appointed to the " Vernon," the torpedo school-ship at Ports-
mouth. Having reached the rank of captain in 1880, he took part
in 1881 in the operations against Alexandria and in 1884 won
the Victoria Cross for bravery at El Teb. He became rear-
admiral in 1895, was appointed Third Sea Lord and Controller
of the Navy in 1897, and in 1901 became Vice-Admiral, receiv-
ing the K.C.B. in 1902. From 1901 to 1903 he commanded the
Channel Squadron, and from 1903 to 1907 was Commander-in-
chief of the Home and Channel Fleets. Ln 1907 he was promoted
by Order in Council to the rank of Admiral of the Fleet, and in
1909 was appointed First Sea Lord in succession to Lord Fisher.
He retired in 1912, and received the Order of Merit. He died at
Swaffham May 25 1921.
Wilson was from the early 'nineties till practically the end of
his life the most universally respected figure in the British navy.
Himself the most unassuming man, careless of honours (he
refused a peerage) and indeed of his personal appearance, he was
a scientific sailor of the highest type, and a recognized master of
strategy and tactics, whose advice, in and out of office, carried
. the greatest weight. He had no party, no favourites, and did
not advertise. He was a silent man, whom everyone trusted;
and during the World War he was still a power behind the
Admiralty, and the ungrudging servant of his country.
WILSON, SIR CHARLES RIVERS (1831-1916), English public
official, son of Melvil Wilson, was born in 1831, and educated at
Eton and Balliol College, Oxford. He entered the Treasury in
1856, was private secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer
(Robert Lowe) 1868-73, and was Royal Commissioner for the
Paris Exhibition of 1878, having been already appointed Comp-
troller General of Office for Reduction of National Debt in
1874. Whilst holding this position, he visited Egypt in 1876
and early in 1878 was selected as vice-president of the Commis-
sion to enquire into the Egyptian financial situation. Some
months later he was nominated Financial Minister in Egypt
and, in 1879, he and the Prime Minister, Nubar Pasha, were the
victims of a serious outrage by the mob in the streets of Cairo
an incident which was the direct precursor of the Arabi revolt
and the British occupation of Egypt in 1882. In April 1880, on
the fall of the Khedive Ismail and the inauguration of his son
Tewfik as Khedive, Rivers Wilson was appointed president of
the Commission for the Liquidation of the Egyptian Debt, with
full powers to regulate the financial position of Egypt. On the
conclusion of this duty he returned to his post in London, and
in March 1885 he became joint British Representative on the
Suez Canal Board. On retiring from his post as Comptroller
General of the National Debt Office in 1894, he became in 1895
president of the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada. He was
created a K.C.M.G. in 1880 and was promoted G.C.M.G. in
1895. He died on Feb. 9 1916.
WILSON, SIR HENRY HUGHES, BART. (1864- ), British
Field-Marshal, was born in Ireland May 5 1864, and joined the
army in 1884. He served in the field in Burma between 1886
and 1888, and was wounded. After some years on the staff
at home he went out with the expeditionary force to S. Africa \
in -1899, and he served there, first with the Natal army, and I
afterward at headquarters till the end of 1900. The period from
1901 to 1906 he spent at the War Office, and after 1904, in which
year he was promoted colonel, he had much to do with working
out the organization of the newly created general staff. He
then became commandant of the Staff College, a position which
he occupied until 1910, when he was appointed Director of
Military Operations. In this latter capacity he got into close j
touch with high French military authorities, and gave special i
attention to the study of strategical possibilities in the event of
war with Germany. He was promoted Major-General in 1913. !
On mobilization in Aug. 1914 he was appointed deputy-chief
of the general staff to the expeditionary force, and he served in |
that position for the first five months of the struggle, after which |
he became principal liaison officer between British and French
headquarters in the field. He was given the K.C.B., and at :
the end of 1915 he took up command of the IV. Army Corps; i.
this he held until the opening of 1917 when he went out as head I
of a military mission to Russia, returning just before the revolu- I
tion. He was promoted Lt.-General on his return and was theft I
in charge of the eastern command until Nov., when he was sent
to Versailles to act as British Military Representative on the I
newly established Supreme War Council. In the following Feb. I
he succeeded Sir W. Robertson as Chief of the Imperial General
Staff. The great German offensive of March took place almost I
immediately after his taking up this high appointment, and he |
played a prominent part in the steps taken to strengthen Sir D. I
Haig's forces. The friendly terms on which he stood with the , ,
French supreme authorities, no less than with the Home Gov-
ernment, contributed materially to ensure that cooperation be- !
