Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-09-01
The Responsibility of the Stay-at
Home.

The responsibility of the stay-at-
home voter appears to need little en-
phasis now and then.
If he call himself and be accepted as
a Democrat his neglect to vote even in
the off year, may be attributed to sew
eral reasons, in our opinion all of
them negatively good. Good some
times comes from neglect to do wrong,
and vice versa. In other words this
voter by neglecting to vote assumes
one or more of several things; either
that he would like to vote the Republi-
can ticket were it not for his dislike to
break from his party, or that he be-
lieves the management of that party is
in incompetent or dangerous hands. He
may see as do very many that today
the Democratic party in this country
cannot hope to accomplish any direct
results except those results be first ap-
proved by that large faction of the
party which is imbued with Organism.
He ought to know that a vote in an off
year has influence on the courage with
which campaign will be waged in a
Presidential election.
A Republican voter ought to know
this well proven truth. He surely is
dull if he has attained voting age and
does not know that his neglect to come
to the polls next Monday will be con-
strued as disapproval on his part of
the work berg done by the Republi-
can party, national as well as State.
And not only disapproval Of that but
conversely APPROVAL of what the Demo-
cratic party-so called-proposes to do
if it gets the chance.
What does it propose to do once
given the chance? Well, it must be
confessed that the leadership of the
party finds itself unable to say just
what it proposes. 1t can't unite even
in a declaration of war. The public
however, at least that portion of it
with n memory good enough to recall
what the Democratic party was doing
in 1896. what it has since promised in
its platforms to do, and what is the
nature of the party to do. ought TO feel
nature of the party to do. ought to feel
pretty certain of one thing, viz. that
the Democratic party would succeed in
bringing chaos where now there is or
der, would founder around in tariff
squabbles while the business of the
country stood still and watched. would,
led as il is by men identified with some
of the most powerful trusts of the
country. talk great deal about what
it would do and do nothing. would in
short set back to the minimum the
magnificent prosperity of the present.
The other night one of the most
prominent, level-headcd Democrats in
all Maine stated in a speecn at Port
land that the party was for tariff fer
revenue only. which means 4 tax on
the necessities of life most commonly
used without regard to whence they
might come. He also proposed al the
only remedy for trusts the abolition
of the tariff on all articles produced by
4 trust. OF course he did not mention
the fact that there is no .i,Ity on the
product of the Standard Oil trust. that
there is no tariff on anthracite coal. at
present. in control of the worst hated
trust of them all. He did not as
sumo, however, that the removal. Of
duty from imports of cattle would
break the beef trust ana bring hack
sirloin steaks from 40 cents to % cents
pound. He did neglect to meltion
that the duty 81 per hundred. could by
no possibility reduce the price of beef
but cents on the pound.
Well nobody expected he would. The
fact that the Democratic party is
Obliged to resort to so much of decep
ton. to so many impractical PROPOSE
I tons. need not be wholly attributed to
the inherent nature of the party. It's
In the nature of the situation to quite