Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 22, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 December 1900 — SPIRIT OF THE FLAG. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

SPIRIT OF THE FLAG.

Bauer of Republicanism and Why Democrats Blake Little Uee of It. Many times during the last campaign Democratic mobs made assaults on men carrying the flag, and missiles were thrown at our banner in many States. In New York City it was desecrated by the filth of the Tammany searchlight. Wfe do not believe every Democrat would haul down the flag or insult it, but we know that not a single Republican in this wide land would do injury to the Stars and Stripes in any act or any spirit. It is not difficult, then, to understand why the flag is the banner of Republicans and why Democrats use it so sparingly. When our first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, called for volunteer and our boys marched away under their country’s flag, they did not blot ont the stars representing the seceding States. Those fighting under the Stars and Stripes were fighting for the whole country, to preserve the South as well as the North, while those fighting under the stars and bars were battling for themselves alone. And so it is to-day. Republicans at the polls fight with their ballots for the whole country, for the best interests of every race, every color, every class, every person. The Democrats fight for self and spoils. In New York it Is for Tammany Hall and corruption and blood money. In other States it is for local advantage and patronage. In other words, Democrats vote for Democrats, while Republicans vote for the best interests of every—man, no matter to what party he may belong. That is the spirit of the flag. That is what the Stars and Stripes mean wherever they wave. Prosperity and progress, liberty and law, honor and peace. —American Economist.

How Disfranchisement Works. Mississippi adopted the policy of negro disfranchisement in 1890, or five years before South Carolina, eight years before Louisiana and ten years before North Carolina. In the presidential election of 1876 the whole number of cast in Mississippi was 164,000. In 1884, under a method of local disfranchisement of colored electors, the total vote of that State fell to 110,000, although the population had been increasing steadily. Four years later the vote was 115,000. Two years afterward a new Constitution, adopted by a majority of the convention which framed it, but without submission to a vote of the people, provided for a registration of all voters, and required every elector to convince the registering officers that he was “able to read any section of the Constitution of the State, or able to understand the same when read to him, or gave a reasonable interpretation thereof.” In the presidential election succeeding, that is, in 1892, the total vote of Mississippi was 52,000; in 1896 it was 59,994, -and at the recent November election it was 59,103, of which number Bryan had more than 50,C00 and McKinley less than 6,000. . During the past ten years the population of Mississippi has increased from 1,289,000 to 1,551,000, or about 20 per cent; from 1880 to 1890 the increase in population was 150;000. This is how the figures compare: Population 1880 1,131,000 Population 1900 1,551,000 Increase in 20 years 420,000 Vote in 1876 164,778 Vote in 1900 59,103 Decrease in 24 years... 105,675 Mississippi, the first of the States to adopt constitutional disfranchisement, offers this year, in the official returns just canvassed, the very best iliustratioh of this method of vote reduction in practical operation.—New York Sun.

What the Klection Settled. Mr. Bryan, in his new role as writer for the magazines, informs us in the December North American Review that the election was “not necessarily conclusive upon any question.’’ Granting this, if we must, we may yet insist that it was conclusive upon one personality. It demonstrated beyond a peradventure that W. J. Bryan is a" very poor vote getter. East and West he ran behind his own ticket. Democratic candidates for Governor beat him by thousands of votes in New York and Connecticut, in Illinois and Minnesota. Democratic Congressmen left him far in the rear. Now this may be wholly deplorable. Mr. Bryan may be a weak candidate through a cruel misupderstanding of bis personality. - He may be suffering like Aristides from being too just. But the fact is that he did suffer personal repudiation at the polls; that he was a weak candidate, weaker than his party. And no party can be expected to go into presidential election after presidential election simply for the sake of making a flourish. The time will come when party managers will cast about seriously to command party success; and then they will drop Mr. Bryan, for they will perceive that, with him, success cannot be had. This was settled in the last election, whether anything else was or not.—New York Post. A Political 1 aradox. The one amazing, if not inexplicable, thing which appears on the face of the returns is the vote of the Southern States. No part of the country has profited more, few sections have profited so much; from the wonderful prosperity under McKinley and Protection as has the Squth. Yet every one of the Southern States, with the exception of West Virginia, which can hardly be called Southern, lias rolled up a big majority for prynn and for the policies which he represents, policies which would shut up every Southern factory and bring to a sudden end the rapidly growing prosperity of the Southern States. The South doesn’t want free trad*. Yet the South votes for a man

who declares that protection Is vicious in principle. The bouth languished with the rest ot the country under the Wilson law, yet it gives its electoral votes to a man who voted to enact that law and who has no regrets for his vote. The day must cftme some time when the South will votes from reason, not from prejudice, and when it will not depend on the rest of the country to save it from itself. A Thankaeivin« with MehninK* Thanksgiving day this year waa observed with sincerity by all who are capable of appreciating the great blessings that have been enjoyed by the American people. At no time In its history has this country stood where it does now. Never before has its international position been so powerful. Instead of going to the Rothschilds for loans, foreign borrowers bring their bonds to New York. The latest report of foreign commerce was overwhelmingly in favor of the Ignited States. Domestic business exceeds all records in volume of transactiona, and, aside from - the textile Industry, all branches of manufacture are thriving. Even in this exceptional case conditions are far from distressing, but there is good reason to believe that activity will be increased in clothing and dry goods when the temperature assumes a more normal level. Limited sales are not caused by the Inability of the people tjO purchase what they need. On the contrary, every measure of prosperity shows that the inhabitants of this country as a whole were never before so well able to satisfy their wants. —New York Tribune. Where Teller Will La/td. Senator Teller says the silver question will remain in American politics for years to come, and that he is going to stick to the bimetallic side. The chances are that the Democratic party will drop silver, and that the Senator will be very lonesome in 1904 if he takes the stump in favor of it. By the way, the Colorado statesman had very little to say about silver in the recent campaign. Inquiries were made often in the campaign of “Where is Teller?” but nobody seemed to be, able to answer them. Bryan dodged silver In the latter part of the canvass, and Teller kept quiet about that issue until now, three weeks after the election Is over. The plurality which Teller’s State has given to Bryan this year Is only a small fraction of that which it gave him four years ago. Both Colorado and Senator Teller, it is safe to predict, will be back in the Republican party before the next presidential conventions meet.—St. Louis Globe-Demo-crat.

Dead Beyond Resurrection. The Democratic party is dead beyond resurrection. It has lost everything it had except its gall, and but for lack of demand it would have been gone along with the rest of Its rotten carcass. Since 1892 it has lost 1,100,000 in popular pluralities; also 17 Senators, 75 Representatives and 10 Governors. Since 1896 it has lost six States and gained only one—a net loss of 42 electors. It has been defeated in every Eastern, Middle and Western State, In three of the Southern States, and in all of the Northwestern and Pacific slope States except the mining camps in Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Nevada.

Democracy’s Chief Need. After all this post-mortem talk as to what is the matter with the Democratic party and what happened to it on Nov. G, It remained for the sapient J. R. Bennett, ,Tr., of St. Cloud, to put his finger on the real source of the trouble. “The Democratic party,” lie said, “doesn’t need reorganization. It needs more votes.” How simple! Yet It is the simplest things which are often discovered last.—Minneapolis Journal. What They Prefer. The question lias been decided. workingmen of the United States nave declared that they prefer a full dinner pall to an empty one and the protection of American Industries to free trade.— Indianapolis Journal. A 'Chancre of Catloueea. Four years ago the wage-workers had callouses on their feet from tramping around in search of employment. Now the callouses are on their hands.—Grand Rapids (Mich) Herald.