tween the Allies which so greatly assisted in giving victory to
their cause. He had been promoted General soon after taking :
up the appointment, and on the final distribution of honours for |
the war he was promoted Field-Marshal, was given a baronetcy, [i
and received a grant of 10,000. In December 1921, however, j
he resigned his position at the War Office (being succeeded by I
Lord Cavan); and soon afterwards he ranged himself with the \
supporters of the Northern Irish Parliament in Ulster of which
he was elected a member.
WILSON, JOHN COOK (1849-1915), English philosopher,
was born at Nottingham June 6 1849. He was educated at 1
Derby and at Balliol College, Oxford, and in 1874 was elected to
a fellowship at Oriel College. After graduating, he studied
logic under Hermann Lotze at Gottingen. Returning to Oxford,
he became well-known as a lecturer and in 1889 was appointed I >
Wykeham professor of Logic. He died at Oxford Aug. n 1915.
Among his publications were Aristotelian Studies (1879, repub-
lished 1912) ; lectures on Axioms, on Plato's Timaeus (1889) and
on the Traversing of Geometrical Figures (1905).
WILSON, WOODROW (1856- ), twenty-eighth president
of the United States, was born in Staunton, Va., Dec. 28 1856.
He was baptized with the name of Thomas Woodrow Wilson. I
The Scotch strain predominated in his ancestry, for his paternal
grandfather came from county Down, in Ulster, and his maternal
grandfather, Thomas Woodrow, a graduate of Glasgow Univer- 1
sity, from Scotland. The stern Presbyterianism of his father, a
minister of small means but marked capacity as a theologian,
early influenced him and left an indelible mark upon his charac-
ter. His early years were spent in Georgia and South Carolina,
where he was deeply affected by the sufferings of the South during
the reconstruction period. In 1875 he entered Princeton, grad-
uating four years later. His record for scholarship in college
was not remarkable, but he was prominent in debating and
literary circles, and became student director of athletic sport.
WILSON, WOODROW
1017
His most notable achievement was an article written in his
senior year, and published in the International Review, which
analyzed unfavourably the procedure of Congress and formed
the basis of his more mature political principles. After study-
ing law in the University of Virginia and following a brief
attempt to practice in Atlanta, he decided to pursue his studies
in government and history at Johns Hopkins University, where
he received the degree of Ph.D. in 1886. His thesis, entitled
Congressional Government and published in 1885, was a develop-
ment of the attack upon Congressional methods, and because of
its clear and felicitous expression has been reprinted many times.
[n that year * he began his teaching career at Bryn Mawr College,
where he was associate professor of History and Political Econ-
omy until 1888; after two years as professor of the same at
Wesleyan, he entered the Princeton Faculty in 1890 as pro-
fessor of Jurisprudence and Political Economy. With slight
:hanges in title he served in this capacity until 1902, when he
aecame president of Princeton. As professor he rapidly achieved
distinction. His lectures were remarkable for clarity of presenta-
tion and brilliancy of phrasing, and the same qualities character-
.zed both his addresses and his published writings. His gift
s for generalization rather than plodding scholarship, and
ifter the publication of his thesis his happiest literary efforts
vere in essay form. They display keen critical capacity, but
ire not remarkable either for erudition or for striking creative
X)wer. As president of Princeton, Mr. Wilson devoted himself
:o serious reforms of the educational and social habits of the
mdergraduates. In the hope of elevating the standards of
cholarship and of increasing the efficiency of instruction, he
naugurated in 1905 the "preceptorial system," designed through
mall classes to bring teachers and students into the most inti-
nate relationship. In his endeavours to democratize the social
ife of the university he met determined opposition. Further
lifficulties developed from a disagreement with the dean of the
graduate College. Mr. Wilson's policies aroused warm con-
roversy among alumni, faculty, and undergraduates.
t While at Princeton, both as professor and as president, Mr.
