The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1902-06-18
LAURENs, s. c., June IS, 1902.
Concerning Issues.

Campaign issues are necessary to any
party. The Democratic party may not
hurt itself by clamoring for the SUR
render OF the Philippines. The Re
publicans already have a secure grip
on the other side Of tie question. But
the Democrats cannot win on this "par-
amount issue" of the last campaign.
The American people has made up it's
mind to thresh the Fillpinos into sub
lection and to hold the Philippine
islands. That is q que stion settled.
The country cannot be aroused or ex-
cited about it.
A farmer who owns ten acres OF red
gullies will fight to the death before
he will surrender a foot Of them. The
American people as a body feel the
same way. The ethics of the Philip
pine question will not be examined by
the average voter. The voter as a rule
does not study ethics, astronomy or the
tangles of moral philosophy.
The Democratic side of the contro-
versy Is worth while only as text for
stump orators to shout upon. OF course
the Democrats can carry Laurens coun-
ty, South Carolina and the South on
any old Issue or M issue. The South
is going Democratic unanimously any
how butthe National Democratic party
will merely waste energy and fan the
air while the Republicans chuckle SO
long as 1t shrieks for Philippine in
1ararlannn Wa ora pnt ltcrncoinn
the right or wrong of the matter but
ur"Paramount issue" Is empty sound,
so far as it will affect political results.
On the other hand, 1T is good policy
for the Democrats to harass the Re-
publicsns about the cruelties practiced
by American troops and the corruption
of American civil officials.
In our judgement the trust question
is not approached in an intelligent
mi The trust is a symptom, not
q disease. When q man falls down
sick In the street the doctor does not
cure him by lifting him to his feet. The
man lifted would fall down again. The
doctor seeks the cause OF the trouble
and It's remedy. In the same way, If
the Democrats will devote themselves
to removing the special privileges that
make trusts possible and to placing
upon the trusts burdens of taxation
that they ought to bear, something
may in time be accomplished. Protec.
ton is chiefly responsible for trusts.
In other words, tariff for revenue only
should be now, as it once was, the para.
noun issue. In coming to this con-
c%lusion most Democrats would have to
swallow a bitter dose. They would In
so doing acknowledge that Grover
Cleveland, the only man who has led
the party to victory since the Civil
War, was right all along and that they
were wrong all along. BY their silence
in the conventions, they are acknowl-
edging now that Cleveland was right
on the money question. They had as
well acknowledge in the same way that
he was right on the tariff question, an
issue which, while practically aban-
doning, they have never in terms re-
pudiated. One Of the sorrowful Incl
dents Of the times is that constant din
ming by foolish leaders has compelled
the people to believe that MIR. Cleve-
land is a kind IF monster, q beast, a
Caliban. We suspect that there are
many Democrats who would like to see
sold Cleveland" lynched and would
help lynch him. But THE ADvER-
TIsER believes now as it has for years
that he is the wisest and honestest lea
der that the party has had since 1865
and that to accept him as a leader
again, not as a candidate, would mean
more for the good Of the Democratic
party than any other thing conceiva-
BILE.