The Portland daily press., 1900-06-07

Fuller rsturns from the election In Ore
Ron show that the Republicans not only
carried the stats, but that they carried It
by a largely increased majority-a major
ity 50 large that the electoral vote Of the
state Is assured 10 the Republican ticket
In November. Oregon was one OF the Re
publican states that went astray on the
silver issue, and for some years 1t was
exceedingly Close. This year the Repub-
llcans planted themselves squarely ON
the single gold standard. Against them
all the elements Of opposition were fused.
Il was the Republicans against all other
parties-Populists and Democrats-and
the signal victory which has been won
shows that there has been thorough re-
coyery from the silver delusion. The Of
her issues which the Democrats projected
into the campaign, such as imperi alism
and trusts, seem to have cut no great fig
ure in the vote. They certainly drove
away very few, II any, Republicans. This
may be becauss all the Republicans of
the state are thoroughly satisfied with tn
Philippine policy, but 1t by no means
necessarily implies any such thing.
There are thousands Of Republicans scat
tered all over the land who have not been
satisfied with the management Of affairs
In the Philippines, but very few OF them
would ever think Of DESERVING the Repub-
Iican party on that account and joining
the Democracy. To command support q
party must command respect, and the
Democratic party as made up today In
spires nothing of that kind. All the pol
icy it has is policy of opposition-it
decides its course ON all questions by first
finding out where the Republicans are
and then getting on the opposite side. II
the administration had not held the Phil
ippines IL would have shouted that IL had
been guilty of pusillanimously abandon
| ing one Of the fruits Of the Spanish war.
/ As long as the Republicans did nothing
about trusts It denounced them for what
| IL styled their subservience to corporate
wealth. But when 1t undertook to frame
effective legislation against the trust IL
switched on TO the other side and shouted
| that the Republicans were trying to de-
stroy the rights Of the states. It's elem
ents are OF the most heterogeneous de-
scription. All the anarchists, all the dis
oontented, all the haters OF thri #, all the
cranky economists are in 1t. These ele-
ments are held together now by the COM
mon desire to get the Republicans out as
a preliminary to getting themselves in,
but once in their cohesion would disap-
pear and the various factions would strug
gle with one another like Ishmaelites.
There would be no policy, no common
purpose, no head. All would be confu-
sion and strife. To turn the government
over to the Democracy as 1t exists today
would be about analogous to turning over
a city TO the tender mercies OF mob. A
man may contemplate with apprehension
the complications which the Spanish war
has brought in its train, but II he Is sane
his apprehensions on that score must
be trivial as compared with the fear that
must take possession Of him when he
contemplates what would happen II In
debt repudiating, court diriding, anarchy
breeding crowd that framed the Chicago
platform of 1925 should get possession of
the government In 1901.