The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-09-05
4 DESPERATE DEMoCRACY.

The national Importance Of the Ohio
state election is everywhere recognized.
Says the Baltimore American: 1.-THE
Ohio democrats have undoubtedly set
the standard for next years presiden-
tial fight. Whatever hope may have
been entertained of it's being otherwise,
the GAINESVILLE convention proves in
dubitably that the contest next year
will be Bryan, free silver and anti-ex-
pansion as against Mckinley, sound
money and expansion" The is
sues being thus clearly defined and
stated, it is interesting to consider how
Ohio came to "set the standard" and
what may be the chances of defeat or
success.
OF the six states holding elections this
fall, Ohio is the only one in which the
two great parties can make the con-
test upon national lines alone, and in.
which the weaker party may be consid-
cred to have even so much as a fighting
chance. In Mississippi the republicans
are out of the running as much as the
democrats in Massachusetts and Iowa,
In Maryland free silver has been sup
pressed for prudential reasons, while
in Kentucky, the contest is to so great
degree involved in purely local is
sues that outsiders can have but a
cloudy conception of the merits or prob
abilities of the campaign. In Ohio, on
the other hand, the republican state
administration has been so irreproacha-
BILE that the democrats were compelled
to take up national questions as the
only ones on which they could make a
fight. Moreover, this being the presi-
dents own state, there was bold ag-
gressiveness in this policy that would
naturally appeal to the party and at
tract the attention of the country.
Upon the issue of free silver and the
whole Chicago platform Joined to anti
McKinleyism and anti-expansion, GER
tain democratic leaders profess CON
fidence that the normal republic
can majority of $4,000 can be overcome
and Mclean elected governor. The
Cincinnati newspaper proprietor is a
hard fighter, and he will do his best to
poll large vote, in order that he may
be more conspicuous in the next demo-
cratic national convention than in that
of 1895. The implied rivalry for Bryan.
Of course, will not be allowed to inter-
fere with the more immediate project
of defeating Mckinley in Ohio this fall.
There are only a few irresponsible
ranters who profess to believe that the
country can possibly be carried on the
old Chicago platform, but free silver
and the rest of the rubbish are kept on
the stage for the sake of regularity and
by virtue of kind of fanaticism. The
calamity cry is out of date. Can the
| democrats then carry the country on
the issue of anti-McKinley and anti-ex-
pansion? The chances are very great
ly in the negative. Whatever differ
ences there may have been over the
ratification of the Spanish treaty, the
thing itself has been settled finally and
legally, and the question of expansion
and anti-expansion now resolves itself
into one of support or non-support of
the government in unfolding it's lawful
rights and executing it's just obliga-
tons. The Philippines and Porto Rico
are ours, and our authority over both
must be maintained. If the Ohio dem
ocratic platform means anything, it is
that we are to withdraw from the Phil
ippines and abandonKhat is now Amer
lean territory according to all lawful
international usage.
Hauling down the American flag has
never been popular politics, and it is
preposterous to imagine that it will be
in the coming campaign Yet this is
the dire extremity to which the democ-
racy has been forced in its frantic
search for party cry. Being unable
to find a sane issue it has taken up
with one which history teaches
and the strongest Of old-lne democrats
declare will bring sure defeat.
There goes one Of these 'women's rights
r