, 1886-07-29
A Circus in the Democratic Camp

Delegate Voorhees, secured Il sup
porter by getting the Ghehais Mug
get man appointed to a postoffice.
In return for this service the latter
has taken a contract to have his
master re-nOminated for congress,
and in doing SO has set himself about
lecturing such old time democratic
journals as the Olympia Standard
and Walla Walla Statesman on the
subject of party fealty, and blames
them entirely for the difficulties in
the way of securing that re-nomin-
alton. The Standard picks mp the
young mugwump upstart and reads
the riot act to him in four chapters
After presenting a caricature wood
cut of the Nugget man in his post
office, it says:
If it were true that the main op-
position came alone from these two
newspapers (the Statesman and the
Standard) it would scarcely justify Il
belief that with NJ. Voorhees, pres
tige of success and the laudations of
the half a-doZen personal organs like
the Nugget, which sneeze whenever
he takes snuff, that there would be
such hOt1y contested struggle for
! the nomination next month. But
the Nugget does not state what it
knows to be the truth: that the news
papers which do not wear the Foor-
hees collar are recognized exponents
OF the sentiments of the grand old
democratic party of the territory.
which has never deserted the ship,
even when its decks were swarmlng
with piratical mugwumps. The con
test will be icdIm, it is true. because
these journals are backed by the
rank and file of the party, men who
have the honesty to avow their prin-
ciples, and the moral courage to
maintain them; men whose devotion
to principle constitutes their life
creed. Men, many of whom were
laying deep the foundations of the
democratic organization in the utmost
bounds of civilization when Mr.. Noor
hees was in swaddling clothes. and
who were voting the straight ticket
when he was pulling" on the nurses
bottle, are the ones who protest
against anything like snap Judgment
be taken, whereby One~ldead can
didate may be foisted upon the party.
They surely have some rights in the
democratic party which even mug
wump Is bound to respect. The
impertinence manifested by the Mug
get, which makes no claim of dem
ocracy, in reading these old timers
chapter on party duty, finds but a
single notable parallel-the attempt
made by Satan to convert the Saviour
of mankind to his heresies
There is not q bit more sense in the
declaration made by the Nugget that
the farmers, asa class, are oppressed
by the railroad. The iteration of such
an idea is not complimentary to their
judgment or common sense They
realize that the speedy and cheap
transportation enjoyed the past five
years has been the means of greater
progress than had been made in the
quarter of a century preceding the
C'iu plctlOu Ol inc IIdtSCOutluGnGdl
line, and the mE.in hope OF the farmers
of Walla Walla today for rates that
will enable them to place their wheat
in foreign markets at profit, is in
the completion of the Cascade Divi-
sion of the Northern Pacific Railroad.
The howl of political claqHers against
this company now passes at its true
estimate. Ii is regarded as simply
the claptrap of the demagogue who
seeks to subordinate reason to pas
sion and influence votes by arousing
an unjust prejudice The origin of
the forfeiture movement should have
carried with it its own condemnation
springing as IL did from the bitter
rivalry between Seattle and Tacoma:
and the very fact that reason was
swayed SO much as TO make The whole
Territory bob to the Seattle kite.
should be constant warming against
the schemes of political mnuntebanks
and an admonition 20 cultivate the
virtues of prudence and moderation.