Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 102, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 August 1904 — POLITICAL COMMENT [ARTICLE]

POLITICAL COMMENT

Democrats in Active Hostility. The platform adopted at St. Louis is a patchwork compromise, and as a whole does not satisfy either the conservative or the radical elements of the Democracy. It is platitudinous and commonplace. It presents no paramount issue and offers nothing that will commend it to the intelligent Judgment of the country. It speaks of fundamental principles and defines none not now recognized and in operation. It falls for economy and honesty in the administration of the government, which Is desired by every citizen. The record of Democratic ad* ministration, however, offers no guaranty that if that party should again be restored to powef it would practice economy. On the tariff it maintains the party’s traditional position, denouncing protection as robbery and favoring a tariff for revenue only. The first draft of the platform took a conservative position on this question, but the aptlprotection element was able to carry its demand and place the party again in an attitude of hostility to the industries of the country whose maintenance and development are essential to the, welfare of labor. In ignoring tjie money question the sound money Democrats made an inglorious surrender to the radical element which places the party in an embarrassing position. It leaves as the only authoritative declaration of the Democracy on this question the money plank of the Kansas City platform. That this will seriously trouble the party in the campaign Is not to be doubted. It will not be sufficient for It to say that the money issue is dead, In view of the fact that hundreds of thousands of Democrats are still devoted to silver, and that their representatives in the national convention were able to prevent committing the party to the gold standard. The denunciation of trusts and combinations expresses a practically universal sentiment. Republicans are as strongly opposed to monopolistic combinations as are Democrats, and the former have shown their hostility by enacting and enforcing anti-trust legislation. The St. Louis platform offers no practicable plan or proposition for dealing with trusts and combinations, which is quite in keeping with the failure of the Democratic party to enact any anti-trust legislation when it was in control of the executive and legislative branches of the government, The deliverance in regard to the Philippines will give little encouragement to those in the island who are hoping for independence. It carries the promise to the Filipino people of independence at some indefinite time and under certain conditions —a promise that will not only be disappointing to the island people, hut also to the so-called anti-imperialists of this country. It is perhaps unnecessary to point out, in this connection, what ought to be obvious to all men of intelligent discrimination, that there Is really no parallel between the cases of Cuba and the Philippines. There are some features of the platform which all citizens can approve, for example, the declaration favoring larger powers for the Interstate Commerce Commission and that for maintaining the Monroe doctrine, but as a whole the platform is weak, and will not make a favorable impression upon tne thoughtful and discriminating.— Omaha Bee. Parker as a Vote-Getter. • The Democratic press Is insisting that Parker is a remarkable vote-get-ter. The only evidence they can adduce is that in 1897, the year after the State of New York gave McKinley such a phenomenal plurality, Parker was elected chief judge of the Court of Appeals by 00.889 plurality. But while this Is true, the circumstances of the case show that Parker did not win on his vote-getting merits. At that year’s election the Judgeship was the only office on the State ticket. In the oily of New Y'ork, the Citizens' Union movement nominated Seth Low for mayor on a platform of municipal reform. There was no candidate on that ticket for the Judgeship. The regular Republican nominee for mayor was Gen. Tracy, and that ticket bore the name of Wallace, the Republican nominee for the judgeship. The Democratic ticket had Van Wyck for mayor and Parker for judge. I,ow received, in round numbers, 150,000 votes. Of these, fully 130,000 were Republicans, who cast no ballot for Wallace, their party candidate. Had his name been on the Citizens' Union ticket Parker would have been badly, beaten. It Is well to remember the facts In this campaign, for we shall bear much latet In the enmpalgn about the “phenomenal run’’ of Parker In 1897.