[Vilson displayed great interest in political questions of the day,
Lnd through his addresses and articles speedily won a national
[eputation. In Sept. 1910 he was tendered the Democratic
jiomination for governor of New Jersey. The offer coming at
[he moment when the prospects for success of his policy at
Princeton seemed most discouraging, secured his ready accept-
l.nce. Resigning his academic position he entered upon an active
jlectoral campaign which won him the support of progressive
lements throughout the state, despite the fact that his candi-
Lacy had been inaugurated largely under the auspices of the con-
jervative Col. George Harvey (afterwards U.S. ambassador to
kreat Britain) and the Democratic state boss, Senator James
Imith. In Nov. he was elected by a plurality of 49,000, votes,
le at once made it plain that he intended, regardless of the
rotes ts of machine leaders, to fulfil his liberal pledges and would
.ssume the leadership of the party for this purpose. As governor he
uccessf ully carried through a series of reform measures. Of these
She most significant were: a Direct Primaries Law, which, supple-
aented by an effective Corrupt Practices Act, did much to
[mrify the political atmosphere of New Jersey; an Employers'
Liability Act; the creation of a Public Utilities Commission;
eform in municipal administration, making possible the adop-
jion of the commission form of government. Elections to the
Uate Senate and Assembly in 1911 gave the Republicans a ma-
[ arity in both Houses and the legislative output was curtailed.
Nevertheless his final activities as governor were characterized
ly the impetus which he gave to the passage of a series of bills,
.nown as the Seven Sisters, directed to the protection of the
'Ublic from exploitation by trusts.
When in June 1912 the Democratic National Convention met
j t Baltimore to choose a candidate for President, Mr. Wilson's
! eputation as an effective reformer had brought his name prom-
1 In 1885 he married Ellen Louise Axson of Savannah, Ga., who
ied in 1914, leaving three daughters. On Dec. 18 1915, he married
.ililh Boiling Gait of Washington, D.C.
inently before the delegates. The convention was apparently
controlled by conservative elements and there seemed little
chance of the nomination of an anti-machine progressive. But as
the struggle to secure the necessary two-thirds vote proceeded,
with the conservative forces divided between Champ Clark,
Harmon, and Underwood, Mr. W. J. Bryan, leader of the pro-
gressive elements threw his dominating influence in favour of Mr.
Wilson. It proved decisive, and on the 46th ballot he was nom-
inated, July 2 1912. In the campaign that followed he voiced
popular discontent with the conservatism of the Republican
administration, which he believed to have been too closely allied
with the interests of " privileged big business." His campaign
speeches, characterized by a striking phraseology, won much
applause, but were remarkable for their high moral tone rather
than for originality of thought or policy. Like Roosevelt he
demanded a national renaissance of ideals. In matters of im-
mediate concern, such as the tariff, trust regulation, currency,
the interests of labour, he insisted that the " rule of justice and
right " must be set up. As regarded the future, in matters of
conservation and trade, he asserted that great opportunities had
been lost through the interlacing of privilege and private advan-
tage with the framework of existing laws: " we must effect a great
readjustment and get the forces of the whole people once more
into play." His radicalism was of a mild sort and he insisted
that " we need no revolution, we need no excited change; we
need only a new point of view and a new method and spirit of
counsel." The popular temper was responsive to such a tone,
but success in large measure could hardly have come to him
except for the division of Republican forces through the cam-
paign of Theodore Roosevelt as Progressive candidate. In the
Nov. election Mr. Wilson received 435 electoral votes as against
88 for Roosevelt and 8 for Taft; but his popular vote was a
million less than that of his two chief opponents, and in only
14 states (all in the South) did he receive a clear majority.
Despite the fact that he was the choice of a minority of the
whole people, Mr. Wilson's political position when he assumed
office on March 4 1913 was one of remarkable strength. He was
supported by a Democratic majority in both Houses of Congress,
the Republicans were at loggerheads, and he might expect sup-
port from the Progressives for much of his reforming legislative
programme. His Cabinet was not distinguished, but it con-
tained certain elements of political and administrative strength,
which proved advantageous for the moment, although later it
was to become the mark for bitter criticism. The President soon
made it plain that he was determined, as in his governorship
of New Jersey, to exercise his personal influence and his position
as head of the party to initiate and carry through the legislation
he had advocated in his campaign. His ascendancy in Congress
was soon established. After convoking both Houses in special
session on April 7 1913, he delivered his first message in person,
reviving the custom that had lapsed since the administration
(1797) of the elder Adams. He intervened constantly during
this and later sessions, to further the legislation in which he
was especially interested.
