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clplcs, but promised to'ro'tdrn as soon' as' wore was
any attdmpt to surrender its creed. Mr. William
can now take. up the work again and with him aa '
a leader it ought not to ho dffflcult to' put the Mas
sachusetts democracy again on sound principles.
Tho reorganizes of Indiana made great boasts
aftor their victory in tho state convention. Well,
tho Sentinel had things its own way; it was in a
position to have a controlling influence in the
management of tho campaign. It rejoiced over tho
elimination of every issue that was "dead" or oven
wounded and yot it has to mourn as largo a re
publican majority aa could have boon polled against
tho Kansas City platform. Tho democrats of Ind
iana have lost tho advantage of education along
democratic lines; they havo mado it necessary to
apologizo for democratic timidity and now they
havo mot with overwhelming defeat Before they
enter 'another campaign tho democrats of Indiana
should 'tako their stand on tho national platform
of tho party and try to earn a victory by deserving
it.
In Illinois Mr. Hopkins, whoso corporate con
nections make it impossiblo for him to feel any
interest in tho triumph of a real democracy, took
charge of the party machinery and destroyed tho .
party's chances at a time when republican dissen
tions gave a hope of victory.
In Wisconsin, where tho reorganizers dropped
the money question to please the gold democrats
and then dodged imperialism to please the corpo
ration republicans who were alienated by La Fol
lette's reform tendencies, the democratic party was
badly defeated.
In Pennsylvania, where Patterson was nomi
nated on a platform confined to state issues, tho
republicans -rolled up an enormous majority, thus
proving what ought not to need further proof,
namely, that national issues cannot bo ignored
even in the presence of important state issues.
The same experiment was tried in Michigan
with the samb results.
In Minnesota the republican candidate for
governor profited by his fight against the rail
jroad merger and scored a victory against the
splendid democrat who led the democratic ticket
Ev-Governor Lihd, by his personal popularity,
saved the Minneapolis district to tho democratic
party. - v
In Colorado, South Dakota, Utah, Washing
ton, Idaho and other western states the people
were originally republican; they were driven away
from that party by its position on the money
question, but many of them have been drawn back
"by tho Improved conditions which have followed
an increase in tho world's supply of gold, and the
gold democratic papers havo furnished them an
excuse by constantly boasting that the reorganiz
ers had captured the democratic party the two
factions of the gold party thus working together
in the Interest of the republican party as in 1896.
The fight in Ohio attracted wide-spread atten
tion because of the prominent part taken in it by
Mayor Tom Johnson of Cleveland. The opposition
of John R. McLean and the treachery of the Cin
cinnati machine increased the republican majority,
but Johnson has too much confidence in the justice
ofnla cause to accept this defeat as final. He has
already renewed his declaration of war and will
yet win his fight for a more equitable distribu
tion of the burdens of taxation.
JJJ
Cleveland Again.
Ex-President Cleveland has again emerged
from his seclusion and volunteered his advice to
his former political associates. As usual, his speech
gave more delight to the republicans than to tho
democrats. Ignoring the stealthy schemes of the
financiers and the insidious encroachments of im
perialism, he urged tariff reform and anti-trust leg
islation as the only issues before tho country, but
now coma no bo so obtuso as to think that his
argument would strengthen the democratic posi-
The Commoner;
tiori? Ho wa8 president when tho democrats had a
chance to secure tariff reform and to destroy tho
trusts, but ho did not help to do either. In his
messago of 1887 ho did not discuss the principles
involved in a high tariff; ho simply called atten
tion to the injustice of unnecessary taxation.
When ho sought a second nomination (after de
claring against a second term in his first letter of
acceptance) ho gavo an anto-convention indorse
ment to a platform which surrendered the demo
cratic position on the tariff question. In 1892 the
platform which came into the convention with
his approval was so flimsy and ambiguous that the
convention repudiated it and adopted a much
stronger tariff reform plank than he desired. Af
ter the victory was won he refused to call an extra
session of congress to take up tho subject, and be
gan at once to coerce his party into the acceptance
of a republican financial policy. Even when con
gress met in regular session and agreed upon a bill
a very poor one, but the best that could be se
cured at thetime he not only refused to sign it,
but gave out a letter condemning it The -inconsistency
between what he now says on the tariff
question and what he has done, is so glaring that
he only brings ridicule upon the party when he
poses as a special champion of a low tariff.
But his reference to the trust "question was
oven more unfortunate, for ho not only did noth
ing to destroy the trusts, but the campaign fund
in 1892 was so largely contributed by the corpora
tions that his administration was mortgaged to
them.
Why, it may bo asked, should these facts be
recalled at this time? Why not rejoice that Mr.
