The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1903-08-21
AGGRESSIVE DEMOCRACY.

In the campaigns of 1896 and 1900 the
democratic party made an honest fgbt
for principles and polied mole vote:
than the party ever polled before.
Coercion and corruption, coupled with
the desertion of gold democrats, were
responsible for the defeat OF 1896, while
the defeat OF 1900 was due to war en-
thusiasm and improved industrial con-
ditions. But what OF that? The party
has suffered defeat before, and yet
without falterlng in its purposes or
abandoning its principles. 1t made Its
tariff reform plank more emphatic
rather than less so in 1892 after being
defeated Oh that issue in 1888.
Those who oppose and criticise Mr..
Bryan for his unfaltering loyalty to
the principles Of the party as enunciated
in the Kansas City platform, belong,
80 per cent of them at least-to one of
three classes: Those who voted against
him; those who voted for him under
protest like our dear delightful old
friend the Nashville American@ and
those who are out for the spoils OF
office, and are willing at any time to
throw principle overheard for victory.
But the great majority Of the old
guard Democrats still agree with Mr..
Bryan when he says "the principles as
formulated in the last national creed
the Kansas City platform-are sound
and clearly defined. That platform de-
clared imperialism to be the paramount
issue, and the republican party has done
nothing to settle that issue or remove it
from the arena of politics. That plat
form declared private monopolies to be
indefensible and intolerable, and the
republican party has done nothing to
settle that issue or to lessen its impor.
lance. Neither has anything been done
t. settle the money question. No one
would dare commit the democratic
party to the gold standard, and if BIZ
metallism is desirable there is no better
statement OF it than that found in that
platform. The fight coming on in
congress over the currency legislation
proposed by the banks in their own in
terest cannot help giving prominence to
this question, and the party could not
AVOID the issue if it would"
Continuing Mr.. Bryan says;
I'm spite of the obvious necessity OF
maintaining the partys integrity the re-
organizers are actively engaged in an
effort to emasculate the platform. They
want to keep up sham battle on the
tariff while they secretly advance the in
terests of the fnanciers and protect the
trusts from any effective legislation. The
duty of those democrats who believe in
the Kansas City platform is clear. They
must march forward and meet the enc
my as they have in the campaigns OF the
past. They must fight for the reaffirma-
ton of the Kansas City platform and for
Ll6 dpDllCdulOu Vi tlo SdllO III w
new questions as they arise. There must
be no surrender and there can be no
compromise Of principle that is not equi-
valent to surrender. If the reorganl-
zers refer to the defeats of 1896 and 1900,
remind them of the defeat of 1894 and
tell them that the party would have been
annihilated had the Cleveland leader
ship continued. If they doubt our
ability to win victory in 1904 on an
honest platform like that adopted in
1900, tell them that it offers better
promise of success than any dishonest
platform, and that if defeat does come
it will not only be less sweeping than a
defeat on different lines, but that there
would be no dishonor with it. Honor
and expediency unite in demanding fidel-
ity to the last national platform and to
the interests of the people on all ques-
TONS"