The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1902-10-16
Hanna's "staud Pat"

keynote for the Ohio
campaign 1t is worthy of the
man and his cause Listen to his
words at the opening meeting of
his party, held at Akron on the
9th: 81 told you last year to let
well enough alone; to-day say,
Stand patti"
We are informed by amateurs in
the uplifting game from which Mr..
Hanna borrows his defiant vocab-
ulary, that the player who ostenta-
tiously "stands pat" may be rea-
sonably suspected of trying to per-
petrate "bluff +" With that ex-
planation the meaning of the Hanna
keynote becomes clear.
Even the party papers of this
distinguished Republican recognize
the "bobtailedness" of the "sickly
flush" upon which he tells his
party to "stand pat" The Re-
publican campaign in Ohio is
bare-faced bluff. The Republican
leaders have begun the discussion
of national issues, tariff, trusts,
Philippine, Cuban reciprocity, ship
subsidy, and similar topics, but
every one is aware that upon the
action of the legislature at its
present extraordinary session de-
pends much in the present political
campaign. A deadlock in the leg
islature, or a settlement of the
code question in the interests of
corporations, or municipal sys-
tenn which benefits one community
at the expense of another, would
be disastrous to the Republicans.
That is Mr.. Hanna's reason for
standing pat' with a handful of
national issues. He wants to di-
vert attention from local govern
ment, local taxation and local
street car systems. AS he himself
has recently said, he expects, while
he remains in politics, to make his
political policy conform to his
business interests. Therefore,
while he works with the State leg
islature to promote his business
affairs at the expense of the peo-
pie, he 'stands pat" on national
issues.
With national issues also, the
same bluffing spirit is to be OBJ
served. In that connection, to
"stand pat" is to assert that times
are good and that plutocrats have
made them so. keep us in pow
er, if you want good times to con-
tinue; should you so much as hint
at desire to put us out, our joss
will cure you with hard times I" is
the never-ceasing cry of the pluto
cratic ring for whom Hanna speaks.
Yet he knows, and all the Repub-
lican leaders know-you will hear
them say so if the period of hard
times begins before the people re-
pudiate their leadership-that hard
times result from general condi-
tions and cannot be controlled by
political parties merely as parties.
A more hypocritical pretense was
never invented than the pretense
of Republican leaders that busi-
ness conditions depend upon keep
ing their party in power. 1t is n
threat, a bluff, "stand pat" and
while the people have allowed
themselves to be fooled by it, they
are not likely to do SO always.
/ When Senator Foraker spoke at
the Ohio keynote meeting where
Senator Hanna ostentat ousl v
"skinned his cards' and announce
ed that he would "stand pat, :"
Mr.. Foraker found it necessary to
discuss the trust question. In the
course of that discussion he found
it necessary, also to make at least
one inexcusable Misrepresentation
He said that "trusts did not ori-
ginate here, as a result of the
tariff, but in England and Euro
pean countries where they have
free trade" Now, in fact, there
is not one free trade country in
Europe, except England, as MIR.
Foraker must we'll know. Even
England is not strictly free trade
country; but as her tariff is for
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