The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1896-03-21
their fitness or unftness.

changes his opinion upon a para
mount public question or when his
party changes its position. The
strength of party organization is
found in the fact that men do not
like to repudiate a nominee or leave
their party for light or trivial causes;
IN fact the tendency to vote a
straight ticket is so great that men
require the strongest of reasons to
justify desertion, and yet the right
to bolt or abandon is essential unless
man is to become a mere machine
and unless the party machine is to
be made omnipotent. The desire to
draw voters to the partymakes. the
party careful to endorse the wisest
policies, and the fear that men may
bolt is the most effective protection
against bad nominations. The party
is IA means, not an end; it has no
reason for existence except as it en-
ables the citizen to secure good gov
eminent. When is a man justified
in abandoning his party? Obviously
when he satisfies himself that some
other party is a better means through
which to serve his county. Differ
ences of opinion upon the questions
which are for the time being para
mount always have destroyed, al
ways will, and always ought to de-
stroy, party harmony.
When the tariff question was the
all-absorbing question tariff reform
ers stood together regardless of diff
erences of opinion on the money
question, but now the money quest
ion is paramount and we see such a
Democratic tariff reformer as John
g. Carlisle refusing to aid a Demo-
cratic tariff reformer like Senator
Blackburn in his fight against a Re-
publican pr%otectionist, and we see a
tariff reformer like Grover Cleve-
land carrying out the financial poll
cy of a protectionist like John Sher-
man. Can IA National convention
harmonic the discordant elements of
the Democratic party? impossible.
Suppose the advocates of bimotalism
control the National convention and
nominate a free silver Democratic
upon a free coinage platform, will
Cleveland, Carlisle, Olney, Morton
ct al. support the ticket: OF course
not. They say that the free coinage
Of silver means individual dishones-
~, commercial disaster, and Nation
al %dishonor, and, if they believe
what they say, they ought not to
support the ticket, because their du-
ty to their country is higher than
their duty to any party organization.
If, OF the other hand, the convention
dominates a gold standard Democrat
on II platform indorsing the gold
standard, gold bonds, and National
bank currency, should the nominees
he supported by those who believe
the gold standard to be a conspiracy
of the capitalistic classes against the
producers of wealth-a crime against
mankind: Who says that they
should: If to continue Mr.. Cleve-
lands financial policy is to declare
war against the common people,
what friend of the common people
would be willing to enlist in such a
warfare, even at the command of his
party? There is nc compromise be-
tween recommendation and bimetal-
ism; there is no middle ground be-
tween the issue of all paper money
by the Government and the issue of
all paper money by the banks.
There may have been a time when
compromise was possible, but the
question is now before the peopl e
and it must be settled one way or the
other.
If abandonment of party is ever
UNSUITABLE the voter must determine
for himself when the time for aba,.-
donment arrives. When should he
decide: The proper time, if not the
only time, is after the party has a
dopted its platform and named its
candidate. Until that time he does
not know whether he can rely upon
it to secure the government which
he regards as good and the legisla-
ton which he considers necessary,
| nooc nnrti,irotion -, ~ .