Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 154, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 June 1912 — Republicans Placed to the Test. [ARTICLE]

Republicans Placed to the Test.

Republicans are placed to a test at this time and they should be cautious about their decision. Not for the personal effect it will have upon them, but because upon their action important consequences depend. A united party can win at the polls in November. Success means continued prosperity for the American flag, the American industry, the American mechanic and the American laborer. Success means the fulfillment of the promises contained in the platform adopted at Chicago, which constitutes progressive reforms for which the people contend and means that they will be secured without the adoption of radical measures that might result in serious hardships for all. Republicans should be very cautious about deserting the party that has written almost all of the constructive legislation of the country and under whose guidance the United States have risen to an enviable place among the nations of the world. Republicans who are convinced that Roosevelt’s defeat was accomplished by unfair means should consider it their duty to take a more active part In the party organizations in the future and td life ject their demands for honesty and the square deal into every contest in which the party engages. If the party is wrong in some particulars then it is certainly in need of those men who do not countenance wrong and who should consider it their duty to purge the party of its dishonor. The result of .the convention may be much better than the means that brought it about We may condemn some of the proceedings as unfair and yet find tn the result a condition that is worthy our support. There never was a party of all puritans. There never was a lodge or a church or a society, no matter what its professions or expressed Intentions or how lofty may have been its ideals that

did not get into it men whose primary object was their own selfish ends. It is not uncommon for us to be fooled by their puritanical claims' and to give them aid that we should have given to another. It is often hard to determine the worthiness of man. It is always found that there are some political wolves in sheeps’ clothing. We should not permit ourselves to be led away from a party that has been right in the main because some of its leaders do not embody the traits of fairness we individually wish. If there is a work of reform needed in the republican party it should be those who see the need who should pledge themselves faithfully to the task of securing it. If your church does not please you because some of the members do not meet your ideals, you should make your church better by your influence. You could not help it, nor yourself, nor the world by withdrawing from it. The same applies to your lodge, to your society, to your business associations, to your home. The republican party should be purged by its best element. Politics have always been .much the same. The unscrupulous have clothed themselves to deceive and have accomplished ..their ends. Conventions, little and big/have witnessed frauds and deceptions. It has often been a case of,who is the biggest rascal. The older people of Jasper county can recall the time when political bosses went about 09 election day with their pockets filled with money, purchasing the votes of weak citizenship. These conditions have been done away with' because the' better element has controlled and because the world is improving by the demand of fairness that It sought by the great majority of people. Our elections are now. practlcally free from fraud in communities like Jasper county. The laws are being better enforced and new ones made to purify the elections in the cities. Primary laws for nominations and the

selection of delegates are being advocated and adopted in many states, thus insuring a greater fairness than exists under the present delegate system and satisfying *a demand that has been especially made during recent months. “In the calm judgment of the American people - there Is nothing nearer right than the will of God” spoke President Taft and the people have never united for any reform not come. Your duty and mine is to remain loyal to the republican party, to Its candidates, to its platform, even though there may be some things we would like to see changed. Let us create a demand for the better things we seek and let us clean the republican hearthstone. It would be far better than identifying, ourselves With another organization, headed by men who seek to satisfy personal ambition and certain to attract others who have been disappointed by failure to procure office. Let each person lay aside every prejudice, give thought to the past and the future, and then let us place our shoulders to the wheel and make the republican party perform as we, its masters, want it to.