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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 1904)
BiPIBPSlBi r things pleasant for him whilp ho 13 in office but they can not savo himffpm the 'vefdict which j' History will pronounce against him if ho;-allows to pass unimproved the splendid opportunity which he now has "to render a real and permanent sbrv ico to his country. JJJ ' I A Sharing the Punishment ' ' '' The mombors of a party ' stand or fall to gether. As the rain descends upon the just and the unjust alike; as a cyclone visits the homes of the righteous as well as the homes of tho un righteous; so political calamities bear with equal severity upon all members of tlie party organiza tion. If i. party does wrong the punishment that follows is not confined to those who1 are' guilty of the wrong but is visited upon all who repre sent tho party. Eight years auo tho democratic party put its hand to the plow and began the WOrlc of reform. Defeat dampened ttie ardor of some in 1900, ? but still tho party continued to cultivate the seed sown in 189G. Again the season was unpropitious and by 1904 there were enough wlio "were discouraged to' turn the- party Organization over to those who had not been in full sympathy with the party's purpose. This partial abandonment of the cause of reform aroused a widespread resentment -a re sehtment more extended than Was generally sus pected. Evert tlie republicans with" their perfect organization and their repeated polls underesti mated the protest that was in preparation. The storm wkicn, unnoticed by editors and public speakers, was constantly gathering force, broke on, election day and created havop everywhere. It was not directed against the reorganizes alone, but it hit promiscuously all who were identified with the party in an official way. Those who had tried to, prevent the reorganization, of the party went down in tho general wreck with those who were conspicuous in leading the party astray. In nearly allif r in all the states tho state ticket ran ahead of the national ticket To this extent there was a discrimination against the national leaders and in favor of the party in the state, but this discrimination was only shown to a lim ited extent. Alva Adams succeeded in defeating Governor Peabody in Colorado, and Governor Toole escaped defeat in Montana. But Governor Sparks of Nevada failed to win the senatorship to which his services had clearly entitled him and. which at any othc- time he could have secured without an effort. In like manner Bartine of Nevada was slaughtered in the house of his friends, and Cock roll was overwhelmed in Missouri. The defeat of Senator Cockrell is ,an excellent- illustration of the manner in which the Innocent are made to suffer with tho guilty. On every question that has como before the senate during his sei-ice he has been the champion of the people. He has the confidence of all democrats and the respect of republicans everywhere. The democratie party in Missouri was r.nyielding in its devotion tp demo cratic principles and it loved Cockrell and yet so great was the apathy caused by the party's action at St. Louis and so deep was the indignation felt by the rank and file of the party that Senator Cockrell fell with tho national ticket; and received the shaft that was aimed at the reprgahizers. If the Missouri dempcrats who neglected to vote had thought tho senator in danger they would have , been present at tno polls, but they djd not carry 'the process of reasoning far enough to estimate the full effect of their course. . f Folk of Missouri iad lead enough; to escape but. his majority Is .woefully short of what it should have been, and he, too, would have suf fered defeat but for tho number of votes which he drow from the republican party. " ' more is a ressoh however, to lie drawn from. "t The Commoner. the indiscriminate suffering which a grave party -mistake causes. It teaches the necessity of active - and earnest work on the part Of those who would 'make the democratic party deserving of success. If the penalty fell only ipon- the guilty there would be less care taken to put the party right and keep it right. But when the whole party must bear the blame for. tho action of those who obtain control, the members of the party who desire to- make the organization effective1 in be half of reform, are forced to be ever upon the alert. ""''.'. " ' Let the experience , of 1904 be a warning for the future. Let the work of organization "begin today in order that the party may regain at the first opportunity the ground that has been lost. The house of representatives can be changed two years from now. and the first steps can then be taken toward winning the seriate. Without crimi nation or recrimination, let the members of the party begin at once the work of making tlie party a positive reform force in the country. A great reverse has been suffered by the party the worst since the warlet it be turned to advantage, ' as far as may be. by utilizing the lessons which it teaches. JJJ The -Stay-at-Home Vote As tho returns come in it becomes evident that the result was due not so much to an increasing confidence in, the republican position as to dis satisfaction among 'democrats' with the position taken by the democratic party. While in some cases' this dissatisfaction1 led democrats to vote tlie republican ticket, yet in more cases it led them to stay at home or. to, refuse to vote on, the na tional ticket. For instance, in Illinois Mr. Roose velt's vote is only about 33.000 in