The Bemidji pioneer., 1900-09-06
THE PARAMOUNT ISSUE.

Inc leaders Oh pOllblCdi PdIplSS 81
always hunting a paramount issue,
4 The seeking of such rattle puts
more wrinkles in their brows than any
4 other duty. That ancient philosopher
Il who wandered about with Lantern
seeking an honest man; Ponce De
4 Leon squirting for the fountain q
/ youth; Vasca da Cana searching Tor
\ a southern route to India: Little Be
Peep seeking her lost sheep--all are
4 historic examples OF weary searchers
who slept with open eyes and wrestled
with athletic fate to find paramount
blessings. But greater 10 the glory,
higher the aim and nobler the ex-
ample Of the political genius who
goeth forth in dull season and find
eth an issue that will stir the blood OF
the voters and cause them to fight like
two Kilkenny cats dangling from q
clothes line.
Every thinker has a hobby-his
| friends call it wheels. = Every pro-
fessional man has q specially some
kind of work he can best do while ex-
posing the least ignorance. Each
student has a fayorite study, and
every male above knee high has q
ssbest girl. 2 AS man is homogeneous
by nature, so is his mind subject to
monomania. Therefore, q paramount
issue is as necessary to a politician
as is q soft snap to lazy man. The
paramount issue is q vote trap, 8 tar
get for eloquence, lightning rod for
otticeseekers, q curry comb TO ideas,
an ear-pnller to Indifferent listeners,
an electoral sand bag, ii short good
thing for the inventor.
The democrats made tariff a par
amount issue in '92 tariff for rev
enue only. Cleveland slid into Office
upon it, and at the request Of his
congressman promptly dumped that
issue into the placid waters OF Buzz
card bay. It has never sbobbed to the
surface since. In 'e6 Bry an made free
silver the paramount issue and it
proved q failure. When the present
campaign dawned that party were at q
loss to find an issue equal to the
glorious showing made by the repub-
hcan party in power. Their calamity
issue could not face McKinley Is pros
perity giant; free silver could not face
the results Of the gold standard; tariff
was too tame; the question Of trusts
could not be made good issue until
that party's record was fumigated;
mistakes of the administration in con-
ducting the war would not be noticed
beside the remarkable results OF the
war. And so on. Up to within a few
months ago we saw once great party
without an issue except s'anti-eyery-
thing We saw Bryan and his lieu-a
tenants running wild in search of the
missing link, the cube root, the one
thing needful 70 paramount issue.
Then thought struck Towne, Petit
grew, Altgeld or some other fellow
whose eyes are so out of plumb that
their distorted vision changes butter
flies to dragons, flowers TO weeds,
rainbows to shadows and prosperity
to calamity. He rushed Bryan TO one
side and said: Don't You see the
stars and stripes changing color?
Behind the banner of freedom seest
thou not the grinning imp OF treason,
its foul hands clutching the fair throat
Of Columbia? Knowest thou not that
In placing the command OF war into
the hands Of Mckinley we have added
a scepter? Victories have made him
mad; power has turned his head, and
the White House chair has changed to
a throne. He has thrown down his
wand OF democracy and it has become
a serpent of royalty. Behold! he
wipeth his nose with our sacred con-
stitution and teareth the flag into a
cat-of-nine-tails to whip republican
ism into the sea! Imperialism is
here! Even now it cometh over the
hill. Freedom is In danger!"
That was happy thought. There
was paramount issue worthy On or
ator, a Bryan. There Is no subject
so dear to the American public as the
slogan of liberty. And cursed will be
the hand that seeks TO destroy it!
The democrats can make grand
stand play out of this issue, provided
their audience il too ignorant to see
through their tissue banner OF hy-
pocrisy.
Imperialism is only another name
for the old issue of the people VS..
the plutocrats. = 1t appeals to the
same set OF voters-those who are
against the party in power. It en-
anates from the same old source
fellows who prefer to appeal to
passion rather than to reason to gain
votes. tits bait to suckers, bottled
energy to the kickers, a signal fire to
anarchy. This country is not as near