The first important piece of legislation that resulted from
the special session was the Underwood Tariff Act, which was
passed in Sept. and signed by the President Oct. 3 1913. It
provided for a notable downward revision and naturally met
strong opposition from varied industrial interests. Such opposi-
tion was overcome largely through the personal efforts of Mr.
Wilson, who appealed constantly to public sentiment, notably
in an attack upon the activities of hostile lobbyists. The
Tariff Act, in addition to lower duties and important adminis-
trative changes, introduced an income tax long advocated by
Democrats which was destined in later developments to
counterbalance the loss of revenue resulting from the lowering
of the tariff; it weighed heavily upon the industrial interests of
the North and increased the growing unpopularity of the Presi-
dent in that region. The Tariff Act was followed by a broad
measure of currency reform, the Federal Reserve Act, signed
Dec. 23 1913; it is generally regarded as the administration's
second great "legislative triumph. Mr. Wilson's purpose was to
ioi8
WILSON, WOODROW
supplant the dictatorship of private banking institutions by a
reorganization that should provide funds available to meet
extraordinary demands and a currency that would expand and
contract automatically. Early in 1914 the President called
upon Congress to continue its labours of reform by the regula-
tion of the trusts. After long debate and warm opposition, his
appeal was answered by the passing of the Federal Trade Com-
mission Act and the Clayton Anti-trust Act. The latter, be-
sides perfecting anti-trust legislation in several ways, met the
demands of labour by declaring that labour was not a commod-
ity, by prohibiting injunctions in labour disputes unless neces-
sary to prevent irreparable injury, and by proclaiming that
strikes and boycotts were not violations of Federal law. It
further exempted labour associations from the anti-trust laws.
Mr. Wilson's policy of domestic social reform had thus been
developed with surprising legislative success during the first
year of his administration. His foreign policy was not so clear-
cut and aroused little enthusiasm. It was characterized by an
evident desire to concede the rights of other nations to the
limit and to avoid any stressing of the power of the United States
for the material advantage of its citizens. Definite steps were
taken to prepare the Filipinos for self-government. Pressure
was brought to bear upon the California state Government to
mitigate the severity of its anti-Japanese legislation. The
" dollar diplomacy " of the preceding administration was
repudiated and American bankers effectively discouraged from
participating in the international Chinese loans. As a result
of the President's personal demand, Congress repealed the law
exempting American coastwise shipping from Panama Canal
tolls. Mr. Wilson, however, failed to secure the Senate's rati-
fication of a treaty with Colombia, which contained a virtual
apology on the part of the United States and an offer to pay
$25,000,000 as reparation for the alleged grievances of Colombia
in connexion with the establishment of Panama as an independ-
ent country. In the Caribbean, Mr. Wilson's policy differed in
principle rather than practice from that of his predecessors;
in Nicaragua and Haiti the customs were taken over by U.S.
officials. By a treaty signed Sept. 16 1915, a virtual protecto-
rate of Haiti was assumed ; in Santo Domingo the precautionary
visits of American cruisers were followed in the summer of 1916
by the landing of marines, and in Nov. of that year by the proc-
lamation of a military government under American auspices.
Mr. Wilson's Mexican policy aroused heated criticism. Fol-
lowing the accession of Gen. Huerta to power and the Presi-
dent's failure to arrange a settlement providing for his elimina-
tion as dictator, Mr. Wilson resigned himself to what he called
a policy of " watchful waiting." Conditions in Mexico were
anarchical, and intervention was strongly urged by both Ameri-
can and European commercial interests. To formal interven-
tion the President was definitely opposed, but in April 1914 he
was compelled to authorize the occupation of Vera Cruz in
retaliation for affronts to American blue-jackets. The proffered
mediation of Argentina, Brazil and Chile he gladly accepted,
but the resulting protocol of Niagara Falls (June 24 1914) did
not provide a basis for peace. Although Huerta fled from
Mexico in July, the country continued to be torn by rival
factions. American troops were withdrawn from Vera Cruz
in Nov. 1914, but it was not until Oct. 1915 that the Govern-
ment of Carranza was recognized by Mr. Wilson, in company
with eight South and Central American Governments. Further
complications ensued. The raid into American territory of
Gen. Villa, March 9 1916, led Mr. Wilson to authorize a puni-
tive expedition, which soon aroused the protests of Carranza.
