The times., 1899-07-06
An Illogical Attitude.

An Illogical Attitude.
Here is the Hon. John Dewitt Warner
making the same mistake in fighting
the reelection of Mr.. Mckinley and the
further strengthening OF syndicate politics
as that made by the other short-sighted
anti-expansionists.
Mr.. Warner made a Fourth of July
speech TO the members of the Brooklyn
Democratic Club and bitterly arraigned the
President for protecting Captain Ober-
lin NJ. Carter. who has been convicted of
wholesale embezzlement by court martial
trial, and for harboring the malodorous
Eagan and Alger ''infamy after infamy
has been offered US by the Hanna syndi-
cate, which transacts business in the name
of William Mckinley, till the question has
become one of limit, not to its effrontery
but to our endurance" declared Mr.. War
ner in burst of blistering indignation
with gospel truth behind it. Now, II Mr..
Warner had stuck to the main issue be-
tween the two parties his Fourth of July
speech would have ranked high among the
Democratic deliyerances of the day We
tangent that landed him in the murky
realm of sentimentality.
How have the results of the war been
handled?" he enquired after he was landed
bottom side up in the murky realm. He
answered his question thus: 'Six weary
months ago Mr.. Mckinley tore our own
Declaration of Independence to shreds and
frtne fha,, i,,t b, eF -; 10
fighting for freedom, who had welcomed
us as allies, only. after victory, to be
ordered to accept us as new masters
OF course this sort of talk is mainly
flapdoodie. 1t cannot affect well-organ-
lied Democratic minds. But it may in
fiuence the weaklings. Mr.. Warner in
common with the other anti-expansionists
discusses the question from the emotional
view instead of the calm, economic view.
He also brings to bear upon it a very poor
quality of logic even when he Is not
wrenched by emotion. He started out by
saying that the Administration was driven
into the war by popular impulse" Had
his mind not wandered from the main
premise his conclusion inevitably would
have been the proper one, to wit: That
the responsibilities of the war were placed
upon the Government by resolute, resist
less Democratic urging directly along the
line of Democratic history and principle,
and that. therefore We accepted them as
evidence of the powerful and inextinguish-
able Democratic sentiment of the nation.
He very aptly characterizes the time which
rDk.r
formally ceded to US by the customary
processes of civilized nations in settling
war indemnities as "six weary months" :"
Indeed they have been weary" to every
robust American because of either the
inability or disinclination of the Admin
istration to grapple with the problems in
the resolute spirit of determination dis
played by jefferson, Jackson, and Polk, the
three great expansionists in our national
life of whom every Democrat should feel
proud, when they helped to create situa-
tions similar to the one Mr.. Mckinley now
faces with such timidity.
Why do not Democrats of the Warner
calibre hold their tongues and reflect a
little upon the Illogical attitude in which
they are attempting to place their party?
Unless they are completely lost to all rea-
son they cannot help seeing the ire
parable harm which their course would
infiict upon the organization if, by
some unforeseen misfortune they should
be allowed to write its platform and shape
its policy. II the party should go before
the country in 1900 on a platform de-
manding the withdrawal of our authority
from the Philippines it would hardly get
enough votes TO form the roster of a re-
spectacle primary meeting.
In the language of a elear-sighted but
ungrammatical Western Democrat, 1--WE
have done expanded" The sooner all
Democrats like the Hon. John Dewitt
Warner realize the full force and meaning
of this the better it will be for the party.