The Van Buren press., 1903-06-06
Democratic Harmony.
Special Washington. D c. Correspondence.

common enemy lnOSe are lhe
questions now uppermost IN the
minds of all patriotic democrats
in the country. This is the polit-
zeal nerve center of the country.
To this city come all sorts and
kinds of democrats as to Mecca
and when they get here 1t is as
natural for them to talk politics
as it is for water TO run down hill.
| have used the personal pronoun
very little in this correspondence.
Nv opinion as an individual dem
ocrat amounts to very little, but
for the purposes of this CORE
spOndence | have talked to almost
every democrat who has visited
this city since the adjournment of
Congress and | have done so be-
cause | wanted to present to the
readers of this correspondence
the true conditions of the party
gathered from an intelligent con
census of opinion obtained from
the leaders of the party in the
Congress and out of it, and | want
to give my readers the result of
my research in that direction.
/ want to say right now that
there is going to be harmony in
the party next year and that all
factions are going into the battle
in serried ranks, with visor down
and lance at rest, all fighting as
never before and for a common
cause.
All this scrapping and crimina'
ton and recrimination between
the so-called Bryan and Cleveland
factions of the party at this time
is mere bypIay, at least, so far as
the Cleveland faction is concerned.
The element of the party which
left the regular organization in
1896 wants TO get back and in.
tends to get back. This talk of
attempting to renominate Grover
Cleveland is all balderdash and
tommyrot. That element is sim.
ply fostering that kind of talk in
order to "tryontn the regular or.
ganizaton democrats and endeay.
or to show them the strength and
power they possess in the East,
what their detection has cost the
party in the past and how much
they can be worth to it in the fu'
ture. They are not trying to ride
the party or dictate to it or reor.
ganize it.
They only want recognition. ]
have warrant for these statements.
They came from the highest pos
sible authority. They came from
one of the leaders of the faction
that refused to support the ticket
in 1896. | have the same author.
ily for the statement that the so.
called Cleveland faction of the
party is going to give the ticket
the warmest and heartiest sup.
port next year and that that sup.
port will he given candidate who
is entirely satisfactory to the Bry'
an or regular element of the party.
All they ask is a reasonable plat.
form and they will support the
nominee with earnestness and en-.
thusasm.
They will do this for the one,
single and oyerpowerug reason
that they want TO defeat Roose'
welt for election, They know that
this cannot be done with any man
who is not acceptable to the reg.
nar democrats who Loyalty sup.
ported the ticket in 1896 and 1900,
and they want to win. In order
TO do this they are willing to fol.
jow instead of attempting TO lead,
but they do not want to be kicked
in the face as they enter the dem
ocratic door and II were folly for
the regular democracy to continue
to bait them, They are afraid OF
Roosevelt, they do not wantRoose'
welt at any cost and they do not
intend to have Roosevelt. They
will not ask for anything that the
so.caled Bryan wing Of the party,
or, if you please, the regular dem
ocracy, cannot grant gladly !
think they would prefer an eastern
man who In acceptable to Mr., BrS.
an and the regular democracy, aud
| think this will be conceded
them. II so, then they will sup.
port the ticket as Loyalty ~ any
good democrat did in the years
of 1896 or 1900, aud will help elect
him trlumphuDtly, for Roosevelt
js their bette noir aud they will go
10 almost any length 10 beat him,
let the regular democrats then
stop bernting the gold democrats
aud the mcu who left the party in
1896, for they will be with them
in 1904 and on the terms indicated
by the regular or Bryan demo
Gratis There IL 40 0ecnslon for
repuhlca smiles aud c0cksurc'
ness ut thls time, They are up
against II good and hard, There
ia no further orcnsion for demo.
cratic dumps, for the clouds are
fast blowing over, The party Is
in better llyiodny than " bm been
uin0p iSDp. All ihia | hnyp told