Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1902-03-18
The Candidacy Of Mr.. Hill.

David B. Hill at the Manhattan club
banquet in New York, February %,
may be accepted as formal announce
ment of his candidacy before the next
democratic national convention. He
is certain that President Roosevelt
will be the republican nominee, and
Roosevelt is New York man. He is
also certain that New York will be the
battle ground, and the inference is
natural Though not necessary that
the democratic nominee should come
from New York-and is not Mr.. Hill
a New York man?
But in order that his candidacy
might be fairly started on its way he
outlines what he considers a winning
platform. 1t is fortunate for the party
that the distinguished New Yorker
discloses his plans early, although
those who read the platform will OBJ
serve that there is familiar ambi-
guilty about the planks which recalls
the days when democraticx platforms
were made to conceal issues rather
than to present them. First, as to
the man. As he has not taken the
public fully into his confidence we
must rely on circumstances to ascer-
tain the exact hour when the present
attack of presidential fever first made
its appearance. II the minority had
secured control of the Chicago con-
vention Mr.. Hill would doubtless have
been the nominee, for he was the
spokesman of the minority and was
peculiarly fitted to represent the
methods employed by the gold men on
that occasion. AS is we'll known LIE
refused to give single word of en-
couragement to the democratic ticket
during the campaign and as a result
whatever influence he had was thrown
against the party. When the cam
paign was over he wrote carefully
prepared magazine article assailing
the democratic platform and arguing
In favor of repudiating it, This article
will be reproduced hereafter.
AT the time the article was written
the reorganizers were loudly proclaim
ing their determination to reconstruct
the party along Wall street lines and
Mr.. Hill may have been deceived as to
the extent of the gold sentiment. The
elections of 1897, however, showed tile
overwhelming strength of the Chicago
platform democracy, and all talk of
reorganization was for the time aband-
oned. It was during this lull that Mr..
Hill publically admitted thathe voted
the democratic ticket in 1896. 1t was
so startling a piece of news that 1T
was telegraphed all over the country
and it has since been reported that
his statement could be proved by a
thumb-mark on the ticket. 1t is not
necessary, however, to resort to- the
thumb-mark-Pudd'n head Wilson's
favorlte form of evidence. 1t can
readily be admitted that Mr.. Hill,
after doing all he could to defeat the
ticket, voted for the candidates in
order to give him technical member
ship in the party. Whether he had
fully determined to be candidate
when he secretly voted the ticket, or
when, after the election, he boldly at
tackled the platform, cannot be de-
termined, but no we'll Informed per-
son will doubt that he was consider
ing future nomination when he ad.
mitted that in the seclusion of the
booth he had solemnly assumed his
share of the terrible responsibility
borne by those who voted for the nomi-
neeS of the Chicago convention.
From that day on his energies we're
bent, not toward overthrowing the or
ganization, but toward changing the
platform. After nearly all the states
had reaffirmed the Chicago platform
he changed his tactics and sought to
prevent any reiteration of the planks
that we're Objectionable to him. It'll
will be remembered that he at first
protested against instructions, but f.
nally consented to attend the conven-
tion as an instructed delegate. Dur
ing the campaign that followed he
made speeches but their influence can
be measured by the fact that they Sc
cured neither the votes, the influence
nor the contributions of those who are
now the most enthusiastic in the sup
port of his candidacy.
He is the favorite son of the reorga-
nizing element In the democrat party,
he is the special representative of
those who have SO completely forgotten
the story of the prodigal son that they
would place the parental homestead on
wheels and start in hot pursuit of the
. hayward son, determined to compel
the boy to eat fatted calf even if the
husks have destroyed his taste for
wholesome food.
But what of HIS PLATFORM? The
following is the abstract given by the
press:
nWe trace our political lineage back
70 Jefferson, who was the author of
that immortal protest against British
imperialism known as the Declaration
OF Independence. Opposition to the
precepts and practices of imperialism
was thus one of the cardinal principles
OF our party at the very inception of
the pQvarnmant