The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-02-11

/
+ wants. For another newspaper, pub
/ liShed in another community having
| other characteristics, 10 advise, repri-
/ mand or even approve the words or
I largely futile and idle.
A wonderful change has come over
the spirit Of Republican newspapers
in the state Of Kansas in the last few
years. This change must be painful
ly palpable TO the politicians.
Times has been when an editor in
Kansas stuck by his party through
thick and thin. If the party was wrong
he defended it in lis wrong and if the
party was right he told of it in plea
accents. The change has not come
through a failure of the party newspa-
pers TO approve righteous and merito-
riOus acts Of its party leaders, for they
do not fail to approve when man has
done his duty. Take for instance the
unanimous newspaper endorsement of
State Auditor Cole for denomination
But the change Of newspaper heart has
come in the death of the custom of de
Tending the mistakes of party leaders.
And so We find the Lawrence Jour
nal, dignified but severe, catching up
some party folly every few days and
exposing it to ridicule. So we find the
Salina Republican rendering the ad-
vice that Auditor Cole is the only state
officer sure of denomination So We
also find the Hutchinson News loudly
calling for freight rate justice, which
it will not get, and Will be forced 10
blame the railroad commissioners of
its own party in consequence And
there is the Leavenworth Times al
ways scoring its party men and being
indicated by time Ed Hoch of Marion
a few years ago would have sacrificed
his grievance for party success. He
does not now. Solomon Miller of the
Troy Chief is an unruly factor in the
Republican phalanX. George Martin
of the Kansas City Gazette, is charged
with that horrible crime of being quot
ed by the Populist papers as (Rep)
The Topeka Journal is a perpetual
thorn in the sides of the strict party
politicians. Mr.. Brady of the Law
renee World. TO the occasional despair
of the politicians, expresses opinions
that are strong but not complimentary
to the management of his own. The
Atchison Champion also has an I'M
fortunate way of saying what its edi-
tor thinks. The Atchison Globe is not
Republican but it has a Republican in
fiuence and does harm by compliment
ing the Republicans one day and scOr-
ing them the next. The list could be
heightened if necessary.
Does it mean anything? Does it
mean that something is wrong? Does
it mean that the politicians who fill the
offices are not doing their duty? Does
it mean that they are more slavish TO
their own petty ambitions than they
are to the interests of the people of
the state? Does it mean that they
are more interested in who shall get
this job and that job than they are in
getting all the people equitable freight
rates? Does it mean that they are
straddling all questions and standing
on none, that they are enforcing the
law in Wichita and not in AtchisOn,
LeavenwOrth and Kansas City, Kan
sas? Does it mean that for the sake
of straddling they Will throw the state
in harmful and perpetual broil:
And whose interest and gain will
such tactics accrue? The POpuliSt pol
iticians think they will be the gamers.
VIII they? What are the POpulist
newspapers doing? Is there one single
POpUliSt newspaper in this state, or one
editor of a Populist paper brave
enough, honest enough, conscientious
enough, man enough to protest against
the idiOcieS and blundeTs Of his party
leaders who lead him around by the
nose like a SimpletOn? If there is one
he should speak out. The POpuliSt
party leaders are not perfect. Some OF
them are. Most of them at one time or
another have done foolish and evil
things. But not once in the history
of the Populist party has one word in
protest gone up.
The POpulists believe that the tone
of the Republican papers means the dis
organization of the Republican party
in Kansas. 1t does not. 1t means
the purging of the Republican party of
sneakS and straddlers and its success.
For the people will stand by the party
and newspapers which attempts TO cor
rect its own mistakes, before they will
stand by the party that boldly asserts.