The Commoner. PRESS i m Ife I"-':. r Clinton (111.) Register: The gold democrats of Ohio are keeping still Bince they showed how to run things. v ' Franklin (Tenn.) News: It is hest to stick to principle. A democratic victory on republican principles would be a barren victory. . Galliopolis (0.) Bulletin: Republi can criminals need no longer flee to a foreign country to avoid punishment. Indiana affords them a safe retreat. Gallatin (Tenn.) Tennosseean: Be ware of the so-called democratic, news paper that continually assails the democratic organization it's a wolf in sheep's clothing. Chicago Public: The democratic party is, indeed, in a sorry plight, if It has no better presidential possibilities to choose from than the republicans and the coadjutor republicans offer it. Springer (N. M.) Stockman: When " democracy gains two United States senators In an off-year the necessity for the services of reorganizes or dis organizes is not apparent to the naked eye. Gunnison (Col.) News: As Ohio went republican by the largest major ity ever 'known in an :offi year, it Is to be hoped that John R. McLean fs ' satisfied with his attempt, to reorgan ize the democracy. .Ducktown (Tenn.) Gazette: Judging from-the- result of the late . election in , OhiOvthe reorganizers of the democratic party in that state are not meeting the fate of the doorkeeper of the ancient continental congress. Springfield (O.) New Era; The time -tfas when the republican party claimed to be the party of radical ideas and ' progressive thought. .In the late cam paign in Ohio it made the struggle on . the issue. "Let well enough alone." That was simply conservatism gone a. to seed. Celina (0.) Democrat: - The gold bug democrats of Ohio have no doubt discovered by this time that they are not the whole thing. Traitors to a - party cannot swing the rank and file of a party at will, and, besides, this was no time for the tail to attempt to wag the dog. Breckenridge (Tex.) Democrat: Some ' of our gold bug friends in Texas are vaporing considerably about "reorgan- ' ization." As the regular democrats, by sheer force of numbers, will con- ', tinue to rule the roosts in this state in any case, it seems thai: our friends are wasting lots of valuable energy. Concordia (Kas.) Kansan: Born a Britisher we have been inclined to have a feeling of pride for the sturdi- ness of the English character, but we have had a fall taken out of us when ; we read that the physicians to King Edward have ordered him to refrain from smoking cigarettes. A king the ,' victim of the cigarette habit, what do you think of that, anyway? Go It, Mr. Boer, you've got a fighting chance, yet, if the English have gone to smoking cigarettes. Coldwater (Mich.) Star: "Wo have a mighty sight more sympathy for those brave American boys who were slaughtered in the island of Samar, Philippines, by the natives who are .fighting for their homes "and their lib erties than the imperialists who sent them there to slaughter and be slaughtered. Lamar (Mo.) Democrat: The Chi cago Chronicle came out in flaming headlines, "Wednesday morning, de claring that as a r.esult of refusing 16 reaffirm the last democratic national platform, the party made enormous "gains" in Ohio. The Chronicle had best read the returns once more, be fore it gets too gay. Moulton (la.) Sun: The result of the late election proves that it will not strengthen democracy for the party to repudiate its last national platform. The party was beaten as bad if not worse in Ohio than It was in Iowa. A shoulder to shoulder fight for demo cratic principles is what will win in 1902 and 1904. Alturas (Cal.) Plaindealer: Our democratic exchanges frequently ex press a wish for the return of another Old Hickory. If Andrew Jackson or even Thomas Jefferson were alive they would be denounced by the trust or gans as anarchists and enemies of mankind. Charlestown (Ind.) Democrat: Won der what the Indianapolis Sentinel thinks about that Ohio democratic platform now. It will be remembered that the Sentinel nearly had "cantp tlons" over it at the time It was adopted. Wonder if the Sentinel would want the Indiana democracy to adopt one like it next year. Lansing (Mich.) Democrat: The vote in Ohio Is much smaller than us ual this year, even for an off year. Perhaps the democrats who engineered the turning down of Bryan will see something now and profit by it. They arranged to gain the gold democrat vote, but if they gained it the loss is many times what they gained. Salem (111.) Democrat: Those pro fessed democrats who are clamoring for a reorganization of the democratic party, seem to be so actuated for the sole purpose of winning out in the national elections. All true democrats are actuated from principle to espouse the cause of democracy, and to obtain the loaves and fishes is a secondary consideration. Geddes (S. D.) Record: In Ohio and New Jersey the rporganizers were cut to the quick, and are now burled under an avalanche of votes from which they are not likely to emerge for many years. Reorganization- In those states meant disorganization af ter the fashion In Cleveland's time. The few hungry fellows who enjoyed the privileges of the pie counter under Cleveland wanted reorganization in the hope of getting an office, and there is no other reason for it Hastings (Neb.) Democrat: Tho various leaders in Ohio got together some three months ago in consultation and agreed