The Commoner.
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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?
