The Minneapolis journal., 1902-07-12
DEMOCRATIC PHILOSOPHERS

> II is uOI surprising tndLz zCOiOnel% Bryan
got some crumbs of comfort this week
by the action Of the democratic state
judicial convention of Missouri, endorsing
the Kansas City platform of 1900. Bryan
regards Missouri as his special preserve,
and the action of the Missouri democracy
will be to- him soothing salve to ease
the pain inflicted by the democracy Of
Indiana and Illinois. = - $500 'c,'.s>s = n + ~
+ Senator Vest Of Missouri is not as san
guine as. Bryan, Champ Clark and other
bumptious and e'bullient democrats about
the democratic congressional campaign
this fall. He does mot believe that, the
Kansas City platform is a magical
formula ito help his party out of a hole.
He Is not a strenuous stickler for the
Philippine issue, so called. In recent
interview the Missouri philosopher de-
1clared that "it is useless. Ito protest
against the Philippine policy now He
thinks, as the house democrats do, who,
in their summing up of Issues to be
brought into the congressional cam
paign, eliminated the free silver and
Philipine topics las not having sufficient
promise as issues to include them III the
program; Senator Vest is of thenopinion
that, If the present high tide Of prosperity
runs full and strong in 1904, nothing in
the way of political maneuvering, and
chicanery or slangwangery can keep the
republicans from carrying the presidential
election. The hope of the democrats, be
1T intimated, rests upon the possibility of
"a, financial revulsion and business de-
preston, and he thinks that, If the demo
Gratis carried the house this fall, and
business depression comes in 1903, the
to the democratic victory. Perhaps they
would, but the impressive thing about
Senator Vests observation is that party
which depends upon commercial depres-
sions and panics to- get into power, cannot
have much that ds intrinsical1y good to
commend it. "a - I, s5.s. ,ss S Z -, ~ s~
According to this view, which is a
democratic view. the voters only resort
to the democratic party when they wish
ITO administer a temporary rebuke to the
republican party for. something st has
done which displeases them. Vest thinks
that his party would mot gain much by
capturing the house of the fifty eighth
congress as long as the republicans have
the presidency and twenty majority ir
the senate and have put Through i'm
portant features of their program. Thi;
| is true. A democratic house may be de-
pended on to make a spectacle of Itself
before gods and men.
Bourke Cochran, the long -wfnded demo
cratic orator, in his Fourth of July ora
tion, Laid down, as the dominant issue
the, Philippines topic, differing from Sena.
tor Vest directly! Cochran means te
stick to the Philippines as promising
| field for the manufacture Of poIitica
capital. He bitterly lamented that sswe
are celebrating this Independence Day
| by establishing in the Philipp ppines q gov.
tthe principles of the declaration Of 1nde-
/ pendence,. = and he characterized the lib,
1 .erty in the Philippin as inverted lib.
erty and, inverted logic 81 81
| Mr.. Cochran might as well characterize
| the declaration OF Independence as re-
/ fecting inverted liberty and inverted
| logic for he knows or ought to know
that this celebrated Instrument, put foTtl
by the Fathers, z carried with it no be
stowal of civil or political rights at home
for the signatory states, thirteen in mum
Der, one and all recognized human SLAYER!
Las perfectly legal institution and ma
jority OF the signers of the document wer,
sslaveholde lders recognizing no claim on th,
part of negroes to equality or 'inaIiena
4 rights while great breadths of fant
were claimed by the colonies and marked
off by bounds with no reference whatevel
to the consent of the native inhabitants
] Mr.. Cochran is. far and away from tn,
4 truth when he says the new Philippdn,
government is opposed to the principle,
4 OF the declaration of independence Z }.Th,
1 philippine civil government bill is mor'
in accordance with those principles, whicl
Rufus Ghoate once described as glitter
4 Ing generalitie 8 than was the govern