The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-05-23
|Nn|cS OVER THE LINE.
...orns LIVE WITHOUT PARTIES
PARTIES HAVE NO LEADERS.
IL. Worse COMPOUNDED Than in
- Coalition This side of the
perder-Joe Martin the EmbOdi-
nent of Loose Political Methods.

x.eial Dispatch to the PostJIntelligencer
r0seLAND, b. c.. May Eff any man
! cattle who has had any leanings to-
.srds fusion, nonpartisanship or other
~ fads wishes for an object lesson in
m workings, he has only to look across
~ boundary at this province. He will
"a himself bewildered by fifteen puzzle
Z rrtIes without leaders and leaders with
nj parties And the strange feature CT
4 that, although the political confusion
- prevailing Is direct consequence of
4. attempt to carry on democratic form
!, government without party organization.
~ effort on the part OF both federal par
- 10 get things down to a system has
nupd again In the main.
n 4 probably known that the parties in
r.csda are the Conservative. correspond
4, roughly In principle to the Republican
ss,tv IN the United States, and the Lib
ri corresponding 10 the Democratic par
= In his province. as everywhere else in
~ rominion, these parties fight furiously
: federal issues In federal elections. but in
,,oyiucial affairs party lines have never
IN drawn. Instead of this. some one
- has gathered together a personal fol-
sv,ne and made combinations by which
l. attained majority I'm the Legislature,
"A therefore, according to the British sys-
-, was called on to- form a government.
nm. the Turner party, which was lis
r,ued from office In 1898, was composed of
mixture OF Liberals and Conservatives.
shmrrh mainly OF the latter. General dis
.o.tent and the complaint that 1t favored
4. ecast and Vancouver island at the ex-
,sc,s Of the interior led to its overthrow
"a the So called Peoples party. a mix
iura led by C. A. Semlin and II. Carter Cot
I'M both Conservatives. was called to
smce. Tho dissensions by which Martin.
,heir Liberal attorney general, was ex-
viIed from Office and obtained revenge by
kinelng about their downfall and attain
M ol1ice himself. are familiar history.
| ma djscredit which Turner and mis- fol-
MYERS had brought upon themselves and
~ fast-growing popular contempt which
- heaped on the Semlin- Cotton govern
n@nt for its weakness and laundering led
M leading conservatives to believe that
M time was opportune to conduct pro-
yincial politics on federal party lines. as IN
cher provinces, and last fall n provincial
convention OF the party at New Westmlns-
~ decided on this course. adopted plat
tosm and elected Charles Wilson. of Van
puyer, party leader But, with few ex-
vptons. the Conservative new.pape,s con
onpt did so, because It Is owned by the
Dunmurs, whose aim in provincial affairs
al not run that way. Tho Vancouver
ysws-Advertiser did so because It IL owned
IN Mr. Carter-Cotton, to whom the move
nsnt meant relegation from leadership to
1 second place.
Nearly all the Liberal papers opposed
PARTY lines because their party Is admit
idly in minority and only by the crazy
Quilt system OF clique government could
hey hope for n share of the offices. The
Liberals, however tried to play n double
nme, favoring party lines In districts
where they were confident of majority
md opposing that plan where they were
srely outnumbered.
This was the condition when Joe Martin
va called to office-literally leader
without party. He combines the dema-
scgic talents OF w J. Bryan with the
brutal frankness of "Pitchfork" Tillman.
but Is. withal, "A daring schemer. He Is