The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1899-06-02
What Democracy Has Been
Doing.

VnoTe are SO many maCCerS or more I'M
portance to the people than the vagarles
of democracy that they have been lost
in the discussion of events OF national
interest.
In the local field Mr.. j. B. Romans,
has with his we'll known self-abnega-
ton, resigned the Office of governor
kindly rendered him by some news
paper. 1t is intimated that he may be
a candidate for representative or fail.
ing in this candidate for mayor to
succeed Mr.. Kemming who processes
himself heartily tired of official duties.
MI. Romans has also announced that
he will make vigorous fight against
Governor Shaw in this county. We all
know what kind of campaign this
gentleman engineered two years ago
and the good people of the county will
regret that it is to be repeated in all it's
indecent and harmful features.
The s'two term" rule is also agitatine
democratic circles much more than Is
evident on the service. Shaw Van.
Criswell, Bell, Myers and Huntington
cannot understand why they are not
just as we'll entitled to three terms as
were Carey, Kruger and Lorenzen.
They are all from Missouri and the
ring will have to show them. There
are signs of opposition to Henry Bell
for denomination and prominent Ger
man farmer is spoken of as probable
contestant. Ryan of Vail is also un-
derstood to be candidate.
In the state, the democratic papers
are chiefly devoting themselves to fault.
finding as usual. There are no state
issues on which they can make any
showing against the republican party.
The present administration has been a
good one, the affairs of the state and it's
institutions are being administered
economically and with very little
friction. While there are some changes
yet necessary in the code there is moth
ing of vital Importance before the peo-
pie Of Iowa today. There has been con-
siderable discussion among democratic
leaders as to whether or not it will be
advisable to make silver minor issue
and thus try to regain gold-democratic
support. This question will probably
be decided for them by the national
committee however.
In national politics the democratic
situation is more acute. There exists
a strong feeling of rivalry against Bry.
an, many old-time democrats feeling
that are playing Bryan as Hamlet.
with all the other parts left out. And
as with Hamlet there is much discus.
sion as to the state of Bryan's mental.
ity. In New York sharp fight has
developed in Tammany Hall and in
Chicago, Harrison and Altgeld are
still at swords points. The rapid dis.
solution of populism is also source OF
much grief to democracy. The demo.
cratic party, as has been often said. is
above all things party of opposition.
1t has never. since the Civil War, been
able to formulate constructive policy
that was acceptable to the people
There are three '.antis'' which demo.
cracy is now considering:
Anti Sound Money.
Anti Expansion.
Anti Trusts.
On the first of these the battle has
been waged and lost. Not only this,
but the conditions for winning fight
are not nearly so favorable as they
were in 1896. At that time the county
was well nigh panic stricken by the
reign of that odious bully, Grover
Cleveland. Today the country smiles
with prosperity and plenty. In 1896,
the people were ready to take almost
any patent nostrum in order to relieve
their sufferings. Today, folks are pref
ty well, thank you, and the medicine
vendor is apt to 20 a begging.
The second .anti," anti-expansion, is
proving almost failure. Prof. Atkin.
son of Boston gave it death blow. Sc
long as the anti-expansionists confined
themselves to petty seedlings the
American people were content to let
them babble on, but when Atkinson at.
tempted to carry out the anti-expansion
sentiment to its ultimate conclusion
the terrible outpourlngs of wrath must
certainly have warned democracy that
they we're treading on dangerous ground
and that the people might tolerate but
never approve them.
The only remaining "anti''-and the
one to which democracy must pin it's
faith is anti-trusts. But here demo.
cracy is confronted by the record. The
record shows that when they were in
power they did nothing to prevent
trusts and monopolies and that all the
antitrust legislation on the national
statute books was placed there by re-
publicans. Then too, in reply to the
cry that many trusts have been formed
since McKinlpv's inanouratinv, thor, ~,