The Topeka state journal., 1902-09-26

COncordia Editor Returns TO tht
Republican Party.
Comes Out Openly For Roose.
velt and Bailey.
CHANGE is IMPORTANT
Known as One Of the Brightes1
Kansas Editors.
His Statement Shows Why He
Leaves the Fnsionists.

His Statement Shows Why He
Leaves the FusioniSts.
Conner T. Davies, editor of the Con-
cordia Kansan and one of the best
known editors of Kansas. has come back
to the Republican ranks, which he left
Immediately after the election in 1896
party on the money question. In his
paper this week Mr.. Davies declares
himself for Roosevelt and the Repub-
lican party and for those candidates
who win stand by Roosevelt. He de-
clares especially for Bailey.
Davies is without doubt the most
prominent newspaper man in northern
Kansas. He made reputation which
extended far beyond the boundaries or
his state while running the Republic
City News in a town hardly large
enough to support a newspaper at all.
But he was a firm believer in the stand
the Republican party of Kansas took
on the silver question early in the nine
ties, and when the national Republican
convention in ST Louis in 1896 reversed
the Kansas Republicans and declared for
the gold standard, Davies stayed by
silver He did not Immediately bolt the
ticket. however. but waited until after
election, so that he could not be accused
CT bolting from wrong motives. Imme-
y
left the Republican party. Soon after
wards he bought the !Concordia Kan
san, and has since edited the leading
Populist paper in that part of the state.
Two years ago he was the Populist
nominee for state senator in the Cloud
Republic district.
When the question of surrcndering the
Populist party to the Democracy came
up this year Davies began to fight. He
has opposed the move from the start.
He helped win the fight against sur :
render in the POpulist conference last
spring, and he fought again against
surrender in the state convention In
June The surrender was made, how
ever and Davies Immediately pro-
nounced the Populist party dead. Since
then he has been opposing Democracy,
and this week he renews his allegiance
to the Republican party. In an editorial
he says:
mo attempt has been made on our
part to conceal cur intention when our
editorial duty to the voters of the
Populist party ceased by the dissolution
of that organization.
THAT the party is dead is not denied
in any quarter, except for present cam
paign purpose, and you will please note
that those most vociferouS in their
claims of it's present and future activ-
ity are the ones most vitally interested
in the matter of securing votes for.
themselves.
TT is simply a matter of selecting a
home in the Socialist the Democratic,
or the Republican parties.
"The Kansan will support Mr.. Roose-
welt rather than any Democrat now on
the political stage of action.
THE Kansan will support Mr.. Roose-
velt's administration and its editor will
vote for candidates who will sustain
him.
''Populists who are actuated by some
thing other than the one motive of
beating the Republicans or getting
an office, may well sustain President
Roosevelt.
He is the ideal president He has
the courage of his convictions and has
not hesitated to take the corporations
by the throat and make them obey the
law and the will of the people.
with Theodore Roosevelt retained in
his high office, and sustained and sup
ported by congress in harmony with
his administration we have the assur
ance that the evil of trust domination
will find sure and lawful solution.
Firm in that belief, and mindful of
the history of the former rule of Demo-
cracy, it is mighty easy for us to decide
as to our future political duty.
Count us with President Roosevelt
and the Republican party.
I'VE became a POpulist because
we thought the Republican party too
conservative on the money question. We
thought the battle would not be set
1t should be-we were wrong. That
issue is dead. 1t would be as consistent
for our brothers in Alabama to re-
organize the Confederacy as for us to
attempt to rally the voters with the
slogan of '16 to one That has been
passed upon in two national campaigns
that is enough. The campaign man
ayers of the Democratic party stole our
to get the Offices Anything to beat
| the Republicans is Democracy. That
! Is not our nature. We are for things.
We do not want to waste all our time
- n hi
Feeling that way about it. we cannot
| reconcile ourself to the idea of assisting
the leaders of the Populist party in de-
! coying voters into such an organiza-
ton as the Democratic party viii be in
attempSit we would be rewarded with
the justU Uontempt of the Democrats and
the disgust of our former political
friends, the Republicans Why this
does not apply to every other man, who
has viewed these matters as we do, we
cannot understand.
"As between belonging to a party
whose rallying cries are we deDrecate,
| we deplore,' we denounce,' we are op-
posed and belonging to a party that
says we believe we hope we will,
the Kansan chooses the latter.
I'VE have the bugabOo Haunted In our
face that we are endorsing the policy
of the government in the Philippines.
Maybe. but in a fight we want to be in
a position to glorify American valor on
every field and in every battie Wnell
the flag is under fire we are for the ad-
ministration and the boys who defend
it, trusting that they are right in the
matter of policy. but right or wrong we
will shout bully boys as long as the
firing shall last-we'H take up the mat
ter of policy when the battle is over
| when we left the Republican party
there was no war in which the nation
was engaged. We honestly believed that
a colonial policy is wrong for this coun-
try, but that is no reason why we want
to be eternally opposed. for partisan
purposes, to the administration wf1ics
is trying to defend our flag wherever il
floats. When our soldiers win q battle
and the stars and stripes of Old G1ors
gleam brighter in the silvery skies oi
heaven because of it, we want to shout
1-and we'll be dad-burned if we won'i
shout, even though Tillman and Car
mack should both take a fit The Dem
ocracy of Cleveland and the RepuSi
Lcanism OF Roosevelt will be the oppos.
ing political forces in the campaign o.
1S04-Bryan, or Organism, will not b
in it, in our opinion. AS between thu
man who hauled down the flag in Hon
olulu and the man who raised it at San
tiago, we are for the man who raised it
As between following the leadership O.
Cleveland, who sent q substitute to tn.
defause of his couuf1Xs and Roosevelt