Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1900-05-10
4 WORD FROM ALBERT WATKINS.


be sent to congress. The object OF
the following remarks is to TAX adj
vantage OF the opportunity you have
given me to point political moral
and not to adorn q personal tale
Your suggestion in question must
have been prompted by a friendly
spirit which / greatly appreciate; for
1t Is incompatible with practical poll
tics. In many articles such as that to
which you refer, have freely spoken
economic and political truth, and so
have pleased neither Of our great
party trusts. When | started out as
o boy in journalism with you, con
tended for administrative and tariff
reform and sound money--that time
being the heyday Of Grantism and
grecnbackism. Such u course was un-
popular in Wisconsin then and long
after. Coming west ! advocated free
trade for some twenty years. This
doctrine was unpopular-it seems to
me because IL was so simple and
plain. An exclusively agricultural
country, like these western plains,
palpably has everything to gain and
nothing to lose by unlimited and UNI
restricted markets for It's vast surplus
of food staples. by the time "A reso-
lutte band OF doctrinaires, as they
were contemptuously called, had
changed IA small minority of tariff re-
formers into n large ajority, but
who in the meantime had barred
themselves out OF congress and all
other elective Offices the money ques-
tion came along. OF course those OF
us who had impalcd ourselves on the
principle Of free trade repeated the
self immolation, with The gold stand
ark as weapon and here we are.
A "gold democrat" has just the same
chance of being elected to anything In
Nebraska now as tariff reformer
had thirty years ago. our self-sacrl-
Gee, however, has not b zen without
compensation. We have the leisure
OF private life in which TO enjoy the
present contention Of Republicans
that expanded trade Is good and
necessary, aud their writhing In the
tolls Of the trusts which we long ago
warned them would be result Of the
protective system AS we are nothing
II not unsellsh, we have also enjoyed
the restoration Of business which was
facilitated by the sudden abandonment
Of their silver principles by the Re
publicans, and usurpation OF our
gold platform, "tho way Of holiness
10 which we pointed them by our pre-
cept and example. our humorous
faculty was entertained by the spec
tacle OF Republican delegates jour
neying TO the ST. Louis convention OF
1896 intent on "dolng something Tor
silver and raising hosannas to BIZ
metaism, and returning denouncing
it rs "cra2y populism," while they
held nloft our gold standard us an
eternal principle OF economies,
"Roek-rlbhcd and ancient us the sun"
So far us political honors and emolu-
mcnts are concerned, however, we
have held the bag for our more
practical" and shirty opponents
most Of the time for II generation.
Commonly, In this section Mt least,
men of shifty principles, of meager
equipment, of commonplace mental,
and not high-grado moral ability, get
into congress. Indeed " part OF these
qualities are requisite for getting
there. Whether ! might enjoy going
TO congress or not, vt home enjoy
the company of those who are SUI
perior men, and better lifted, not to
get In, but to be IN congress, than
most OF those who are there,
This very bad condition results
largely from our b-party system, in
which all mon are expected to con
form to all the grotesquely discordant
or contradictory tcncts of one or the
other of the two great PARTIES. Pres
entity, | think we shall dcvelope n new
and logical system, in which many
groups of men may advocate and
push to an issun, one or more impor-
tant and consistent principles which
they believe in, without protesting al
| leganee to n mixture OF, heterogcnc-
GUS principles, many of which they
max not believe in. our present BIZ
party system stultihcs men and de-
moraliHes politics, We adhere to it
because we have boon taught that it
Is n fixed and necessary institution.
An institution SO bad and inefficient
rs this has proved to be is not neces-
sary, and ought not to be fixed.
10 reeur TO myself; My Republican
friend, the editor of The State Jour
nal of this place, sang my congress
| ional requiem as long ago us 1891, in
this conclusive, but Wthal very
gracious fashion:
| "Albert Watkins has been frequently
| mcutiuned rs II man who would run for con
| greSs To advantage in this district since
| liryNn has pulled out of the way, Mr. Wat
| kins sN clear eyed, clear Drained man, With
| twice the intellectual ability of the present
| rungressman lie has been udeni al his
| days, aud has come MS near living the tn-
| tcllCctual life rs amy working editor or llw-
| yer In linculu, For TINT reason he Muudn
! do for u democratic nominee for congress, A
man must be- an ont and out dcmuroguc to
succeed rs u democratic candidates IN any
| thtng Ia Nebraska; and Watkins Is 100 much
| addicted to the hadn't of having IDEAS and
expressing them To be II dcmae cue uudcc
ANY circumstances
Strike out sthc qualifying words,
democratic" and Nohra, ,la, making
the application univcu 1t, and YOU
have the truth and the whole truth, to
which tho exceptions in practice are, |
! t,hlg I.NN - iN ~ ~