Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-07-25
DEMOCRATIC ISSUES
Contradictory Statements at
the Harmony Meeting.
LEADERS DON'T AGREE
SHEPARD SAID TRUSTS, CARMAcK
AND BRYAN PHILIPPINES.
Gable Thinks Democratic, Caucus Made
Trust the Dominant Question
Puzzling to the Voter.

'I wonder if the democratic party is ever
going to 1ight?''' said a republican poll
tician to a Star reporter today.
What do you mean?"
why 1 refer to the issue for the cam
paign. The managers have been hopping
from twig to twig, but have never lit long
enough for us to get a good shot at them
Now, take that harmony meeting in Mass
achusetts, yesterday. That was held for
the specific purpose of getting together
The eastern and the western democratic
factions were to meet on common ground.
What was the result? Look at the diver
gent views expressed by the several speak
ers on the question of the issue Mr. Ed
ward NJ. Shepard of New York was the first
speaker Apparently he is entitled to stand
as the exponent of the New York democ-
racy. AS the candidate of his party for
mayor Of New York last fall he attained
national prominence, and If he had won
would now be on the high road to the
presidential nomination At any rate, he is
a big democrat and type of the con-
servatve eastern democrat
Contradictory Statements
Hear what Mr.. Sheperd said about the
issue: The dominant question Is whether
or not there shall be continued to a number
of great and enormously rich interests the
special privileges which thhe republican
tariff confers upon them
There we are with an issue, dominant
question: no mistaking the directness of
the statement. That would be all right if
we could make them stick to it as an issue.
We would like to meet them that
ground.
But no: the very next speaker Senator
Carmack of Tennessee, brushes aside that
issue and sets up the real one. He, too, is
entitled to an audience, for he is one of the
managers of the democratic congressional
committee and actively engaged in running
the campaign.
Senator Carmack comes to the front
with statement equally positive as
Mr.. Shepard's, but directly opposite. He
Says pass to question which still de-
serves the pre-eminence given it in the last
democratic p1atform-1 mean the question
of territorial conquest or colonial empire.
I'm reinforcement of Senator Carmack
comes William Jennings Bryan himself, in
person, and lays down the law in this fash
ion: I am as delighted as you have been
to listen to his unanswerable argument on
what / believe to be the greatest issue this
nation has ever had to meet in all its his
tory
Why, their issue will be harder to grap-
pie than a creased pig a county fair l
am curious to know how they are gong to
get any harmony out of the contradictory
Statements made in that love feast. But
that performance is of piece with others
We have witnessed nearer at home.
The Democratic Caucus.
'I read in The Star yesterday an inter-
view with Mr. Ben. r. Cable the western
manager of the democratic congressional
campaign. Evidently he disagrees with the
peerless leader of the democracy about
issues, for he said that the regulation of
trusts through a revision of the tariff were
the issues on which stress would be laid by
the democratic campaigners. He declared
that the democratic caucus held in June
settled that question: it had passed resolu-
tions specifically setting forth the fact and
there had been no subsequent action to
change it.
the House of Representatives which he
mentions, find that 1t declared as follows
THAT we favor the immediate passage
of a measure to amend the present anti
trust law as to more fully protect trade
and commerce against unlawful restraints
and monopoles, and also measure to re-
duce the duties on all articles and CON-
modities manufactured and controlled or
produced in the United States by trust
or trusts so as to destroy such illegal COM
binations and to reduce the rate of duty on
any article or commodity manufactured In
the United States and sold in foreign
country more cheaply than in the United
States.
Puzzling to the Voter.
Now, what is the poor wayfaring man to
think of all this? Where is he to find ,ne
real banner under which to go forth to bat
tie the foe? What is 1t that is sapping the
republic and threatening the palladium Of
his liberties? From which direction is the
wolf coming TO attack the sheep fold? Sen
ator Carmack beats the tom-tom and points
frantically in direction; Mr.. Bryan
blows the loud baZoo and says look the
other way; Mr.. Shepard, Mr.. Cable, Mr..
Griggs, Senator Patterson, Mr.. German, all
see the VOLTS baleful eyes cleaning in a
different place. / should think it would be
kind of puzzling to the democratic voter
IMPORTS FREE OF DUTY