The herald., 1896-11-08
A HEAVY LOAD

It Is no use trying to disguise the fact
that Altgeld and Tillman were a very
heavy load for the Democratic party
to carry through the campaign They
should not have been allowed to occupy
a conspicuous position before the coun-
try, but they forced themselves to the
front, and intruded where they were not
invited nor wanted. In no sense Is Alt
geld a Democrat, and Tillman is even
less so.
Tillman Is revolutionist of the kind
that agitates for the love of agitation.
He has no well defined political princi-
Piles, nor does he desire to have. He is
a legitimate product of carpet-bag rule
in the south, imbibing. as he did. the
spirit of every device that was cunning,
disreputable and domineering. He
thrives best when brother is most in
tently bent upon Staying brother. The
paths of peace and the welfare of the
people afford him no pleasure. He knew
that his presence on the hastings was
distasteful to the rank and file of the
party, and positively hurtful to the
cause for which Mr.. Bryan stood the
commission leader; but rather than
omit an opportunity to show forth his
vindictive nature and to stir up con-
tention and strife, he would jeopardize
every chance the party had to re-
establish the people in their constitu-
tional rights. Mr.. Tillman can look
over the field in which the battle ragged
between the people and the mighty
enginery of the greedy trusts and
money syndicates and truthfully say:
with my vindictiveness, impolitic
speeches and all-round depravity I
helped to rout the people. l helped
to tighten the collar of the monopolies
around the necks of the farmer, the
mechanic and the laborer."
Altgeld did the cause for which the
party was contending even greater
harm than did the South Carolina in
truder, for he Is better equipped men
tally and with cunning and the ma
ohinery of intrigue. He is the person
iflcation of greed, avarice and selfish
ness. and his public career has been
full to overlooking with acts which
found no one to commend them outside
of a personal following which has its
roots and field of operation where
crime and social. disorder most abounds,
and which finds open expression from
time to time In scenes of life-taking,
such as was witnessed in the Hay
market massacree, and whose most ac-
tive participants in the dastardly out
rage were subsequently freed from the
sentence OF the court by Altgeld
to roam where they liked, the equal of
the best. Then he is grossly insin-
cere man. With all the force of his
great mental strength he publicly ad-
vocated the feha0netisation of silver
and grew eloquent in the cause of the
common people, but it was the sin
certify and eloquence of the heartless
hypocrite. Behind the scenes he was
exacting gold contracts from the ten
ants of his vast estate, and in the
slums Of politics he trading Mr.
Bryan and all the other candidates Of
his party for votes for himself.
But the campaign iS6ver, and what
ever concerns the party at this time
becomes a family matter. Neverthe-
less, for the good of the party and for
the good of the country it should be
publicly proclaimed that Altgeld and
Tillman have been driven out of the
party and that the party denies that
these worthless ever were'representative
Democrats, even though they did force
their obnoxious presence far toward the
front Of the PROCESSION while the band
was playing. \ Altgeld and Tillman
are too heavy a load for the Democ-
racy to carry. Throw them overheard.