The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1904-12-14
BROTHER BOB ON
PARKER'S DEFEAT.
Newton's Philosophy and
His Own.
CAUSES ENUMERATED.
Difference In Platforms Net as Ex-
pressed by Any Plank but as I'M
piled In the Name, Real Cause.

respect. You say that am philo-
pher. 1t may be true. 1t is said that
Newton lay under the apple tree and
waited for the apple to fall, then
grasped the idea of gravitation. Ire
member when q boy spending some
time under the apple tree waiting for
the apple to fell and when it didn't /
shook the tree, then the apple fell and
1 there and then grasped-tha apple.
Since you mentioned it believe Pm a
better philosopher than was Newton.
One has said all things come to him
who waits, but choicer collec-
tion can be had by going after them.
That is the philosophy of hustling.
But you want to know what caused
the defeat of Parker. Well, it is easy
enough for the average statesman or
newspaper man to trace from effect
back to cause-to give the whyness of
the what after the what has been de-
termined. To wit: Since cotton has
gone down wiseacres are numerous
who can tell you all about the causes
that led up to, or rather down to the
effect. Everybody can see how fool
hardy it was for man to hold cotton
at 10 cents, now that it is down to "
cents. 1t is tempting to swoop down on
Jordon and Hunicut who advised the
farmers to hold his cotton for IL cents
and stone them as false fproffits." After
candidate is walloped under al avail
auche of votes these statesmen and
newspaper seers begin to prophesy
about how it has been going to be with
the poor fellow. All of which they
knew before, but told it too late. Phil
osophers rarely indulge in the luxuries
OF this II told you So" Aftermath
It's too thin and sweet.
While 1 regret heartily the defeat
of Parker, | take consolation in that
the sequel exonerates Bryan from the
pollution of this aftermath sophistry.
His defeat was all on account of the
free silver plank and bourbonism. We
cut out the free-silver plank and put in
the gold-ran Parker on sound money
principles and met a defeat Bryan
never knew. The only silver lining to
this dark cloud to be seen is the ever
lasting explosion of the theories on
which the defeat of Bryan was based.
Now 1T is up to these seers to give us
the whyness of the what-to tell and
pfophesy as to how things have been
going to be. Philosophers are not in
it. Some say 1t was because Parker
was too tremendously nice; too gentle
manly hustle, didn't pull
off his coat, roll up his sleeves and go
after things; that he failed to display
any jingoism.
Others say it was because we made
no issue; that the p atforms we're more
marked by reason of their similarity
than by their differences.
Now, not as a philosopher, but play
ing The role of a statesman and news
paper man, I come to tell you that it is
all because of the difference between
the two platforms on which the oppos-
ing candidates stood. Not as expressed
by any plank therein, but as implied
In the name. You can't fool these
old Republican sages by painting
planks in your platform different col
ors, then, in letters of gold, labelling
one Gold Standard while written
across the entire group-however small
the type--these words are found--Dem-
ocratic Platform. There's the rub;
there S the loco TOGO. The Democracy
OF the United States needs no headlines
OF introduction to the Republican
party; no foot notes to explain 1t up or
explain 1T away. They know what it
means. Bryan's Free-Silver plank, nor
Parker's Gold standard telegram, nor
heighth nor depth nor any other crea-
ture can etface the meaning and signifi-
cance of the words written across the
planks-Democratic Platform. No sir,
1T is not the plank nor the man on the
pla" kits the name of the group and
the meaning underneath. 1t is the
smell of loco focos that has perfume d
the platform since the days of 1886
when the Regulars of Tammany Hall
turned out the lights on the Equal
Rights faction who lit loco foco
matches In order to proceed. This
Loco FOco nickname WIS from that
time applied to that faction and subse-
quently to the Democratic party as an
earmark to brand the party as one OPP
posed to the moneyed interests of the
country. Scrub and whitewash the
planks as you may, the name Demo
cratic Platform still retains the odor of
the loco focos, and there is the rub.
Repnblicanism meaDs moneyism for
the North and negroism for the South,
and SO long as they hold the purse and
dispense the Doodle, leaving us to hold
the negro and grin under the burden
we find ourselves up against PROPOSE.
tion philosophers cannot solve. The
fundamental principles of the Demo
cratic party from its incipiency has
been the limitation of the powers of
the Federal Government. The loose
principles of construction and strict
principles of the construction OF the
constitution has been a bone OF conten-
tion since the days OF Hamilton, the
financier, of politics on the one side,
and Madison and Jefferson on the
other. But why go back and talk OF
all this? That little conference between
Roosevelts hencbmen and the money
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