The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1903-04-25
mFaM eFnosnln an m6nrmne
DA A9 AthtAl243


warfare Upon the TRUSTS
Ta4atlna ASA 4he
HariH
eWhat IS % become ~ our Industrial.
frecdom was the question which Ed
Ward AS Shepard. of New York; Tam-
many candidate Tor president 81 the
United States, asked Of the members
and guests as Che lroqaois club at its
annual Jacksen day banquet at the
Auditorium, Chicago, on the evening of
Monday, March is. IN his answer to
the question Mr.. Shepard sounded a
note Of warming to the democratic par
ty against the invention Of an issue,
and declared that the real issue was
trusts against trades nnionism
mr.. Shepard spoke as follows;
tIh gathering Illustrates the familiar
truth that the democratic party Is not a
BODY Of unehanginB membership or Ike
programme. We have In times past diff
1ereq among ourselves In political judg-
mentt sometimes SO far as to vote on OPP
pusite Sides, Nevertheless all are tonight
QnaWm together by a common view of pres
ent political necessities and by intention,
D hereafter,
ut Isl mistake to fancy our party or any.
party g an end In itself. IT can never be.
more than q means 10 an end. There is a
general ana long time purpose and result
Tor which the democratic PARTY was born.
and 70 which 10 Is of necessity dedicated
Il mot lot THIS the divisions and sometime
hosttlities between men who are or who
deem themselves 70 be democrats might
MOE Is this fundamental faith doubtful,
h0Wsoever much we may have offered la
applying Il to specific e1dgencies or policies.
r -#mnN9nHnM- nmMHnMMHmH- nL HmannHAMAA mHam n
citizens Of the republic, and therefore for
DDS privileges to any citizen or body Of
citizens not in theory and in fact open IN
equal terms TO the whole body; Il forbids
use Of the powers Of government for n
purpose not common to the whole people;
It forbids taxation for any purpose not
strictly public; it requires every citizen to
bear a share Of the burdens OF government
fully fully ratable to his ability.
People Should Support Government.
'It refuses utterly and peremptorily to
concede in theory or in practice hat the
small number of men who make up an adj
mintstratton or congress can determine
better h the vast body, ten thousand
times as numerous, Of citizens in private
life, what lawful industries ought to be
helped ana what ought to be hindered.
The democratic doctrine Is summed uD in
the ancient aphorisms that the people
should support the government and not
the government supper the people, and
that government should rest on the COM
sent Of the governed. All who believe this
EA-Aea&Ad ~ AAE lew &AAA NAAb ANEAAlA9
ought to act with the democratic party,
for truly they belong to 1t. Nor ought past
differences over the means Of reaching
that truly democratic end and result 70
"Those who would Illustrate rather than
I promote this democratic result ought not
to be In the democratic party, They who
believe that the government can better
transact the business Of the citizen than
the citizen himself, who Believe that in the
long run Il is more wholesome that a small
lumber Of able and possibly wise INT pos
stbly benevolent men should control and
direct the masses Of their fellow men rather
than they should control and direct them
selves, they to whom the spiendor ana dig
nifty OF government Of themselves make an
end apart from the benehcence and fair-
ness Of IT'S concrete purposes-ali these IN
the politics of to-day belong. or ought to
belong. to the republican party. Among
them are many men. high-minded. intel
tEent, patriotic men, with whom in other
fields. business. charitable, religious. liter
airy or social. I rejoice to work. But we
democrats ought not to wish them IN our
party. For, il they be sincere. we should
receive their support only at the price OF
surrender OF some part Of sole 5ustidca-
ton. the very reason Of the being, Of the
democratic party.
should Think OF 1908.
II do not, therefore, sympathize with
programmes Of skillful and adroit manage
ment for 1904 or for any other campaign
what the end desired by the voter so long
as he votes with us, or upon the idea that,
lest we shall ALLEVIATE some part of our
support, our opinions had best be s~ecreted
OF our practical plans delayed until after
we are In power,
"We do well to think Of 1904, but even for
success In 1904 we shall do better to think
also Of 1905 and 1908 and the whole future.
Our party ought when It comes into pow
er, to have a true and settled purpose ready
to carry out; 1t ought neVe to seek a heIter-
SHELTER triumph Of agglOmerated and dis
cordaut discontents with republican ad-
mintstratton-a victory to be followed by
nothing eMeettyely useful to the country,
by no exhibition Of efficient. sound, orderly
craftsmanship on a sincere n open pro-
gTamme Of our OWN Such a victory would
bring neither honor nor real power. 1t Is
always better for a party that its utilities
be exhibited when out Of office a when
In office.
Above all, let US not invent an issue o.
try to; Issues grow; they are not made
Few things In public life are less admir-.
able, few things more directly lead to fail,
ure than the effort Of q great party, fgnor-
sptred by no clear doctrine and seeking no
distinct result. to patch together a plat
cess, to adopt this plank or that to catch &
passing sentiment without expectation, Il
chosen to w OF puttingdt into practice
Nor can anything be worse than in any
measure to rely for success on hard times
do not misunderstanding me to say that
the election OF this year or mex ought no
TO turn upon its own issues. Politics &
no science Of principles. but the art Of ap.
plying them. If politics not concerned witt
longtime purposes OF good government and
popular rights is a Veritable treason Il X
equally plain that politics not timely Ii
ridiculous.
Mast Consult Plain People.
Conceded, then, that the issues must b,
great and timely and that upon them WI
democrats must unhinchingly take our owl
democratic position no matter what the Of
Tense. now are We to recognize thsm2aTl
ibis there is no at answer eXceptrespectfu
Difference otne plain and contemporaneou
expressions Of the people themselves The.
talk and write about what to them is time
~ ana important, and political partie
must talk ana act about the same thing.
but what is the thing Of which tn
American people are thinking hard am
at which must center the sound, practlca
] politics Of our opposition Ta tt aught els
han the fear of the disappearance Of I'M
dustrial iiberty2 The talk from one end q
the land to the other. ln every shop, OF
every farm, ia every street. I'm every parloi
or club. is not OF the ama canal OF
Venezuela or China. important as@ar
those topics. IL o. not even free trade OF
protection or the gross wrong and folly o.
our Philippine policy or the alarming eT
t-Favagance of Standardization it IS neithei
Of these really great questions which an.
the mind ana dominates the anxiety o
the American masses.
t@Hhe talk ls Of trusts on one side an,
trades unions on the other. There is Z
deep and Widespread lear that American
Industrial civilization may come to be
mere Interplay between those vast forces
in which the great body OF independent