The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-01-01
9ai1Y r Ea9le
NJ. NJ. MURDOCH. Editor.
WHO NEXT. AND WHAT

Sol. Miller as a pastime, or otherwise
impeIled by patriotism, or yet may
hap urged on by party fealty and devO-
ton, goes on through column and a
half or so animadvertingly enumerat-
ing why the Republican party Of Kan
sas is where it is, or, rather, why its
where is nowhere. His diagnosis does
not extend in this direction much be-
yond the region Of Topeka, but he init
mates that he is not more than half
through, and we may be hit yet. Still
he says enough to convince one that it
Is fortunate for all hands concerned
that he is not calamity bowler. 1t is
ho more a profitable than a congenial
job to point out the mistakes Of ones
party for the reason, principally, that
the authors of the mistakes get it in for
you, while the ''pullers' and '.pushers"
denuonce it as party disloyalty, leaving
the critic in the attitude Of a traitor de-
lighting the adversary. Sol, however,
fortifies himself with the reservation
that the truth won't hurt so much now
the campaign being over Among other
things he criticises the subserviency of
the Republican leaders to railroad at
torneys; holds up to scorn the suicidal
policy, as a party measure, Of civil ser
vice buncombe; deprecates excessive
salaries paid to bodied professor
loafers; disapprobates the outrage on
the taxpayer of attempting to classic
ally educate, at public expense, the
horde whose ambition is to graduate as
sluggers into some profession, and so
On, pretty much in the strain that the
Eagle has often talked, whether wisely
or not, certainly unprofitably. For
party paper to hint at abuses, to point
out mistakes. to protest in any direc-
ton, especially to question the motives
of the average boss or to fail to demon
strate that the brass in the face of the
latest nominee is but the radiance Of
uncomfortable wisdom, is to be set
down as positive proof of having gone
over to the camp Of the calamity howl
er and, therefore, no longer worthy at
tention, much less utilization. But Sol
Miller cannot be, successfully, so cate
goried. 1t may be that his Christmas
egg-nog didn't set well, or that the mi
asniatic conditions of the Missouri river
bottom proved unusually deleterious
this winter; or that the thought of the
possible, not to say probable, perform
ances of the circus season just about to
open with a whoop at Topeka, proved
too much for his gorge de pigeon
these, or something else, resulted in a
regular reorganization of bile. But what
ever the result Of his roast, it is not en- |
tirely unsatisfactory. We cannot I'M |
dertake to reproduce or quote our old |
friend in eXtenso, but as a consistent !
pattern natro Of prohibition we con-
clude our wonder of what will happen |
next, by quoting his own words. He |
says: 1--WE find that cant and hypocrisy |
have been the rule. Take the question |
of prohibition, for instance. Nothing |
has done more TO weaken the Republi-
can party Of Kansas. Is was introduc-
ed as a non-partisan measure, and car
ried as such. In fact, it was somewhat |
Of q surprise that it carried at all, and |
would not have done so had its oppon-
ents not thought it unnecessary to look
after it. But no sooner was the amend
n.ent adopted than the Republican par
IS took it up as party measure, and
bear. For years, at the demand of
cranks, the question was continually
made a part Of the Republican plat
form, and men were denounced as un.
sound who objected TO it. Law after
law was passed to enforce it, some of
them SO arbitrary as to deprive the cit
izen of his personal liberty. and the peo-
pie OF the cities and counties of the
right of self government, anr organic
ing a system Of corruption more demon
aliZing than liquor selling in its palmi-
est Ia. ttilci Sttou WI
the floors of the legislative halls who
were so drunk they did not know
which end of them was upward, and
sounded the glories of prohibition, and
its opponents as nullifiers Of
the constitution and the laws. And so
the farce went on. The Republican
party regularly danced to the demands
of the Prohibition cranks. who opposed
the ticket after debating the platform.
of the truest Republicans in
the state were driven out Of the party.
and no recruits brought to fill their
places until the party was left in the
minority; and now we find the very
men who used to dictate as 10 the plat
form demanding offices at the hands of
the opposition. On the heels of all this. |
the principal officer charged with the
of this law, pronounces it
q failure"
RUSSIA BACKS DOWN.
h-,.. - 1,-a-