The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-08-02
HE ssaUAREDn. HIMsELE.

The intense feeling which Is being dis
played against Senator Hoar ON account
Of his announced purpose to support the
administration of his party in the pre-
vailing campaign can not be regarded rs
particularly well founded. Senator EIoar
is a Republican. He happened to dis
agree with his party, as represented by
that administration, on one line of public
policy pursued by it. He is understood to
have been in the most complete agree
ment with it In every other direction.
The expectation that a man out of touch
with his party in one respect must neces-
sarily oppose the party is based on the
assumption that there can be no disagree,
ment on the score of the prime and vital
Importance Of the principle or policy on
which disagreement takes place. AS long
or otherwise Of given announced policy
so long must there be disagreement aus to
the propriety Of the con6uct OF the dis
tfnguished senator from Massachusetts
in denouncing Imperialism and voting for
his party's national candidates If the
Democrat who refuses to support his
party because Of the silver issue is de-
serving Of denunciation, he believing that
that is the most important consideration.
surely Senator Hoar or any other anti
inperialist Republican who supports his
party, Notwithstanding he may beUeve
Imperialism to be the leading issue, is en-
titled to commentator. at least from the
same source. And the converse Of this
rule holds good also.
Republicans who are against the So
called imperialist policy and intend to OPP
pose the administration and party on &C
count Of that issue are in position to
denounce Senator Hoar, since his leader
ship of them was conceded, and since his
denunciation was radical and unmeas-
ured. He is inconsistent at least That
goes without saying. Setting himself UP,
or rather being generally accepted as
standing for a higher plane of political
ethics than most men engaged in active
political life, the course pursued by SEN
ater Hoar is less worthy of the man
than 1t otherwise would be- But there is at
best but little of consistency supposed
to prevail among politicians; and what a
man is regarded as being in public life
does not always accord with the fact.
Senator Hoar is shown to be a hard
and-fast partisan Republican. And that
is, after all. perhaps, the most serious
charge that can be laid at his door,
In supporting Mckinley and Roosevelt
he does no worse than all his party col,
leagues In the senate, save one, who
ject. Billy Mason has passed out of gen
eral view. But he supports his party
So with all the other leading opponents
of anti-imperialism within the Republican
party who We're heard from in congress
on the subject with one or two excep-
lions.
A great deal of Democratic reliance
was placed on Senator Hoar Those who
counted on his opposing his party counted
without their host, as Democrats do usu-
ally when they seek sustainment for
their party or its principles in the ranks
of other political organizations
Senator Hoar has done as many poll
ticians before him have done. He has
squared himself with his party. 1t
is hardly consistent to denounce him for
doing that for which. in principle at least,
others are denounced by the same ele-
ment OF political society for refusing to
do