Cleveland talks in favor of a few democratic poli
cies, even though his record is out of harmony
with his words? Because he represents that ele
ment in the democratic party which once betrayed
the people into the hands of the money changers,
and until he brings forth fruits meet for repent
ance his active support of a ticket throws suspicion
upon the candidates and alienates more voters than
his arguments can win. The rank and file know
that he was false to his party pledges and that his
subserviency to Wall street terminated what might
have been a long era of democratic supremacy.
Had he taken tne people's side of the moroy
question, as Jackson did, he would have driven the
republican party out of power for a generation;
but instead of doing that he alienated the real
friends of democracy and then led the corpora
tion element out of the party. As a church organ
ization is weakened rather than strengthened by
members whose lives, give the lie to their profes
sions, so the democratic cause is retarded rather
than advanced by men who loudly proclaim their
adherence to democratic principles and yet repu
diate those principles when in office. A principle
exemplified in the life is worth several on the
tongue, and the distinguished ex-president's pojiti
cal principle are purely lingual.
JJJ
Organize for ipo4. s
In the late campaign the democracy in some
places tried the experiment of ignoring the demo
cratic national platform with a view to "harmoniz
ing" the party. This plan was proposed by those
who, by aiding to elect a republican president, be
came responsible for the evils which they now seek
to cure, but these alone would have been powerless
but for the aid of regular democrats, some of wnom
were tempted to waive their principles for a prom
, ise of success, and some of whom were willing to
allow the reorganizers to learn by experience that
it does not pay to run from the party creed -and
court enemies instead of friends.
But whatever tho excuse it can no longer do
service. Whenever the reorganizers have
had control they have been unable to secure official
pottage, even whore they have been willing to trade
their birthright for it
Tho voters have refused to be deceived by the
goldrplated democracy and those who have advo-
catod an "anything-to-wln" policy can no lonccr
offer loaves and fishes in return for support iw
feat -is no disgrace; every election brings defeat
to one party. And those who believe that thev
are right suffer no humiliation if a majority is
recorded on tho other side; but when men are in
spired only by hope of success and then fail"
they die without prospect of resurrection. '
Those who accept the Kansas City ' platform
as tfio party creed and labor to carry its principles
into effect are neither dismayed nor disheartened
by the reverses of 1902. They are battling for,
financial and industrial independence; they are try
ing to call the nation back to ancient and honor
able ideals. Thy are not responsible for what
others do or leave undone, but as for themselves
they prefer to go down with their convictions rath
er than surrender to the commercialism that now
dominates the republican party.
It is now time to organize for 1904. In every
state where the reorganizers are in control of tho
party machinery a league should be formed within
the party for the avowed purpose of holding tho
party to its principles. The fight should be made
at the primaries where the votersspeak for them
selves. Honest principles should be advanced by,
honest methods, and the only honest way of set
tling a question is to leave it to the people them
selves. Let the Kansas City platform democrats
get together in each precinct and county and form
themselves into a league for the defense and pro
pagation of democratic principles. - Those who are
working for a common purpose should know each
other and be strengthened and encouraged bj$
communion together.
JJJ
An Emphatic Reminder.
During his campaign as democratic candidate
for congress from a New York city district, Will-
iam R. Hearst 'made us6 of an illustration thai
should be carefully studied by tho administrative
authorities at Washington. Mr. Hearst said:
"There were 16,000 good, brave American
soldiers at Santiago, and Mr. Roosevelt was
one of them. Now, L wish to cite the be
havior of those American soldiers at Santiago
as an example of what Americans do when
they mean business. Of those American sol
diers, regiment after regiment was armed
with old-fashioned, out-of-date, worthless
Springfield muskets. And opposed to them
was regiment after regiment of Spaniards
armed with the best and most destructive
weapons of modern warfare the Mauser rifles.
Did our boys hang back and refuse to fight?
Did they spend their time devising reasons
for not going into battle? Did they sit down
and say they would wait a few years for a
constitutional shipment of Mauser rifles from
Washington?
"They did not They took thoir old
fashioned, out-of-date Springfield muskets, and
the fought tho Spaniards with them, and they
whipped the Spaniards with them.
"Now, my friends, when your political
soldiers, your representatives, your senators,
and your president, are as anxious to fight the
trusts as our boys at Santiago were to fight the
Spaniards, they will take the legal and politl
cal weapons they have at hand, and they will
fight the trusts with them, and they win
whip the trusts with themand you will not
have to wait for a- constitutional amend
ment" ThIs Is a complete answer to those who claim
that we must wait for constitutional amendments
to give us relief from trust exactions. While wait
ing for constitutional amendments the trusts will
be growing stronger and more exacting, and forti
fying their position against any onslaught of con
stitutional writ.
The way to fight the trusts is to make use oe
the weapons now at our -command, and keep on
using them -to the utmost while looking about.-fos
weapons that promise to be more effective.
JJJ
Interesting Statistics.
Bulletin No. 42 of the department of labor con
tains some valuable and startling statistics co
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