excess of Mr. McKinley's vote four years ago, while Judge Par ker's vote is about 170.000 less than, the demo cratic vote in 1900. Thirty-three thousand demo cratic votes cast for Mr. Roosevelt would account for the republican increase, if it is not accounted foi by the natural increase hr population, while if that number of democrats did actually vote for Roosevelt it would still leave more than 140,000 votes unaccounted for. The socialist vote and the populist vote are not yet obtainable, but it is evident that in Illindis the democratic party is much stronger than the returns would indicate, and it only requires a straight-forward, honest fight for reform to bring out that vote and put the party in fighting condition again in that state. In the state of Indiana eighty-two out of ninety-two counties gave Roosevelt some eleven' thousand votes less than McKinley had four years ago, while the same counties gave Parker some 75000 less votes than the democratic candidate had in 1900. Here again it is evident that the republi can strength has not been largely Increased but that the democratic vote did not come out. In Iowa the total Vote this year is not "as large as it was four years ago. The republicans have' gained about 22,000 and the democrats have lost about 40,000, If the entire republican Increase was made up from democratic votes, it "would still leave about 20,000 votes unaccounted for. In Missouri the indications point in the same direction. At tne time of the writing of this edi torial it is impossible to obtain the figures from all of the states, but if the situation in other states Is as it is in the states already reported, the president can not regard the result as a personal vindication. ' If the loss in the democratic vote is not offset by 'a corresponding gain In the republican vote tlie'result can not be' considered as an endorsement VOLUME" 4, NDMB13R 14 of republican policies but rather'a condemnation of the: democratic plan- of campaign a Thisvmatter will be considered-more at lend when thd results ire all In, but attention is caS to the figure given above: as indicating somethln! of tho situation in the nation. And in this Z? tion there is encouragement to the party it ," much easier to so shape the policy of the partv as to bring back dissatisfied democrats than I .would be to convert republicans. There is every promise, tnerefore, of our party recovering in igog what it has lost this year, and as the exactions of the great corporations become heavier and heavier we can expect an increasing revolt among repub. licans.- - t. Now is the time to plan for 1908! Let every democrat buckle on his armor. Various means may be employed for spreading democratic doctrine but one of the best ways is for each democrat to pick out a republican among his acquaintances and sup. lily him -with literature. It Is much easier to make an impression upon 'the Voters between elections than it Is uiring the campaign. After a national ticket has been nominated party lines are drawn and conversions are more difficult. Let the demo crats begin now to do their campaign work. When a democrat reads a good book Upon economic ques tions Jet him loan it to his republican neighbor. When a good speech is made along democratic lines, let each democrat secure a copy for his re publican neighbor. Good work can be done also by circulating democratic newspapers the news paper being the 'least expensive form of literature. Do-not delay; Begin at once. ' The individual's Part in' the heat of a campaign speakers and writers emphasize the 'government's part in shaping the destiny of the country, and this is proper, for the f6rm df 'government and tlie administration of the government are matters'bf vital concern to the pedple. Self-government is immensely superior co government by a few. ' first, because it is moro just, and second, because it has an educational influence upon those, who participate in the gov ernment. Self-government offers the greatest stimulus to individual effort and gives the maxi mum Of development. Just government for the same reason produces better results than unjust government. Unjust government discourages the citizen against whom it discriminates while it i3 apt to demoralize the citizen whom it favors. In justice in government is everywhere an evil influ ence and it may he manifested in the failure to enforce good laws as well as in the enactment of bad laws. m Government should not only be fair to all in the affirmative good that it brings, but it should be fair as well in what it prohibits. It is well that the citizen should understand how largely tho country may be influenced for good by govern ment and how seriously it can be affected by bad government; The campaign furnishes an op portunity to hrlng this question to the attention of the voters, and it would be better still if the voters were always sufficiently alert to keep the matter in, mind. But after' the government has done all that it can do, the citizen to a large extent holds his destiny in his own hands. No government can be so bad but what thewise may' escape some of its severity; no government .can be so good but what: thia .'foolish may waste some of its advan tages! . ' In the. lull that follows tbe excitement of a campaign we 'may, therefore, profitably consider the means by which the individual may secure at least a partial protection- from the errors of his government and profit by .its virtues. The aim 6f the government ought to be, to secure to each - "V nJ 'Hilt u2 'Ltiui teWLJ&l