Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 101, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 April 1916 — THE DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM. [ARTICLE]

THE DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM.

Lafayette Journal. The democrats of Indiana have met in state convention and done just what it was expected they would do. Mr. Taggart has been chosen for the short term senatorship and the other machine candidates found the way to nomination comparatively easy. There is a familiar sound to most of the names which one finds in scanning the list of favored sons —Taggart, Kern, Adair, Cook, O’Brien, Bosse, Fleming—it is like calling the roll of the democratic political machinists union. The platform which has been promulgated is a document not wholly devoid cf humor. >After setting forth the enactment of the present tariff law the humorists, ignoring the unusual conditions created by a world war, give expression to the following gem: “Under this new law our balance of trade has reached a higher mark than ever attained in the world’s history, by this or any other country.”

Democrats of high and low degree are heartily commended, and all democratic legislation, both past and future, is stamped with the seal of unqualified approval. Regardless of what others may think it is quite evident that the men who wrote the platform are thoroughly convniced that under the reign of Woodrow the millenium is about as near at hand as it is possible to hope for. There is much pointing with pride at the achievements of the Ralston administration of state affairs. If one may judge of conditions by reading the platform there is but little that remains to be done and the sum total of things which the democratic party finds worthy of consideration is just five. ’ It promises to put a few patches on the utilities and primary election laws; it favors better road legislation; it>-pledges itself to abolish the state sinking fund; in a general way it favors additional labor legislation, and is promises something in the way of tax reform. . Admitting injustice and inequality in taxation and declaring that it is possible to remedy the evil under existing laws there is a blithesome assertion that something along this line will be attempted. During the past eight years of democrat state rule there has never -been a realization that tiiis was a matter that

needed attention. Of course there is the usual condemnation of the republican party and to an unusual degree did the con vention pat the democrat party* on the back, but that part of the docu ment is, of course, mere flapdoodle, and the entire program for the future is contained in the list already enume*lten who write political platforms are not logicians and .therefore it] would be unkind to call particular attention to the numerous incongruities of’the platform which was adopted, but they are apparent erven to the casual reader. _ On the whole it may be summed up as a masterpiece of expression of self-satisfaction and very disappointing as a survey of problems which are deserving of attention.