The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-07-25


 even to the judgment of the members of its own party. Ii has written am
 biguous platforms and forced its poli- cies through congress after elections. 1 In 1896 it used promise of internation- al bimetallism to conceal it's real pur- pose to fasten the gold standard on the country. In 1900 it practiced the same deception on imperialism and on the trust question. Even within month it , has refused to announce its purpose in regard to the Philippines. and has put off until after November the passage of i the subsidy bill and the consideration of the trust question. The leaders of
 the party show their lack of vital faith in the doctrine of self-government by i their unwillingness to take the people , of the country, or even the voters of their own party, into their confidence.
 The hope of the democratic party lies in bringing this fact to the knowledge of these who have been in the habit of voting the republican ticket. One aris- tocratic party in the country is enough. ] Democratic success must be won, not ! by initiating the republican party, but i by exposing it-not by making the
 democratic party aristocratic. but by | convincing the people that it is really i democratic and can be trusted to de-
 fend democratic ideas and to cultivate
 democratic ideals. AS there are many in the republican party who have ad-
 hered to the party notwithstanding the
 change that the organization has un- dergone. so there are some who call | themselves democrats who have them selves undergone a change which has i alienated them from the democratic ! party or from any party worthy of the name
 To attempt to patch up an apparent
 harmony between those who are not in sympathy with democratic purposes is
 not only waste of time, but would
 prove disastrous. The men who desert 1 ed the party in 1896 may be divided into
 two classes. Those who left because they understood the issue presented and
 those who left because they did not un-
 derstand the real nature of the contest. Until the former are completely chang ed in their sympathies they cannot re- turn to the party without injuring it.
 The latter will be reconciled to the l party when they themselves become aware of the real character of
 the life and death struggle now being i waged between plutocracy and democracy. I say plutocracy. because i the aristocracy of to-day is one of
 wealth rather than of birth. and it in cludes not only those who have been alienated from the common people by
 the possession of great wealth but those who, although without wealth,
 pander to 1t and measure all things by
 money standard. Organized wealth
 has become as potent in governmental
 affairs that some even now despair of applying any effective remedy. But such underestimate the patriotism of the people and the strength of the pub lie conscience. The people have rem 1 edy within their power. namely, the
 ballot, and with it they can and will right every wrong and remedy every
 grievance.
 The democratic party must have controlling purpose. unchanged by vic- tory or defeat: it must stand for that purpose at all times and everywhere, unmoved by threats and disaster and uinfluenced by promise of temporary gain. It must have character, for character is as essential in party as 1t is in an individual. No one will trust an unstable man or one so without prin- ciple that his position upon any moral question cannot be guessed in advance.
 Neither will the people trust a party that Is willing to write into Its platform to-day anything that promises to catch a few votes or strike out of it's plat form tomorrow anything that will aienate few votes. Even If it's de- | sires to do so our party could not com pete with the republican party in the use of money In campaigns or in the | deception or coercion of voters, because large campaign funds can only be se- cured in return for the promise of fa- voritism and our people are not in po- sition to coerce. Our party must have principles and proclaim them; it must stand by them and defend them, rely ing upon it's faith in the righteousness l of those principles and upon it's faith | in the intelligence and patriotism of the people.
 The struggle between human rights on the one side and greed on the other | is an intending one. Our party must
 take part in the struggle, but that struggle cannot be permanently settled ! by this generation or by any future one. As the children of Israel, wan
 dering in the wilderness, could not store bread for the morrow but were com- pelled to gather mama each day, so the citizen finds it impossible to rest upon the achievements of yesterday or to frame government that will run itself He must labor to-day, tomorrow and | while life lasts if he would be secure 1 He must meet each new problem and examine each new proposition that is | submitted to the people, but in doing so he will employ the same purposes and apply the same general rules. He cannot tell what temptations he may have or of what immediate gain he
 may have the promise if he will but surrender his manhood. but he knows, | if he is an upright man, that he will endeavor to resist every temptation, | and he will determine to forgo every | advantage that requires a surrender of l his manhood.
 So with our party. We cannot tell what issues we may have to meet: we | can only determine to meet them in | democratic spirit, to apply to them democratic principles and to take the 1 peoples side always. In 1892 the para mount issue was tariff reform and the