Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-27
GOOD CAMPAIGN ISSUE
One Wanted by Democratic
Leaders.
THE PARTY'S TROUBLE
NO BURNING QUESTION HAS DE-
vELoPED IN CONGRESS.
Republicans Have the Best of It in All
the Old IssuesEBryan's Latest
Spiel Falls Flat.
THE PARTY'S TROUBLE

Wanted-A good campaign issue; no
former purveyors need answer. Issue must
be alive when presented. Apply to demo-
cratic leaders in Congress"
That would about express the situation
which some democrats in Congress COM
plain is confronting the party in this Con-
81 ess. They say that here it is, close to
the eve Of a general election, with the
presidency, seats in the House and state
legislatures at stake, and no burning issue
yet developed in Congress. What's worse,
the prospect for getting one Is slender, they
say.
The Panama question, far from being a
democratic issue, is republican asset. The
House democrats realized that at the out
set, and tried to steer their brethren in the
Serate clear Of the shoals toward which
Leader German was plotting them. The
republicans are willingly meeting the dem
ocrats on the Panama question: and con-
slider 1t among their most valuable re-
sources.
The tariff is accepted by Leader Williams
as an issue, but northern and eastern DEM
ocrats who are dissociated from the rumi-
ting, theoretical atmosphere of the plan
tatton library and fireside say that op-
position to proSperity-making protection
will not take among the busy people of the
great industrial states. Guess again, they
Opposition to Trusts.
Opposition to trusts is the thing, declares
Mr.. Hearst and his ilk. Good enough, but
the trouble is that the republican admins
tration and a former republican Congress
have stolen the thunder. Long before the
campaign opens the United States Supreme
Court will hand down a decision in a test
case, brought under provisions of a law
a bU a HI Ii<ay, ntrt-
ed by republican Attorney General, expe-
dited and advanced for trial in accordance
with a subsequent law framed by republi-
cans. Whether the case goes against or for
the government the demonstration will be
made that the administration is fighting
the trusts.
Economy and retrenehmeut propose some
other democrats. WE'LL there again the re-
publicans are before them. Speaker Can
non and Chairman Hemenway have already
laid down the law, with the bark on it, that
the appropriations must be conservative.
Free silver, anti-imperialism and popu-
daunted six million. Well the other millions
of the democrats simply won't listen to him,
ard that's all there is to it.
Even Mr.. Bryan's very latest spiel, to
make which he hired hall in New York
last night, failed to arouse enthusiasm
among his fellow-democrats in Congress to-
day The reorganizerS of the party are
most anxious at this very moment to get in
tOucn again with lDe conservative classes
of the country whom Mr.. Bryan pilloried as
plutocradc enemies. In the democratic
cloak rooms at the Capitol today not con-
gratulatory acquiescing expression was
heard. Evidently he has not furnished the
issue desired.
Republican Position.
The position of the republicans in Con-
gress is very simple. They feel that they
do not have to find particular issue for the
elections Just sit tight. To that end the
work of Congress- which is entirely in their
hands, is to be simplified. There is abso-
lutely only one feature of legislation to
concern them, the ratification of the Pan
ANA treaty and the commencement of the
canal. With this out of the way they are
ready to pass the appropriation bills and
adjourn. Then they will go before the
country with candidate who has been
tried, and with policies which have been
tried, and leave the decis on to the voters
The republican leaders in Congress think
they see only plain sailing ahead.
Some democrats are counting on repub-
lican factional dissensions to help them. IL
Is true the republicans have ugly factional
squabbles in New York, Ohio, Wisconsin
and some western states. But the differences
are not on a national question Time and
again since the salutary lesson they learned
in the Conkling feud have the republicans
demonstrated their ability to quarrel
among themselves up to election day, and
then go to the polls with will and support
fbe old ticket