his policy has ceased, or
seems to have ceased, to command public confidence. The President of
the United States finishes out his term, no matter how bad his
relations with Congress or how general his unpopularity among the
people. The check upon his leadership, as Mr. Wilson presently
realized, could come only at the end of his term, when the President as
a candidate for re-election came before the public for approval or
rejection. So, even before his first inauguration, Mr. Wilson had
written to A. Mitchell Palmer, then a Congressman, expressing
disapproval, quite aside from any personal connection with the issue,
of the proposal to restrict the President to a single term. That had
been a plank in the Democratic platform of the year before; already it
was apparent that this phase of the party's program would have to be
sacrificed in order to make the party leader responsible in the true
sense for th