Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1904-05-19
THE WEST AND SOUTHWEST
Some Reasons Why the Republican
Party Is Stronger Than Ever
Among the People.

The democrats charge that the repub-
lians, in proposing to consolidate the
four territories into two states, are actu-
ated by partisan and sectional motives,
and that they want to minimize the lin
tiuence of the west and the southwest
in the citadel of federal power, the
United States senate" This is the lam
guage of the democratic report against
the bill passed by the house to admit
Oklahoma and the Indian territory
jointly as the state of Oklahoma, and
to let in Arizona and New Mexico to-
gether as the state of Arizona. The
same language was repeated by many
OF the democrats in their speeches
against the bill. The bill had the solid
support of the republicans and the solid
opposition of the democrats. 1t is said
to be the purpose of the democrats to
make this charge against the republic
ans feature of the presidential cam
paign in the west in 1904 The repub-
licans ought to hope that their enemies
will do this. 1t will give a chance to
show what has been the actual attitude
of the two big parties toward the west.
Do the democrats who are prating
about republican hostility to the west
know what was the issue that created
the republican party? asks the st. Louis
Globe-Democrat. 1t was the demo-
Gratis repeal in 1854 of the Missouri COM
promise, which repeal threw open to
slavery Kansas, Nebraska and the rest of
the territories above the Missouri com
promise line. This was a national issue
in its broad features, but it was directly
and particularly western issue. The
republican party was founded to protect
the west from this democratic iniquity.
The party got a foothold earlier in the
west than it did in the east and chiefly
for the reason that it was the west that
was especially assailed by the demo-
Gratis. Previous to the rise of the repub-
lican party in 1854 most of the states of
the west were reliably democrats.
Some of them, like Illinois, Iowa and
Wisconsin, were democratic in every
presidential canvass in which they par
ticipated until after the appearance of
the republican party and Illinois re-
mained democratic for president until
1860. Every state in the west voted for
Pierce, the democratic candidate in 1852,
just before the creation of the republican
party. The west came to the republicans
because the republican party was found
ed on what was directly a western is
sue. The republican party started out
to save the west from the slavery de-
basement which the democratic party
attempted to force upon it, and did
save it.
Did the democrats who are accusing
the republican party of hostility to the
west ever hear Of measure called the
free homes law? The homestead bill
had been before congress for many years
before the republican party came into
power. The measure was always
beaten, either in congress or by the
presidential veto, Buchanan interpos-
ing the last named barrier against it.
But just as soon as the republicans, who
had been it's champions from the be-
ginning, got into control of the gov
ernment, they passed the free homes
law, against the opposition of the demo-
Gratis. This law, which went into oper-
alton at the beginning of 1863, has added
almost as large an area to the settled
region of the west as was populated in
the thirteen colonies at the time OF the