The Popnliat Factor. Our Democratic friends are engaging ;n the old game which the late Senator Calvin 8. Brice tynce referred to as “chasing rainbows —to dig the pot of gold believed to He at the foot of that optical phenomenon. As In years past, they are cock-sure their candidate will be successful; and they will probably indulge In this pleasing fantasy until the count of the votes next November •bows its unsoundness. One factor In the situation they ignore entirely. It la the Populist vote. In 1892 General Weaver, the Popnliat

candidate for President, polled 1,041,021 votes, and bad 22 votes In the electoral college. In 1896 and 1900 the great mass of Populist voters acted with tha Democrats, and threw their strength to Bryan. This year the Populists go it alone. The Democratic platform has in it nothing which appeals to a Populist voter; and the total vote of that party is certain to be larger than the Democratic leaders seem to think. The radicals—the thick and thin followers of Bryan in the Democratic ranks —are far more apt, in the present state of public opinion, to cast their votes for' the Populist candidate than for Judge Parker. It Is possible that Watson may get as many electoral votes as did Weaver in 1892. It is certain that whatever strength the Popultst ticket may show will come from tho Democratic ranks. The Republicans who imbibed Populist views split off from the party In 1892, and then followed the mass of that party into the Democratic camp. Thers is nothing in Populism to attract any Republican voter now. But party discipline is lax In the Democratic ranks; a large faction of voters Is disgruntled over platform and candidate —and with the latter all the more because of his famous telegram. The Populist vote will affect Judge Parker’s chances far more than Mr. Roosevelt’s, and the Judge cannot afford to lose a single chance in this contest. —Toledo Blade. Bryan a* a Shrew. One of those “straws that show which way the wind blows’’ with Mr. Bryan appears in what he says in the Commoner of tbo recent allotment of the remaining lands in the Rosebud reservation. He is so fierce in his hatred of the Republicans—in fact, of everybody who dissents from his free silver delusion —that he makes this transaction the pretext for an attack on tho administration. The ground of the attack is that the transaction is gambling—a charge that makes one wonder if it is possible that Mr. Bryan’s schooling never went as far as words of two syllables. There was not a gambling element iu the whole affair. No risk was taken by anybody, no stake was asked, no wager made; there was no possibility of getting something for nothing, nor possibility of losing anything. There was not even the possibility of getting more in this way for the lands to be disposed of than In any other. The government had a certain number of tracts of land for sale at a fixed price. Forty or fifty persons desired to buy each tract. Instead of inviting a riotous scramble and the allotment of the prize in each case to the strongest or most ruthless, the first comer, the government chose to decide who should have them by chance, but the successful paid the same price as under ahy other method, and the unsuccessful paid nothing. The moral vision that can see wickedness in this impartial way of deciding between offers of purchase and yet fought for years for the opportunity of paying hundred-cent debts with flfty-cent dollars deserves to be catalogued among the freaks and should deprive its acrid criticisms of Republicans and Republican measures of every shred of title to respect. Mr. Bryan is a shrew. He scolds and scolds and scolds. If he did not make money by the operation be would have to go to work. —Chicago Chronicle. The Ticket* Thin Year. There are six regular entries for the presidential sweepstakes, and perhaps others to follow. Six party conventions have been held, and have nominated candidates. Here is tbo list, in order of time: Socialist —Eugene V. Debs and Ben Hanford, at Chicago. May 5. Republipan Theodore Roosevelt and Charles \V. Fairbanks, at Chicago, June 23. Prohibition —Silas C. Swallow and Geo. W. Carroll, at Indianapolis, June 30. Populist—Thomas E. Watson and Thomns H. Tribbles, at Springfield, July 5. Bocialist-Lal*or —Charles 11. Corregan and William W. Cox, at New York, July 0. Democratic —Alton K. Parker and Henry G. Davis, at St. Louis. July 9. In 1864 and 1808 there were but two parties named presidential candidates. In 1872. there were four; In 1876, 1880 and 1884, there were five; in 1888. six; in 1892, five; In 1896, seven; and In 1900 there were more tickets in the field than ever before—twelve in all. These were: Republican, Democratic, Populist, Prohibition, Middle of the Road Populist. Socialist, Social Democratic. Socialist I-abor, United Christian, Union Reform, Silver Republican and National. Of these the Silver Republicans and the Populists Indorsed Bryan, while there were no votes polled for the Socialist and National tickets. —Toledo Blade.

An attempt to calculate the probable actual distances between stars of known parallax has been made by J. E. Gore, Eta and Mu Casslopelae, for example, appear to l>e separated by about one-flfteeuth pf ,t.helr apparent brilliancies 225 time*; while the components of the double star 61 Cybnl are so near together—about fifty-five times the distance of the Sun from the earth —that they are 88,000,000 times aa bright to each other as to ua.