Jasper County Democrat, Volume 15, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 June 1912 — Mayor Durgan Writes On Political Matters. [ARTICLE]

Mayor Durgan Writes On Political Matters.

The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette during the recent democratic state editorial association, meeting there, j asked a number of prominent Indianians for an editorial expression and in reply to the request Mayor George R. Durgan of Lafayette -ent I the following: ‘ Replying to yours of June 4th, I beg to say the following bn tiie ; occasion of the annual meeting in your splendid city of the Indiana Democratic Editorial association: “It occurs, io me that the .constancy el the deiirjcraiic editors of Indiana to the cause e,f democracy •may l.e la> orably compared to the on<am y u: r.ie seventeen thousand . m-mor, .its .th-- .-iat»- of Vermont, ■-> 0■ h < o ;•>i , ( ] |,y ; i,. ; ,| y \\\ I 1 :;l ' . v . - b,< > d 'u’emory. 'Apropos, of this last, Jc: me confess, Mr. President I. ore the , prais.t . t New England has died on my lips that I heli e the best product < her present life is the procession of li.uno Vermont democrats thatl ‘or 22 years, undiminished by death. . unrecrjiited by birth or conversion, havi . marched over their rugged bills,, east their democratic bali ot s. an d .gone!. ho m e to: pr a y .f o r : their •unregent rate neighbors and ’ awake tp read the record Of Zfi.noo republican majority. May the God i ot the he.pless and rhe heroic help . them —and may their sturdy tribe I increase. ■ -

“When the curtain had fallen on the last act of Governor Claude Mathews’ democratic administration of tate affairs it fell to rise again on a long series of democratic defeats and republican victories. But, through all those stinging humiliating defeats the democratic press of Indiana, in the main, remained as constant to the cause of Indiana democracy as did Gladys 17,000 democrats of the state of Vermont remain true to their democracy. Occasionally some, accepting the advice of’ Mr. Pickwick, “Shouted with the largest crowd,” but, mo t of the democratic dailies, and practically all the democratic, weeklies (and may President, Marshall remember each democratic weekly with a postofiicpl kejit thundering at the public their principles of government and the people listened, and listening, became convinced. ? “Good clean argument :on the method of governing man, together with a courageous portrayal of facts at the defective methods 'employed by thb republican party in this state, finally won the day, and with a pride born of confidence in democratic principles of government, not only ushered to the chair of Williams and Hendricks, Graj' and Matthews, our present distinguished governor, Honest Tom Marshall, but filled from cellar to .garret of the state house of Indianapplis. democratic state officials, and sent to the national congress at Washington, senators and congressmen that today not only commend the pride of their state but in their demands for just government, honest methods and progressive principles, are commanding the admiration of out nation. , “In this our hour of greatfest tri-

umptr in state let us pay due homage to the faithful democratic dailies of our state, but when we come to the battle-scarred, poorled, majority-ridden, but constant, always constant, democratic (weeklies. Let us. become tor thq moment, boyihly sentimental and casting aside all thoughts of dignity, all join hapds and sing ‘Ring-around-a-rosy:’

•'The beautiful tribute of Grady to the constancy of the 17,0 00 democrats of the state of Vermont, wrapped as it must have .surely been in a scepticism of its final outcome, traveled but a few brief years until it found a proud resting place, in the lap of a democratio governor of that hitherto Invincible state, so while it little matters whether the cause be fought in Yankee Vermont or Cosmopolitan Indiana, yet it does matter, in its last analysis, as to whether the cause be just or nr just, for, constancy of the few. the final conqueror, is the inseparable companion of.that which is always just.

"But—this is not a government solely for democratic newspapers or democratic public officials and since the people today of all political faitus make and unmake both, lot us .n our hilarity pause a moment iii remembrance of an old and much despised acquaintance, who has returned with number growing—‘Old Turn-Coat.’ In defeat how bitterly did we despise him, but in our victories now, is he rot a patriot? Once the lonely, forsaken, much despised, snow balled, brick-bat-marked, old-time ‘Turn-Coat’ is today the honored, polished, much sought-after ‘lndependent Voter.’ and his wants are so few, with all his polish, his tastes so simplq, that it seeiiis, strange indeed his should now be a wandering life. His whole desires seem to be wrapped in these three si.mple requests: “1. Common honestly in public office. No fortunes to anyone by meats of legislative enactments, but < q'ual opportunity for all, under the law. No intimacy with political m-rmorphrodites. . "Such are the simple demands of the independent voter and fortunate indeed, is the political host who. >:u now 1 on keeps his larder well supplied with the e simple and eas-j i.y gotten viands. "The danger of the democratic; party is.. the coniman danger of all < political; parties that appear, in the ascendency- the political hermbrph-1 ■rodite. He has about the same re-; gfird for the hom sty qj" man as has; tlit white slave .dealer disregard lor I. the virtu.; of women. He preys, oh;

city councils, state legislatures and; the national congress; with 1 no! greater pronounced politic- opinion' ior the governing of man than has] .ite hermorpprodite sex. He is al-J wajs prepared to follow the advice •ot austere 1 ickwick and. “Shout with the Largest crowd.” He is to-j day swimming toward our ship of stale how long will our democratic public officials keep him off the decks and the independent voter on? bo sure as fate overtakes man. both will never long trod the same deck together. How long at its table can the democratic party entertain the independent voter in his - imp*le tastes? “New York and Indiana! What a power there will be if linked together at any time in the great coming .contest at Baltimore. Has not the democracy of Indiana in the past rung true with the democracy of the state of New York? Let us demand of New York a return of favors granted and with such mighty combined forces together present to the voters of the nation—-Honest ’Tom Marshall of Indiana, tor president. “If the constancy of Vermont’s 17,000 democrats so deserved the beautiful tribute of Henry W. Grady, what a tribute’ Should the democracy of the state of Indiana pay to the constancy of Samuel M. Ralston? Constant in defeat, serene in victory. Constant Sam Ralston will be a worthy successor to Honest Tom Marshall. “Let us again the Independent voter and the political pirate will not long walk the decks together. Should we permit the one to land and the other to leave? Or. shall we cater to the simple tastes of the one and turn our Lacks to the other.” GEORGE R. DURGAN, Lafayette, ,Ind., June 6.