on repudiating party prin ciples for the first time in that state. Their ticket was beaten last Tuesday by 60,000, worse than It has over been for many years. Party leaders can compromise, but the trouble with the voters seem to be that they will not always compromise. Rock Port (Mo.) Mall: Tho ship owner who took $100,000 worth of shoes to Brazil and exchanged them for a cargo of coffee, took that to Eng land and exchanged it for cutlery worth $80,000, with, which he returned to New York, lost $20,000, but he made the country richer because ho pre served "the balance of trade," accord ing to republican logic. Jefferson City (Mo.) Press: If some of these city wise ones who are so glib in asserting that the silver issue is dead will spend a few days talking to western country democrats, they will change their opinions. Principles among these democrats are more than coat deep, and they do not off with the old and on with the new at the be hest of every opinionated boss who presumes to give them enlightenment. Rockville (Ind.) Tribune: Once upon a time a Kentucky democratic convention by "polly-foxlng" around, adopted a Cleveland-Carlisle platform. Up to that time it had never been re garded as possible that Kentucky should be carried by the republicans. The Tribune promptly said "good bye, Kentucky" threo months ahead of the November election. It was just as apparent last summer when the re organizers, "bamboozled" the real democrats in tho Ohio convention that thousands of democratic votes would be wintered. That democrats won't stand such "monkey business" ought to be plain to everybody, even to the editor of the Indianapolis News. Senaca (Kas.) Courier-Democrat: "Bryan Called Down," was the heading of an article which appeared in Tues day's Topeka Capital. The article was quoted from the San Francisco Call and was characterized as a "stinging rebuke for the attack he made on the land grants given western railroads' The article goes on to say that the grants to the Illinois Central railroad by a democratic administration in Il linois are treated by Bryan "as polit ically and economically proper, while everything done In the far west is de nounced as a steal." Both the Capital and Call show their ignorance of "the condition on which the grant was made to the Illinois Central. The Il linois Central, through the Instru mentality of Stephen A. Douglas, was compelled to agree to pay into the Il linois state treasury 7 per cent of its gross earnings forever, as an offset to the grant. The state now receives nearly half a million dollars per year from the grant to this railroad, and until the constitution of Illinois Is re pealed this income will contKue. It is vory easy to criticise a man like Bry an when a portion of the facta are con cealed, but newspaper editors who value their reputation cannot afford to use such means. Rochester (Pa.) Commoner: Tho reactionaries are not so jubilant since tho election. Ohio has been heard from. It Increased tho republican ma jority of Governor Nash of two years ago by 50 per cent. The reactionaries intended to teach tho Kansas City plat form democrats a lesson. They ex pected to elect Colonel Kllbourne gov ernor (who, by the way Is much bet tor than the gang ho has been train ing with), and send J.R. McLean to tho United States senate. But their plans failed them. Kllbourne received a permit to remain in private life for two years at least and the distrustful McLean has been effectually disposed of. So much for the good work of tho reactionaries! Norton (Kas.) Liberator: To thode republicans who offer tho criticism that tho democratic party is simply a, negative party and stands for nothing, wo would suggest that there aro enough unrighteous movements going on in tho republican party to hold tho attention of moro than democrats, but tho great body of populists as. well. But the democratic party does stand for something. Tho Kansas City plat form stands for Jacksonian and Jeffer sonian principles, iterated first in the Sermon on the Mount and reiterated in the Kansas City platform. Until a national convention changes the Im port of that platform it must be taken as the creed of democracy. No party that meets defeat on such a platform will be dishonored in its defeat. Mount Vernon (Tex.) Herald: The able editor of the Courier-Journal, Col. Henry Wattorson, wrote a most read able and spicy editorial several weehs ago in wmen ne recorded ms oeiiet that the democratic party was now in its "Valley Forge State." If the able Kentucky editor is right the Herald mildly suggests that the reason why we are now camping out in the cold and snow was a modern repetition of the field of Monmouth, where Light horse Harry disobeyed his commander and ordered a retreat. History has repeated itself, for another hot-headed southern commander from over about Louisville led a small squad in nan keen uniform outside the democratic camps, and we have been fighting greater odds ever since than the bravo old George Washington and his hand ful of frost-bitten continentals ever had to face. In view of tho fact that many of the yellow uniformed squad have commissions frbm "Lord Howe, and the further fact that the gallant Kentucky cavalier has been roaming around in the woods since 1896, may we not hope to touch elbows with him again at the stofiriing of Yorktown In 1904? Haven't you been out in the snow long enough?