The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-01-05

The Democracy In sorry state for
= Live Question.


Seattle, Jan t. lsas
To .aa Editor. There Is a weli-knowu
SAYING that a drowning man will grasp al
a straw THE same Is true OF expiring pc
iirscal parties. The exit aorsisuary proposs-
lions Of Judge Mcconnell ard Henry "as-
;ersoEl. printed IN your last sunday issuss
are good illustrations of this fact posh
mee seem To pc lost-throwu oy the oes-
perareress OF the situation into SOFT on
wild scramble for an issue. without Know
Ing very clearly what they do want, as
men on sinking ship. not knowing the
cause Of leakage, might develop scores Oh
hasty plans 10 save her.
The Democratic party Is dying simply be-
cause the principles ard ideals are al vari-
ance with the present needs OF CIVILIZATION
They belong 10 an epoch that IS past GOOD
in their day, they have served their turn
The principle OF free competition might
have very fun sway in a primitive country,
when neither men. materials nor money
could be rnassed and combined 20 secure
the mos, effective results. But when this
concentration constitutes the very lie and
essence Of success. IL - as futile 10 cry
out agains. II as it was for the pope 10 is-
sue his bull against the comet.
Judge Mcdonnell. Watterson and all
others who think that the chief business
OF every man IS TO waste his energies and
capital In fighting every other man, rather
than continuing in a prudent manner 10
prevent mutual destruction. presume. per-
haps anconsc!cusly. that civilized men
must continue 10 becore more aggressive
than intelligent as the years pass by.
There Is right and wrong side 10 this
process OF combination. and the man who
cries out against it Unfortunately Is
either extremely narrow in knowledge Of
affairs. or a mere demagogue appealing TO
popular prejudices
Watters0n's declaration Is amusing TO the
last degree. Mark Twain has written moth
ing better. :" To come down 10 hard facts"
says he. '.old-horse sense sitting in the
rocker, the issue Of free silver being rele-
gated to the limbo Of busted shades, the
tariff issue peacefully reposing upon the
and the season Of plenty arrived, what
are the Democrats to do for national
platform and ticketr''
This is really pathetic: but horse sense
in the rocker instantly suggests way
out OF the difficulty. If the lack of a fam
Inc leaves the Democratic party without
an issue. let its leaders go TO work and
produce another famine, SO as to have an
issue. Plain a. the nose on your face,
Henri.
There is he says, but one thing for
tLS pSiHoCfdtS 10 90. 1ne voters nave
about made UP their minds that party
pledges are fabricated chiefly to be broken.
Let the Democrats. banking on this cir
comstance, put up ticket without plat.
FORM"
Oh. the pity of II. Iago; the pity of IL.
Are We to understand. then, that the Dem
ocraf!c party has exhausted and broken all
possible pledges that any party can make
10 people. and that 1t must now do bat
tie. like naked newborn babe or heav-
ems cherubin horsed upon the sightless
couriers Of the air. without any principle
or platform at all?
by no means. There is yet hope Let
the Democratic party be true to its tradi-
tons and instincts. Let it propose nothing.
but oppose everything. IL matters not
whether the thing itself be right or wrong.
so that 1t be sufficiently positive and
definite to be opposed. Expansion. for IN
stance, Is positive movement. 1t IL a
neutrality-suspicious. something policy. This
crazy purpose the Democratic party should
not tolerate. Let the motto for the new
century be: III the Democratic party can
dc nothing to push the world backward.
let it exhaust every effort to prevent II
from going forward DEXTUS.