Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1901-08-28
Che Denrofrat.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST %, 1901.
Democratic State Convention.


The democratic state convention at Des
Moines last week was more largely at
tended than any convention held by the
party in Iowa since the conventions
which nominated Horace Boies for gov
ernor; and had ordinary common sense
prevailed, democratic prospects of sue
cess this year would have been nearly If
not quite as good as they were ten years
ago, when we elected our entire state
ticket, q majority of the state senators
and 45 members of the house of repre-
sentatives. But few hot heads on
each side thought it more important to
wrangle over the disputes of the past
than to deal with the questions of the
present, and at their doors lie heaps of
ruined democratic prospects.
The democrats of Iowa supported the
Chicago and Kansas City platforms. and
under like conditions would do SO again
and again; but at the present time
changed conditions have rendered OBJ
solete many of the provisions of those
platforms, and 1t was nothing less than
uncommon nonsense for delegates to
waste their energies and create confu-
sion by the discussion of propositionsno
relevant to the issues involved in the
present campaign. Fully nine out of
every ten of the delegates present at
Des Moiaes favored the Kansas City
platform when it was adopted, voted
for the nominees of that convention
at the last election aud had no apollo
gies to make to any one for so doing.
At the same time we believe that fully
two-thirds of these delegates were will
ing to support resolution which would
have referred TO the Kansas City
platform in language which could
not be construed as reflection
many way upon the many who had
supported that declaration of principles,
nor on the other hand have contained
anything tending to irritate or humili-
ate the few who for years have differed
in opinion from their party associates.
But, unfortunately for the majority,
they were not given an opportunity to
record their desires. result largely due
to the extraordinary rulings of the per-
manent chairman. The only test vote
allowed was square trial of strength
between those who favored resolution
which entirely ignored the Kansas City
platform, and those who favored its I'M
qualified re-ailirmstion. When the
question was presented in that way, the
result was practically foregone COZ
clusion. 1t was not reasonable to ex-
pect that the men, who had helped to
demonstrate the correctness of the
cumulative theory of money, the gem
eral acceptance of which has proved of
such inestimable value, would be will
ing to vote for proposition, which, at
best, was a half admission that they
had erred in giving allegiance to the last
national platform of their party. While
unqualified re-dflirmation was impolitic,
and carried with it number Of incon-
gruities, it was preferable to quasi re-
pudiation, and 1t carried by vote of
6Gl to $50.
While this want of harmony tends to
temporarily dim the chances for demo-
cratic success in Iowa, it will not dis
courage true democrats The demo
cratic party stands for human liberty,
human rights aud human progress, and
its legions will be here doing battle for
these principles as long as the republic
lasts.