The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1900-06-29

there would be no party slaves there
could be no party bosses. ReaG
any of the party papers of today anG
you cannot but be convinced of the
subserviency of the press, which il
very unfortunate, as the newspapers
! now WELD wonderful sway in mould.
ing public opinion. The mission oi
the independent press is therefore to
be commended.
AS the time of election approaches
one should think seriously what he is
going to do with his next vote.
That, as rule, he will have to cast
it for one or~other of the two great
political parties is certain for there is
no indication at the present time that
there will be many independents in the
field, and even when q candidate does
offer himself to the electors On the in
dependent ticket it is generally pretty
we'll understood that he is an inde-
pendent with very decided leaning.
Ii the party he leans to is elected, he is
in their ranks on the very first vote
and he generally remains there all the
way through, vide our own beloved
Kyle.
On the whole, therefore, it is pretty
certain that to have ones vote count
at all, it will have to go to one
or the other of the two great parties,
and the thing to consider seriously is:
Which party shall it be.
1t is not an easy matter for one to
decide who is thoroughly independent
and wishes to use his vote in an in
telligent manner for the best interests
OF the country. Each has its virtues
and each has it's faults, and to the
man who is not blinded by party, it
is no easy task to say which has the
most good and the least evil.
1t is no longer question of high or
low tariff, economy or lavishness in
expenditure.
The republicans have always been
prOtectionists and the democrats free
traders, but who of us can determine
the difference between the Mckinley
bill and the Wilson bill.
There is therefore no choice left on
this broad principle of trade, and
Judging by the Interviews of the
leaders on both sides the intention is
to fight the next contest on new issues.
There is one great issue before the
people and that is the trust question,
but both parties are fighting shy of it.
Neither side has put forth any def
mite policy, and things are allowed to
drift along in the same old groove.
The free coinage question has been
releg gated to the rear and is not likely
to be represented during the present
campaign.
A great and most serious question,
however looms up before the people,
and ignore it as they may, the poll
ticians cannot be blind to the outcome.
In the past year events have follow
ed each other in rapid succession and
new history has been made day by
day. In the mad career OF "mani-
fest destiny" has not the great
republican party overleaped the
bounds of common sense and pru-
ence.
There is q great opportunity here
for one of the parties to mark out q
distinct line of policy that will
assure the people that baby empire
shall never be born out of the ruins
OF this glorious republic of the United
States of America. Such q policy
would win, for there can be no doubt
OF the feelings OF the people on this
question. They are tired of militar-
ism, expansion, empireism. II this
issue should be kept out Of the ques-
tion, what is there left to base q
choice? There is no end OF fault to
be found, and you will hear it ell, but
it is not wise to be led away by
charges made during the campaign.
Politics like war, is game played on
the principle that you must do all the
damage to the other fellow that you
can and still keep clear of the dam
age yourself. The politician fights
good deal after the manner of the
Boer;he pelts the other fellow from be-
hind rock, lays traps for him, and
pounds him hardest when he thinks ii
safest for him to do SO. His mani
festoes are similar too, gotten up to
blind the reader on the one side and
to deceive him as to the intent on the
other.
1t is 3 nice thing to discriminate,
and he who would do it honestly has to
begin early and study the subject
deeply. It Is not enough to hear one
side and jump at conclusion. Hear
what both have to say, look at things
for yourself and decide how you
are going to cast your vote, just as
you would decide about the purchase