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NOVEMBER ,29, 1912
dWWUu
The Commoner.
15
Looking Backward
"Well, hero we are again!" as the
clown says in the Christmas panto
mine. The exegencies of a wonderful
political campaign have demanded
more than usual space and time and
attention and the results certainly
have justified it all. And now that
the day we long have sought has at
last arrived the day when we have
"at last elected a really democratic
president we can "back to our mut
tons," as our English friends would
say.
The Architect of this department
wants it. distinctly understood that
ho is a young man yet, but he has
participated in eight presidential
campaigns as a voter, and can vivid
ly remember three others. Ho can
recall many incidents of the Grant-
Seymour and Grant-Greeley cam
paigns; he carried a torch in the
Hayes-Tilden campaign, sang with a
glee club during the Garfield-Haii-cock
campaign, and cast his first vote
at tho election of 1884. But this
1912 presidential campaign was the
most peculiar, the most interesting
and the most satisfactory of the lot.
It was 'peculiar in that there was no
parading, no torch-lighting, no ex
citement; it was interesting in that
it . presented moro new political
angles, saw the breaking up of a
great, political party and new and
totally unexpected political align
ments. And you have one guess as
to why .the. Architect calls it the most,
satisfactory.
Did you ever stop to recall some
of the politcal arguments of other
campaigns. During the campaign of
96 and that was some campaign,
believe me I heard an old friend of
mine arguing for the gold standard.
He hadn't fceen outside the limits of
his own village for twenty-five years,
hadn't possessed a hundred dollars
at any one time during that quarter
of a century, yet his favorite 'argu
ment in favor of the gold standard
was that "we must have money good
in Europe." During the campaign
just closed a near neighbor, who has
no trade and works by day's labor
when he can get it, argued long and
loud for Taft because he wanted a
high, tariff r and he wanted a high
tariff "because it protects American
labor." And a quarter of a century
ago most of us carried torches and
spilled smelly kerosene all over our
selves to prove that we were good
party men. It really was a whole lot
easier to carry torches than to think
for ourselves and a lot more satis
factory to the party bosses.
Because he took a healthy Ameri
can boy's interest in politics the
Architect used to take greatest de
light in listening while his mother
told stories of some of the political
campaigns of her earlier days.
Mother never would have qualified
for an operatic role, but she could
sing all tho old songs that she helped
her vrfiig brothers and other rela
tives sing in the famous Tippecanoe
campaign. He can even now close
his eyes and see that sweet-faced
mother swinging to and fro in her
favorite rocking chair, and with the
ears of memory hear her singing
"Wait for thq Wagon," and "Keep
the Ball a-Rolling On." . The Archi
tect greatly, fears, that the electorate
of that day. was much given to tarry
ing too long ut the hard cider barrel,
and argufying more enthusiastically
with bare knuckles than with logic.
This impression wan gained from
hearing his mother's stories of Inci
dents of the Tippecanoe campaign
that caino within her ken.
Twelve and eight years ago the
lithograph printers had a snap. They
printed huge portraits of the presi
dential candidates, and we voters got
them from political headquarters
hung em up in our front windows.
You could get a pretty fair poll of a
community by just going around and
spotting the pictures in the windows.
You couldn't do it in tho campaign
just closed. CaranaiKn lithos and
campaign buttons were a drug on
the market. People wouldn't use
'em. They just wouldn't stand on
the corners and arguo and quarrel
about politics. They persisted in
going about their business, thinking
it all out for themselves. It was a
mighty famous orator that could
muster a corporal's guard for a poli
tical address. And the result proves
what we've been maintaining all
along. And that is, that once tho
people got to thinking it out for
themselves we'd win. And didn't we?
A few years ago nine out of ten
voters would throw back their
shoulders, thrust out their chests and
piously exclaim: "I never scratch
my ticket! I never bolt! I vote 'er
straight!" How many times -did you
hear that during the 1912 campaign?
Not often, but about that proportion
would just as proudly exclaim: "I
scratch my ticket, and vote for the
best men, regardless of party."
Good! That's another reason why
wo won, isn't it?
gether for something more than
twenty years, and this Is tho first
time wo'vo had a chanro to celebrate
a national victory. Heretofore wo'vo
done all our shouting bofore election
day. After election day we'd ach
try to bo tho first to tell tho other
the old chestnut which is UiIb:
Pedestrians upon a busy stroot In
a largo city were startled one after
noon by the sound of crashing glass
and the dull thud of a man's body
falling from a second story window
to the pavement. Hushing to the
man's sido they exclaimed:
"Are you hurt? What's tho mat
ter?" Tho victim of tho accident arose,
carefully brush d tho dirt from his
garments and replied:
"No, I ain't hurt. You see up
there's the headquarters of the Cmlth
campaign club and I'm a Jones man.
I went up there and they throw me
out of tho window. But you just
wait I'm goli g back up, and you
count them Smith men as I throw
'em out."