In May and June the President mobilized the National Guard
and sent a force of about 100,000 to patrol the Mexican border.
The crisis was tided over by a joint Mexican-American com-
mission sitting at New London, Conn., which brought no definite
settlement, but at least postponed hasty action on either side.
In Jan. 1917, the last American troops were withdrawn from
Mexican soil. The President's policy had not led to stable
conditions in Mexico, and the sole advantage secured seemed
to be the emphasis laid by the U.S. Government on the principle
that it would not take advantage of the misfortunes of a weak
neighbour for its own selfish profit.
Foreign affairs after July 1914 were naturally dominated by
the World War. President Wilson insisted upon a policy of
strict neutrality. This he emphasized not merely by formal
proclamation on Aug. 4, but by an address to the American
people of Aug. 18, in which he adjured them, in view of the
mixture of nationalities in the United States, to be impartial
in thought as well as action. His offer of mediation, made on
Aug. 5, remained without response, and further attempts at
mediation in early autumn proved fruitless. His determina-
tion to remain absolutely aloof from European quarrels was
underlined in several addresses, in which he insisted that the
United States was in no way concerned, and was further empha-
sized by his opposition to any change in its military policy.
America's vital interest in the struggle, however, soon became |
plain and resulted in diplomatic controversies with the belli-
gerents. Great Britain's attempt to control indirect importa- I
tion of goods into Germany, by an enlargement of contraband i
schedules and an extension of the doctrine of " continuous i
voyage " to conditional contraband, was vigorously opposed
by President Wilson, who authorized Mr. Bryan, his Secretary
of State, to protest in strong terms. A lengthy interchange
of notes folio wed, which led to no settlement (see INTERNATIONAL
LAW). The diplomatic controversy with Germany proved more
serious. The proclamation of a " war zone " about the British
Isles, in which German submarines threatened to destroy
enemy merchant vessels with consequent danger to the lives
and property of neutrals, was met by a note of Feb. 10 1915,
which warned Germany that she would be held to " strict
accountability " for the lawless acts of submarine commanders.
Mr. Wilson further attempted to find a compromise, based upon
a relaxation of the British food blockade and an abandonment
of the German submarine campaign. The effort failed and
was followed by a series of submarine attacks, which culminated
in the sinking of the " Lusitania," May 7 1915, with the loss of
over 100 American lives. The President, while he disappointed
opinion in the eastern states by a speech in which he reaffirmed
his pacific determination, stating that a man might be " too
proud to fight," at once set out to win from Germany a dis-
avowal and a promise that merchant ships should not be tor-
pedoed without warning and the saving of the lives of passen-
gers. A lengthy exchange of notes ensued; the pacific Mr.
Bryan, Secretary of State, regarding the President's language as
too strong, resigned; on the other hand Mr. Wilson's patience
with the evasions of the German Government and the continued
sinkings by submarines led to bitter attacks upon the Presi-
dent's policy of conciliation, which was stigmatized as anaemic
or even cowardly. Mr. Wilson succeeded, however, in securing
from Germany a promise not to sink liners without warning
(Sept. i rgi5), and continued his efforts to induce Germany to
abandon the submarine campaign completely. He was hampered
by an attempted revolt of Congressional leaders, who blurred
the issue with Germany by introducing resolutions designed to
prevent Americans from travelling upon belligerent ships. The
President, through his personal influence, secured the defeat of
these resolutions in Feb. 1916, insisting that he would not con-
sent " to any abridgment of the rights of American citizens in j
any respect." Shortly afterwards the issue with Germany was
brought to a head by the sinking of the " Sussex," March 24
1916. Mr. Wilson waited three weeks before sending a formal.
note of protest to Germany (April 19 1916) but couched it in !
the form of an ultimatum, stating that unless Germany should
immediately declare and effect an abandonment of its present j
methods of submarine warfare, the United States would be com-
pelled to sever diplomatic relations. The German answer, |