Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-11-11
TAKING OUR MEDICINE.

TAKING OUR MEDICINE.
"Tbe freeman's ballot, soft and still,
Falls like the snowflake on the sod,
And executes the freeman's will
AS lightning does the will Of God"
Oh what a slump. In only one
thing did we miscalculate-we
thought New York State would go
Democratic. Never for a moment
since national Democrats began the
wrangle over Hearst and Parker did
the VIRGINIA CITIZEN anticipate
anything but defeat on November
9Th. This does not mean that the
result Tuesday does not grieve us,
but that it did not jar US. We have
reluctantly admitted to ourselves
Roosevelt's triumphant election for
more than a year, and not one
moment during that time have we
had ray of hope for the Democratic
ticket The administration has been
exceedingly aggressive. 1t has en-
trenched itself by the strong arm of
federal patronage and the undue
exercise of governmental power.
Added to this it has catered to the
combinations of wealth and corpor-
ate bulwarks so as to win them, and
it has succeeded In all it under
took. Such men as Rockefeller,
Morgan and j. J. Hill, a short while
ago Democrats, the Republican ad-
ministration under Roosevelt has
won over, and their fierce armament
has been used against the party they
one time were friendly to. This is
known and read of all men, So far
the Democratic party is peerless and
goes down ia defeat with clean hands
and a clear conscience. We can
repeat the time-worn saying-we
love it for the enemies it has made.
But there is another cause for our
defeat and one that lies at our own
door. Elements in the National
Democratic party remind us of set
Of asses. Measured by our acts of
twenty years we have shown miser-
able incohesion that invites defeat
and merits the symbol of the long
cared animal the independent and
Republican press have ascribed us.
1t was "pull Dick pull Devil" with
the leaders until by-and-by the rank
and file got into that restless, indie
pendent mood that forebodes defeat
for any party, tribe or nation-the
lack OF concert of action, of loyalty
and amalgamation. A once great
leader, Grover Cleveland, sheered off
from base little, and the gang of
puny statesmen belabored him almost
into the enemy's camp. Upon the
heels of it came defeat. Roosevelt
has been far more dictatorial and a
treader of side paths, but he had a
sticky gang that wouldn't let.go, and
they all 60 back into the clover patch
for four years.
The leaders put up Bryan, and a
bunch of plutocratic Democrats
raised such a hub-bub that It scared
a whole lot of people into voting for
a straw ticket while they the afore-
said plutos dropped into the McKin-
ley ranks. To this latter fact is
more attributable the avalanche that
struck us on Tuesday than any one
thing else. We had it on a small
scale in Virginia back yonder in the
eighties when the Readjusters went
over bag and baggage to the enemy's
camp. A few wiseacres thought
they knew it all, set up new party
and tolled lot of good men into the
snemy's camp, from which pride
would never let them return. The
National Gold Democrats have trod
the same path, and lots of good men
are lost forever to the Democratic
party.
There will come time, however.
as 1t did in old Virginia, when the
people will tire of misrule, and the
Democratic party, purged by the
blistering furnace, will be called into
power, and as good resolvent get the
body polite back into healthy state.
And that time is just four years off.
The present ruler in the White
House feels. and quite fairly, that
his autocratic, dictatorial, imperial
istic regime has been hugely endorsed,
and now for the frightening of the
tether. The rope will play fast and
loose for four years to come and then
the Ct 0 ? will hang in its own
moose.
We are out with Cleveland, we
never wanted Bryan the second time
and have never burst blood vessel
over whooping for Parker, but we
would take anything decent the
party put upon us-and that's what
constitutes loyalty to party and wins
success.
THE vote in this county was hardly
more than third of the usual vote