The morning call., 1892-06-04
TIE DANGER FOR EEFUBLIcANs.

When the Lake County Acaimcbe said
that the Republicans would be much
surer Of carrying this State in the coming
election if the earth would open mp and
swallow De Young and his Chronicle and
wipe them from the face Of the earth, ;" 1t
INDUCED in no figure Of speech, but stated
sober fact The terrorism which the
Chronicle has coDtriyed TO establish over
the Republican party rests upon a c0wardly
deluson. 1t is not in the power Of the
Chronicle TO injure the party by opposing IT.;
it can only damage its prospects by sup
porting if, and raising the implication that
it in turn is going 10 support De Young.
A newspaper that is known to be intel
ligent, intrepid and honest can sometimes
sway public opinion so as to change votes
at elections. But tie Chronicle IS neither
intelligent, intrepid nor honest The only
political principle which it understands is
that political contests should throw money
into its till. Its idea OF campaign funds is
that they are instituted for the purpose of
substituting newspapers. That has been its
conception OF party politics ever since it
was started, and the only occasions on
which it has exhibited courage have been
when it got the Republican party into a
udIh ucHl6 NueIC II COuiO Dau 10 AConCA .
hold up their hands.
Yet the managers Of tie Stockton c0nyen-
ton combined such matchless stupidity
with such abject cowardice that when
George Knight threatened the party with
the hostility Of the Chronicle If 1t refused
TO send De Young to Minneapolis, they
covered under the crack Of the whip, and
gave De Young what he wanted. 1t would
have been thousands Of votes for their party
if they had defed De Young and bid him do
his worst. The Chronicle railing at the
party with the venom of disappointment
would have been tower Of strength TO the
ticket it assailed Everybody would have
understood its motive, and the rank and
file Of n0n-partisans would have taken
pleasure in backing a party which refused
TO be hulldozed by one whose only claim to
dictate arises from the possession Of an
ignorant and scuTrilous newspaper.
AS the matter stands De Young Is now
the chief stumbling block in the way Of
Republican success. 1t will be very diff
cult indeed to elect a Republican Legsla-
ture il there appears to be a chance that it
might make Mike de Young United States
Senator. He is more than any party ought
10 ba asked to carry. His presence in the
Senate as a representative Of California
would be such a poignant shame and dis
grace that citizens who have never in their
lives bolted the Republican ticket now
openly state their intention Of doing so.
They Will vote tae Republican Presidential
ticket, but when il comes to the legislative
ticket they will feel that a sense Of DUTY
to their state requires them to subordinate
party TO common decency.
There is a world Of common sense in the
remark of the Acalaacts that the Chronicle
has never been of any use to tie party,
though it has been made TO do many IN
pleasant things q order that its proprietor
might be kept within the ranks. 1t has
never had any real influence. 1t has
never changed many votes. It's discourses
on politics excite derisiOn. II has never
huTl a man by attacking him-witness
Sargent. whom it assailed with its utmost
Ylrulence, but who would have been Sen
atOT if Stanford had not betrayed him; and
SpreckeIs, upon whom it vOmited its most
acrid bile, without iojurinE him by hairs
breadth. It is also utterly powerless to
befriend anybody for lis praise would be
assumed on all sides to have been bought.
1t is for the sober minded and honest
Republicans to decide whether they can az
ford TO let the position into which De
Young has tried to force himself pass with
out challenge, or whether they can take the
risk Of going before the people with him
on their hack