Morris tribune., 1901-07-20
ST. sPouR 9ottos.

observe the fruits of the work dom
then and to determine whether or no
the existing condition of affairs il
state government is superior to thu
system in vogue when the fusionistI
had control of the executive depart
ment. Two years of Democratic rule
did not improve the public service
in any department and certainly i'm
pahed it in many. There was much
lost and nothing gained by the
change, and now, with only year
between us and the convention which
must name the next set Of state Of
ficials it is certainly time for practical
men to begin considering means for
continuance of Republican supre-
macy in the state end for the har-
monizing of all elements that must
take part in an 'Eoff year" election
time always perlious and sometimes
fatal to the party in power.
If the party is worth sustaining at
all it is worth sustaining to the full
limit, and 1t can not lie effective for
good and economical government
if it is handicapped and crippled by
the presence of warning factions and
incompatible political elements work
ing under one roof. A Republican
administration would be almost
powerless for good, for instance, witt
Democratic Legislature, and just ST
would an administration be crippled
for all useful purposes where an i'm
portant Office, such as governor,
auditor or attorney general, was /;
Democrat and the rest of the elective
officers Republican. It was this very
lack of harmony that made the Line
administration the failure that it was
and prevented the Republican Of
fcials from carrying out the policies
to which they were committed and
which have since been endorsed.
No state can eyer be reformed or
it's condition made better by resort
to political dynamite. To start a
reform" that contemplates the de.
struction of the Republican party and
the upbuilding of Democracy is as
foolish peice of business as it would
be for man to contract smallpox to
get rid of boil. If there is any evil
practice or wrong doing in the patty
the place to correct it is with in the
party, and it is for Republicans to do
it themselves, and without the aid of
Democrats. Whenever a Democrat
goes in with Republican to "cor-
rect" something it is always with the
understanding that the Democrat
gets the Office. The Democrats
never fuse with any party except for
the purpose of gaining votes for a
Democrat, and the Democratic paper
which pat the Republican kicker on
the back and praises his "independ-
ence" uses sledge hammer when he
pats the Democratic "kicker" on the
back for doing the same thing And the
same Democratic paper praises that
the Republican bolter, whether
an editor, a candidate or only voter
secretly holds him in as much con-
tempt as he does the boilers OF his
own party.
Another comparison that might
we'll be instituted is that of the
course of the Democratic railroad
commission and the Republican com.
mission as it now exists. On the
very day on which the Democrats
gained control of the board the
Republican heads of departments,
and every Republican employe who
could be spared from the working
force was promptly fired and his
place given, as rule, to some pro-
fessional Democratic politician who
knew absolutely nothing about the
department.
There is criticism of the Republi-
can commission Ia many Republican
quarters for the delay in ousting
Democrats, but the people generally
will commend that body for it's DELHI
Grafton and its fixed determination to
employ no man except upon the fixed
standard of experience and personal
fitness for the work to be done.
There is no lack of material for
those Republicans who desire to
speak words of approval and COM