Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1901-08-29
AN ISSUELESS PARTY.
Hopeless Plight of the Democracy
for the Coming Presidential
Campaign.

1t was Hon. Charles A. Towne, of
Minnesota, eX-silver republican, ex-
populist, eX-democrat, now develop
er of Texas -"oil gushers" and "out of
politics." who thus recently hit off the
temper and purposes of the democratic
party: "The feeling among democrats
is that they want to win, and they do
not care a rap what sort of platform
they win on.' Mr.. Towne's breezy out
burst of cynicism was inspired by the
indecent haste with which the Ohio
democrats turned the campaign Gtho-
graph of Nebraska's peerless COM
moner" to the wall and barred from
their resolutions any specific indorse-
ment of last years democratic nation
al platform. The Minnesota states
mans candid arraignment of demo-
cratic hypocrisy was amply justified by
the Columbus conventions eagerness
to make any sacrifice of principle nee
essary TO facilitate immediate party
success. But if further disclosure of
recreancy had been necessary to JUS
tify Mr.. Towne's assertion that the
democratic party has entered the final
stage of moral bankruptcy, that dis
closure is furnished in the lamentable
exhibit of political assets offered to
the world by the Maryland democratic
convention.
As has already been noted in these
columns, the Baltimore convention re-
fused absolutely to commit itself on
any of the national issues on which it
was compelled to fight the presidential
campaign of 1900. Free silver coinage,
Imperialism and the evils of trusts
the trinity of issues on which Col. Bry-
an appealed for votes year ago
were dismissed without syllable of
approving comment, and in their stead
the utterly misleading and ridiculous
cry of negro domination" was raised
to Justify the election of legislature
which is to fill the seat in the United
States senate now held by political
nondescript, George L. Wellington. A
more lmpudent and transparent at
tempt to hide the true questions at
issue between the two parties in Mary
land could not well be imagined; and
were it not for the desperate exigen-
cies of the democratic organization,
which dares not advocate before the
people any single one of the demands
to which it is committed by the Kansas
City platform, the bugaboo put for
ward by last weeks convention would
be laughed contemptuously out of
court by democratic as we'll as by re-
publican opinion.
According to the census of 1900, the
negroes in Maryland constitute some
thing over 10 per cent. of the states
population. Probably $4,000 negro
votes were polled for presidential
electors last November out of total
of 264,511. Since then a new cleo
tion law has gone into effect, ex-
pressly designed by its trainers to
limit negro suffrage, and, unless the
hopes and plans of the democratic
organization sadly miscarry, the me-
gro vote at the coming state election
should fall to less than Is per cent. of
the whole. To say that white SUI
premacy is endangered or appreciably
affected by the presence in the elec-
torate of this small negro element is,
of course, fhe sheerest absurdity. The
democratic party in Maryland has nc
fear of the negro, and no intention Of
isfranchising him as such, and prob
ably no body of Marylanders would
be more reluctant to see the negro
excluded from the suffrage than the
democratic politicians themselves. As
always, however, they are willing to
advocate programme of buncombe |
and humbug, especially when, as in |
this instance, it serves as a cloak to |
disguise an absolute poverty of gen.
uine political ideas or issues. Find. |
ing nothing else left in the ransacked |
wardrobe of Jeffersonianism, they try
to clothe themselves with the pre-.
tense that the 215,O00 white voters OF !
the state are to be overawed and /
trampled on by the 10000 or $4,000 |
negro voters. But in parading so
self-destructive theory they only ad.
vertise the fact that in Maryland, |
even more than in Ohio, the demo.
cratic party has become party with
out a conscience and without an is.
sue.-N. Y. Tribune.