The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1903-11-27


for danger today and apparently inn
movable. Some sooth -sayers of the
party tell us that platform can be
constructed which, without much re-
gard to the man who is to stand upon
il, will cure the evil and bring sue
cess. have no doubt that it will be
easier now to get an acceptable plat
form than heretofore. II ought to be
from the signs of the times. The normal
principles of the party and its tradi-
tons were for the people and their
official servants, from the president To
congress and from congress 10 the
supreme court and all other depart
mehts and divisions Of the govern
ment both state aud national, u live
and move and have their political
being close within the sacred portals
of the constitution of the fathers of
the republic. 1t was the chart and
compass and the ark of the covenant.
The idea of that democracy was sim
pliciIy in government and in H. re-
lations To the people and that palrio-
tism should be All earthly religion.
The belief Was that the constitution
was as perfect political code when
adopted a. that the ten command
meuts written upon the tablets of
stone were the perfect moral law,
aroused and constituted the inspira-
ton of the party, and its followers
took the commission TO establish and
maintain a government founded upon
those underlying principles. Tnat
every demo rat then should be a
patriot and every patriot should be
democrat was the rule for measuring
political merit in the abstract.
1t is hard, however, to make politics
subservient to patriotism. Political
reason .creeps in and the true princi-
piles by which TO measure men and
what they advocate as policy for the
party are lost sight of in the struggle
to master q political situation. The
democratic party cannot now afford
TO quarrel within its own household.
A house divided against itself must
fall. Sacred writ! There is a ten
dency among prominent democrats
to talk too much and too loud. They
are leaders in a certain sense but
none of them are in line for presiden-
tial nomination by the party. Yet
they speak it from the house tops as
TO who shall or shall not be the csndi.
date of the party to oppose the
republican nominee for president.
They assume to be the keepers Of the
peoples political conscience and their
mind readers as to both men and
measures. They say that the people
will not have Cleveland nor Bryan
nor Hill nor German nor Hearst nor
Parker, nor any man yet spoken of as
fit for the candidacy. How do they
know any more about il than you or
/ do? They produce the confusion
they intend. The people at large
never clsmor for or against men or
measures. When there is any such
thing it is the work OF politicians
who must have something to do or
like Othello, their occupation will be
gone. The people at large recognize
the fact that they do not "know it
all" and are willing to learn and are
anxious to know the truth. How
hard it is TO get that truth through
prevalent political methods of men
ambitious to control the government
of the party every thinking demo-
crat knows. The people are aware of
their limitations of knowledge and
understanding Of party men and
party measures, and they want con.
ssrvstive talk. They do not want to
settle the matter of q nomination
from the personal preiudices ~