The age-herald., 1902-02-17
Washington Day By Day

Democratic nomination for President Tn 1904 Is a condition as reasonably certain as anything in politics can be.
 The most excellent reason for this pre- else and explicit statement can not De now given, because a personal confidence can not be violated. Yet. not only Is MT | German in the attitude of candidate | though not of his own authority publicly proclaimed so to be-; but he is the only Democrat who Is in Washington seriously considered for the leadership of his party
 Rural newspapers in the West occa- sionally shove Carter Harrison and Tom Johnson into the ''mentioned class. and in this they are aided by jest ing peragraphers elsewhere; but sober men who are soberly considering the serious question of candidate for the Democratic party two years hence won der how even the rural editors and the city testers can find line of type for such rubbish.
 The Mayor of Chicago is mere rattle- box hero of municipal corruption worse than that which has of late years cursed Tammany into defeat and disruption; while the Mayor of Cleveland hasn't got so much as a given name either Christian Hebrew or out-and-out pagon, though friend of Johnsons family informs this correspondent that this particular To ledo" Jones type of reformer is possessed of full thirty million dollars in his own surname, Tom, you know, is not name and in the case of the Mayor of Cleveland it Is not even an abbreviated corruption of the ever-honored name Thomas. Tom" as the world Snpder- stands 1t, is a nickname creattd or "a 1ec- tion for boyhood and serving .hroushout young manhood; but Mayor Johnson was never named Thomas. He or his parents merely talked it on," and so 1t remains an unchristian, un-Hebraic, unpagon thing. No Hebrew or Christian minister could possibly permit Tom to be given to a boy baby for name.
 But this same Tom Johnson, Mayor of Cleveland, mind you, Is a highheaded. fat, earnest man, with manners which, though not highly cultured. are nothing like as bad as his politics. Still' why discuss the question of manners? Certain
 
 been an '1sshy' in the Democratic party for many years. There is no use naming names now for there are some which have of late led the party to ruln-would have led 1t to utter destruction were It not that some of the principal articles or the party faith are indestructible.
 As for Carter Harrison, one of his bosom friends told me in the dear con- fidence of seasickness in the middle Of the Atlantic that Garter are peach NOW assuredly 1t Is the privilege of Grover Cleveland Democrat who voted for Bryan to insist that his party has no business trying to make "a peach'' President.
 "While Mir. German is probably mill lionaire, he Is not excessively or ofren- sively rich. In fact he is not popularly supposed to be a man of wealth at all; but it would not occur to him as being in any sense needful to charge admission prices to his political speeches. He Is strictly in good party standing, even with that element of Bryanism that is no long CT Democratic doctrine.
 r MT. German supported and voted for Bryan in 1898 and again in 1900. The ap- parent fact that he did so solely in part isan loyalty to the chosen ticket Is vast ly to his credit; for to man or MT. Germans convictions and statesmanship no severer teat could be applied than open and avowed support of the heresles of six years ago. There were millions or other Democrats in the same position, relatively, and they followed the course MT. German followed. True, he Is not as hostile to the robber tariff as most men of his party might desire; but-by the way. didn't we once have noble nom- inee for President who declared the tariff to be "a local issue?"
 At any rate, all the Democratic Presi- dential-talk is Germans way and he likes it. Moreover some persons very close to him are encouraging it. There need not be the slightest doubt as to the situa- tion as 1t exists now.
 As the courier answered Queen Vic toria's question as to which yacht was second to the America when "the" cup was won fifty years ago, Madame, there is no second" so there is now no second to Mir German for the Democratic nomination in the year of grace, 1904!
 And speaking of the coming quadren- nial conflict of parties for the control of the government some words of Congress- man Richardson of Alabama in the House yesterday are so strong and come in SO happily that they must needs be quoted in this place. In the course Of a running debate, MT. Hepburn of Iowa twille6 the Democrats on their lack of party cohesiveness. saying in substance that the "Bryanites," "goldbugs," and supporters of the Philippines legislation having been read out the Democratic party on the floor of the House, there would soon be at that rate no Democratic party left
 "lt does not accord with my idea" declared Judge Richardson, that on all occasions, large and small, we must make each measure or issue one of political test. Why. my distinguished friend from Iowa (Mr. Hepburn) said that we had read out the Bryanites, we had read out the Goldbugs and those who voted for the Philippine bill, and soon, he said. party
 An, I say to my distinguished friend from Iowa he patient and wait The