Darting back into the building tho
man disappeared. In a fow moments
there was a sound of crashing glass,
and with a dull thud a man landed
on tho pavement.
"That's one!" shouted tho crowd.
Tho fallen man arose, slowly and
painfully, and remarked:
"Don't begin countin' yet. This Is
mo again!"
And "Met" and tho Architect, for
the first time in their newspaper
relationships could really begin
counting on tho morning after tho
recent election.
man and devotes much of hla time to
tho ngrlcuUtirn! Interests of his dis
trict. Ho has requests for many now
kinds of Hcods, and a tlinu ago re
ceived this letter:
Dear Dud: Urn Yopp's been
tollln' mo of a now Boed'oHs tomattcr
tho Quvment Is growln'. I'm writ
ing to you In hopos you will send mo
Homo of tho Hoeds. Salurday Even
ing Post.
When tho Architect first began
taking an active interest in politics
it was quite the proper thing for tho
orators of tho dominant party to
wave tho old flag in one hand and the
ensanguined garment in tho other,
using his teeth to extract tail feath
ers from tho proud bird of freedom
and directing his eyes towards tho
palladium of our liberties. The pal
ladium of our liberties was a fa
vorite weapon of tho campaign ora
tors of the old days. But wouldn't
such an orator get tho merry ha-ha
if he orated today? Forty years ago
tho favorite political orator was tho
one who would muster up the harsh
est epithets to hurl at the opposition,
and often a number of his auditors
would be enthused to the point of
hurling bricks tho next time an op
position torchlight procession went
by. .The Architect remembers stop
ping a brickbat with his head one
night in '76; and ho remembers with
what joy he waded into the supposed
author and promoter of that brick
bat's flight when they met up tho
following day. Tho fact that tho
Architect underestimated the prow
ess of his antagonist doesn't detract
any from the fun of recalling the in
cident thirty-six years later.
-i r.nma rtf thn frlnnrlB of
this department wonder why the
Architect hasn't been moved by tho
splendid victory to imitate Silas
Wegff and drop into rhyme. Per
haps he will later. Just yet, how
ever he hasn't fully recovered. He
la vet a bit dazed by the victory. But
he did manage to beat Mr. Metcalfe
to that old "don't begin countin' yet;
this is me again,", storyon tho morn
ing after election. The Architect
and Mr. Metcalfe have worked to-
So "Hero we aro again!" And
hero's hoping we'll moot regularly
every week for many a long day to
come.
A LIGHT VOTE
After all the campaigning done by
tho most prominent men in the dif
ferent parties including tho candi
dates themselves, after all tho news
paper and magazine space given to
tho cause, the vote of Nov. 6 was
light. Why?
In tho nation Governor Wilson re
ceived tho largest popular plurality
ever given a candidate. Yet the vote
was light. Tho total vote for tho
three leading candidates Wilson,
Roosevelt and Taft ran only about
500,000 more than that given the
two leading ones Bryan and Taft
four years ago, and since 1908 two
states have been admitted and some
1,300,000 women enfranchised.
In Wisconsin the vote was 100,
000 short, not counting tho natural
increase; the vote in Milwaukee was
behind that of last spring, 23,000
registered votes staying away from
tho polls.
What's the answer? Are the
people growing tired of running their
own government? Are they too busy
with their personal affairs? Are
they disgusted with the all year
around sledge hammer campaigning?
Are they surfeited with oratory and
had so much heavy verbal ammuni
tion used on them that they are fire
proof?
Something is the matter. And
that something whatever It may be,
is the greatest danger facing this
nation today. Notwithstanding that
the voters choso for their president
the best man of the five; that they
chose the best principles, the fact
that so many of them have neglected
their privilege and d'lty and shown
no interest in its affairs, is a great
and positive danger. Americans
should regard this light vote with
grave concern. There 'a no danger
so great as that of neglect. Mil
waukee Daily News.
Women
as Policyholders
On November iHt, 1912, Tho Mltlwcin
Life had 2,800 pollclnn In force rnrry
InK 14,488.000 of Inminuico, Of tho
total number limurcd 2fi0 wero womor,
and tho amount of their liiHiiranco waf
(315,000. Thin proportion nhowu that
nno policyholder out of every eleven
In u woman.
Tho MldwcHt Life InnureH women at
tho Hiune ratcH an men. Tho death
rate ban been nllghtly higher, but on
the whole the expcrlcnco of the com
pany with women an Innurcrn ban been
Suite natlnfactory. Many companlei
Incriminate against women an rlnkH
charging them a larger premium, and
a few do not Inmiro them at all. Thlrt
company will be pleaned to quote rateii
on any of the ntandard formn of poll
clen. Call or write
The Midwest Life
N. .. Hnrll, President
A NKHItASKA COMPANY
FIrat National I!uik I) I die Lincoln
ECZEMA
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F.LZHMA CAN V.K CUUKDi CUKKll TO
ST A Y,nnil when I nay mrod. f mean ul what I
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A HARD ONE
Representative Dudley M. Hughes,
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