The indirect bid for the Democratic nomination which is implied in the recent statement of Newton Baker will doubtless further complicate the coming campaign. The handicap under which he was laboring as an advocate of the League of Nations is mitigated, if not overcome entirely. And although the political lineup seemingly is unfavorable to his chances, it is likely that the present current of American thought is working in his favor.

Recent events have tended to stiffen the hostility of the country toward foreign entanglements of any kind. At the same time there is a growing consciousness that some sort of cooperation between nations is needed in the current economic difficulties. Of all the candidates now in the field, Mr. Baker, both by character and by experience is best qualified to make the necessary contacts to that end. His wartime position brought him into relation with the chief leaders of modern Europe. Moreover, through his former connection with Woodrow Wilson, he is associated with the most-far-sighted political vision in modern American thought. Having renounced immediate entrance in the Leaque, he remains eminently qualified to steer the delicate middle course between entanglement in foreign affairs and comparative isolation.

The need of a genuine internal program is equally pressing. It is not too much to hope that the recurrent revelations of graft and incompetence in public life has prepared the country for a return to more constructive government. If Mr. Baker can break through the present political alignment, he might well be the man to supply it. As an open opponent of Franklin Roosevelt he would doubtless have little chance, but as a dark horse, in case some other candidate should deadlock Roosevelt, he might be the logical choice.