The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-02-12
THE DREAM OF SOUTHERN
 LEADERSHIP.

Of late there has been something like a revival of Southern demand for con trol of the Democracy of the country, one of the noteworthy papers on that line being the article of Thomas F. Ky an, to which The Advertiser has here tofore called attention. It is in current issue of the North American Review and is entitled "The Iolitical Opportunity of the South" Among other things, he points out that the Southern States, in- cluding Maryland and Delaware. will have 33S votes in the next National Con- vention. According to his figures, as the convention will be composed of 994 dele gates if the two-thirds rule is ad- hered to 1t will be practicable for the South to prevent a nomination or the adoption of a platform. If they stick together they can either deadlock the convention or force it to adopt their de- mands.
 We note-not without suspicion-that our somewhat cratic contemporary, the Virginian-Pllot, is fully in line with the suggestion of MT. Ryan. It thinks the time has come for the South to assert itself. and adds:
 We are now prepared to go even fur ther and assert that the only salvation of the party lies in Southern leadership in party councils, for in the South alone Is to be found that steadfast adherence to the fundamental principles of Democ- racy that is now needed to keep the par | ty from straying after vagaries impos- sible of realization. The Democracy of | the North is infected at the bottom with | Socialism and at the top with Commer- is still haggling with the struggling | remnants of Populism over the meagre | spells of local office.
 | In reading this we cannot forget that The Pilot was an enthusiastic follower of Bryan and a defender of his impos- sible theories, and 1t must pardon us if we remind 1t of the old proverb which bids us beware of the Greeks when they come with gifts in their hands. That paper has abandoned its vagaries and the man who was responsible for them, but keeping In mind some of its former ut- terances we are forced to wonder wheth- CT it is speaking for the good of the Democracy or that it hopes to see a re-
 incarnation of Bryanism through the influence of the South.
 | If we wished to do so we cannot blind our eyes to the fact that it was the dominating influence of the South, as- sisted by the Populistic West, that shaped the policy, formulated the plat forms and dictated the candidates in the last two elections. The result Is his torical as well as humiliating, and Demo- crats can take no pleasure inI the mem ory, or look with tolerance on the pds- sibility Of a repetition of such folly. | Certainly The Advertiser would rejoice to see the Southern Democracy both leading and controlling the next cam paign, if the result would be to har- monize and solidify the party on what we consider true Democratic principles, but we are not oblivious to the fact that | the South alone can neither nominate nor elect a President, and we had much rather see our section occupying a sec ondary place than to see 1t leading in the wrong direction.
 l To our way of thinking there are three vital points to be considered. We want a genuine oldfashioned Democratic plat form. we want candidate who will be in full accord with that platform and we want a man who will be strong in all sections of the country. If all these vital points are secured 1t matters little where the candidate or the leader halls from. The right platform and the right kind of man on 1t is what we want. To secure both we are willinsssfor the South yet a while longer to doSthe vot- ing while another section bearss off the offices. In one sense 1t may be humiliat- ing to occupy secondary place, but there is something more important than
 pride of section. When we get posses sion of all the departments of the Gov ernment and prove that our party car
 be trusted, then will be time for the
 South to assert itself.