The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-06-05
THE SEARCH FOR DEMOCRATIC PR1N-

THE SEARCH FOR DEMOCRATIC PR1N-
ClPLEs
The Indiana democrats applied the bell
lows to the srnoldering embers Of party
principles" yesterday And tried to In
fuse warmer atmosphere into the un-s
promising situation.
The fact cannot pass scrutiny that.
while there was some cheering for Col
onel Bryan, the name of the perpetual.
presidential candidate was omitted sedu-
lously from the platform. Nor was the,
Kansas City platform alluded to as the
creed of the "Jeffersonian democracy
1t was. ignored.
Nevertheless the platform is an aggre-
cation Of old political curiosities, some
CT which are fathered by Colonel Bryan.
A specimen of the inconsistency Of the
utteranceSNs found in the planks touching
finance, where the business prosperity is
attributed to the increased production Of
gold, which, say these wiseacres, is "a
demonstration Of the truth of the quaint
tative theory of money" This Is Bry-
anism and 1t may readily be recalled that,
same democrats declared that gold was
the money Of the plutocracy and that it
was a crime to advocate it as a money
standard and crime even to handle it.
Their advocacy of the quantitative theory
Of money then rested with the advocacy
of irredeemable paper currency and fifty
cent silver dollars.
The longest plank is that denouncing
the Philippine policy of the administra-
ton, which contains the amusing declara-
tion that the Filipipos cannot be citi-
zens without endangering our civilization,
and yet demanding that our government
shall assist these dangerous people to or
ganize their own government.
Noticeable is the plank lauding both
army and navy for their patriotism and
brilliant services, showing that the In
diana democrats have discovered that it
| is lonoly game to denounce our SOLDIERS
in the Philippines as: an aggregation OF
| drunkards and torturers of .Filipinos. This
| position is in sharp contrast with the
course of the Oregon democrats during
the recent campaign, which ended
Tuesday in a pronounced republican vic
! tory. -
The Indiana democrats "denounce the
Republican party for its!surrepder to and
alliance with the trusts" and favor
Legislation that will destroy all trusts or
combinations to control the production
and the price Of commodities" They
sttdencunce the Dinsley bill as the breeder
Of trusts And yet metropolitan party
! is the only party which has either made
laws or applied them against the trusts.
Denunciation Of the republican party for
it's. "surrender to trusts" in view of the
present activities of the administration
against the railroad trust and the meat
trust, and other combinations in restraint
of trade, will amount to very little when
the fact is so we'll known that the demo-
cratic party hal had the same opportuni-
ties as the republican party to deal with
the trusts and yet has never done any
thing more than to denounce them indis-
criminately in its platforms.
So much for the effort to define demo-
cratic policies for the coming campaign.
| Across the Ohio river, in Kentucky, Wat
terson is moving heaven and earth to
mass the democrats on the sole issue "im-
perialisn,'' and 1.-THE man on horseback
who, according to him, is now 'peeping out
of the half-opened stable door at the
White House." There will be something
of a definite character learned Of the po-
sition Of all wings of the democracy on
June 10, when the Tilden club of New
York will gather the clans for love
feast and listen to. the first political
speech ex-President Grover Cleveland has
undertaken to deliver since he left the
white House. Among the other guests Of
! the Tilden club will be Colonel Bryan
Richard Olney, ex-senator David B. Hill
, Edward Atkinson, Bourke Cochran, w. G.
/ Whitney and Perry Belmont It is
, thought by the democratic leaders thai
, this gashering will mark the beginning o.
, new life in the democratic party. The
club itself processes to be the true ex-
: ponent of "Jeffersonian democratic prin-
) ciples.'' It is to be hoped that there
!, will be perspicuous exegesis Of those
/ principles, for the democracy at large in
terpret them in so many different way.
. and make Jefferson responsible for Sc
81 many bizarre principles" that the resul
81 is decidedly confusing.
: The proposition, to encourage the emf
!. grafton Of the Beers to this countr.
) should receive support. The Beers woult
i make splendid American citizens. The.
:. have been slow and unprogressive unde
! T the. conditions which obtained in Soutl
t Africa, but scattered among the Ameri
Ell can people they would soon be Obliged t.
t graft upon their qualities of sturd
worth the qualities of enterprise and pro
1 gressiveness. The probabilities are tina
s not very many Of them will come. Tn
8 British seem to have made the condition